BACK IN TOWN

SOUTH FROM BONNIE VIEW, MORTON NP (PHOTO BY MY MATE JULIAN WOLKENSTEIN)

ODDLY, A TULIP IN THE FRONT YARD (I NEVER KNEW THERE WAS A BULB)

157

A Eurasian Skylark, calling somewhere in grey skies above Old Argyle Rd, has brought my Bundanoon list to 157 species. I've seen skylarks before in the Southern Highlands - on the Berrima side of Moss Vale. Can I record 200 species in Bundy? It'll take some searching, prayers and serendipity, but I reckon, in time, it can be done. On another note, I heard a Channel-billed Cuckoo, freshly back from migration, trumpet raucously at 7:15am today. That's five weeks earlier than usual, according to my records from 2010, 2011 and 2012. Maybe, the unnaturally warm spring (it's been Sydney's warmest start to spring since records began) has caused this. Maybe, global warming is behind it all. LJ, September 16 2013.

THE COPPERHEAD HOUR

This fine, warm Spring weather has brought out copperheads (though this snake is active in cooler weather too). My mate Marty saw a big one recently on the path at Jordans Crossing; a friend of my wife (who lives off Penrose Rd) has had one in her front yard (her neighbour had one too; perhaps it was the same individual). So, watch your step when you're out and about. Though snakes will do everything they can to avoid you, and don't go out of their way to pursue you (no matter what people might claim), a cornered copperhead would strike if pushed. LJ, September 12 2013.

RESPONSE

How did I deal with a spoilt, narrow-minded, conservative nation putting Tony Abbott into power? I immersed myself in the natural glories of this town. Here are the things that struck me most: my backyard crabapple in full bloom, a neighbour's magnolia, a Grey Goshawk floating above the gullies by Church Street, a lone Richard's Pipit on a gate by Shangri La Rd, sunshine cutting through the grey and the whooping of a pair of Brown Cuckoo-doves. LJ, September 9 2013.