It seems we are in for some sunny days. Friday turned out to be an excellent day for birding with fellow birder Andrew Wood. Windang, south of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia was a location that offered some good sightings.
At last I got to see a pair of Sooty Oystercatchers having a great time eating oysters. Funny thing is their red beaks tend to turn orange in photos thanks to the late morning sun on them. I have noticed this before but it is still surprising.
Other discoveries included two male Darters with their chubby bodies and long necks. I managed to get an excellent photo of a male Superb Fairy Wren and some okay pictures of a Black Cockatoo. I had not seen black cockatoos for a while around the Corrimal and Towradgi area. Could they be holidaying at Windang? That is some thought!
It was also good to see male and female figbirds enjoying what a couple of trees had to offer. It seems that Cormorants of one spies or another were everywhere.
The Korrongulla Wetlands were some experience. It was a trail through mud that resulted in finding more Cormorants plus a friendly little New Holland Honeyeater. It would possibly be a better place for birding in the near future when we really get into spring.
Right now I am marveling at the audacity of two young women who traveled from Victoria to Sydney and then to Queensland and lied about their point of origin. And yes they had contracted the coronavirus. What is more, after they had been assessed as having the virus, they then went on a shopping spree, infecting others and potentially ruining businesses. Their faces full of Botox, it is impossible to say what nationality they or their parents happen to be and it really doesn’t matter. They have broken a number of laws and risked the safety of numerous people. The question is should they do jail time for their callousness? I say yes.
The Coronavirus can really only be spread by people doing the wrong thing. We want no more deaths in Australia. We do look to New Zealand as a country where it has been more successfully contained. I have been to New Zealand and hope to go back one day. Will I ever journey to the UK? That is looking doubtful.
On a more cheerful note, the editing of my novel Dragon Queen continues to go well. Between yours truly and Night to Dawn editor Barbara Custer, we are getting there.
A female dragon was not supposed to exist. Only male dragons were ever born or so the general public had been told. In truth the females were murdered by hospital staff soon after their birth. The only exception was Elanora who sought a place in a society that had to reject her as too dangerous an anomaly. Meanwhile the male dragons in bondage were crying out to be free of their pain collars and early deaths. Can she save them? First she will have to save herself.
Please note Dragon Queen, like 50 Dragons, is Science Fiction. It is set in the 23rd Century and the dragons are human mutations with scales and tails.
No story book cover for Dragon Queen. I remain in awe of the fine cover work done by Australia’s best, SCAR.