Another Mudgee twitch

It's not too often that a crippling rarity shows up within striking range of home so when they do you have to move. A couple of weeks back a Citrine Wagtail was spotted in a small wetland in Mudgee becoming only the fourth Australian record and only the third for the mainland. Mudgee is about a 4 hour drive from Sydney and so Paul and I headed over there for the day.

Putta Bucca wetlands, Mudgee

We arrived at the wetlands as other twitchers from all over Australia were turning up coming from as far away as Broome and Bundaberg. Being mid-week there weren't hordes but about a dozen of us made it in the end. As we arrived at the site the Citrine Wagtail #449 was just sitting out in the open on a stick in the water. One of the easier twitches I've been on.

Citrine Wagtail

After a few minutes an Australian Spotted Crake #450 came skulking out of the reeds before spotting the crowd and running away again. Bonus!

New Zealand again

Flax

West Coast reflections

Apologies that it's been so long since I've posted anything. It's been a shocking winter so not too much has been happening. There was a point where Sydney had recorded only two rain-free days in eight weeks although the sun has now finally returned. Work has also been miserable with another round of redundancies and so it's the usual morale-sapping grind there. 

Weka

Spotted Shag

That's not to say I've done nothing at all. Emily and I headed over to NZ once more at the end of July to spend a bit of time on the west coast of the South Island before the obligatory few days in Queenstown. The West Coast is known for it's spectacular native forest but also for it's spectacularly poor weather. And so it was that we had to keep on our toes to manage a few walks inbetween torrential downpours.

Break in the weather

The constant showers meant cowering in the car for much of the time which is a very bad thing when you forget to switch the headlights off and the battery goes completely flat down an isolated road-end leaving no means of escape or communication with the rest of the world. Remarkably a bloke in a ute turned up and he had jump leads so a bullet was dodged there.

Ocean sunset

Not too much bullet dodging the next day however when ridiculous storms in the night caused a landslide which blocked the Haast Pass and the road to Queenstown. This forced us into a 9 hour drive back north and over Arthur's Pass before we could turn south again and travel all the way back down to Central Otago. At least there was a tick to be had on the way. The Weka NZ#69 which seems to enjoy foraging at the roadside allowing very good views.

Safety first on the West Coast

Obligatory time in Queenstown