Author Archives: admin

Dynamics of birding

I find it amusing how it will often take me a long time to find a particular bird for the first time, yet once I have found it I seem to find them everywhere. This has happened with:

  • Australasian Pipits (saw my first near Dampier recently, have now seen them 2 minutes from the office in an area I had looked before);
  • Western Spinebills (first seen in Pinnaroo a few years back, we now have a family of them frequenting the backyard);
  • Australian Reed-Warblers (seen first on a BAWA walk, now I see them in the reeds everywhere);
  • Brown Honeyeaters (for years I thought they were small Singing Honeyeaters);
  • Common Greenshanks (seen first on a BAWA walk, now I see them all the time in Dampier).

I suspect that the same will happen with the Little Grassbird and a few other conspicuous absentees from my list.

Help name my layout

My N-gauge model train layout is progressing well.  I spent a few hours tonight wiring block switches and covering foam with plaster-of-paris strips for the tunnel section.  The layout is predominantly 1970s-1980s British diesel but also tends to have anything else that catches my eye…

I think the layout needs a name (most others around the place, especially those on the web, are named).  Therefore, if you are reading this (I think at least a few people read this?) and have a suggestion please comment.  Thanks!

A few new birds for the list

  • Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), seen in the Dampier and Karratha area;
  • Horsfield’s Bushlark (Mirafra javanica), seen in the Dampier and Karratha area;
  • Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala), seen at both Gnowangerup and Wagin;
The list is now at 173 174.

A rather rambling update

It has been a while since I have posted here – so here goes:

  • Added a few new birds to my life list – most notably a pair of Bush Stone-curlews (Burhinus grallarius) seen on the road to East Intercourse Island in Dampier in the middle of the night (I was on night shift, not going for a midnight twitch);
  • Work on my British N Gauge model railway is progressing well (tunnels are under construction, some buildings have been added). The locomotive and rolling stock collection is growing also (I have three Graham Farish locomotives: a Class 08, a Class 31 and a Class 37);
  • I seem to be continually adding Macs (in particular iMacs) to the collection – thanks Alex! Thankfully I have a shed…
Edit: Changed Beach Stone-curlew to Bush Stone-curlew after consultation with experts.

Going with British Diesel

With the acquisition of a Graham Farish BR Class 37 Diesel (37035), I have made the decision to go with British Diesel on my N-gauge model railway.

IMG_3592

There are a lot of reasons to go for American locomotives (reliability and availability being the biggest two) but for some reason I am attracted to the British locomotives.  At some point in the not-to-distant future I may add a shunter to my fleet (probably a Graham Farish one again).
As it turns out, my daughter Olivia (who loves playing trains) has taken a strong disliking to the Class 37 locomotive.  Kylie (my wife) thinks it looks like a slug…
(edit: Kylie claims she called it a caterpillar).