Things that go knock in the night...AUSTRALIA

OK so after our action-packed day hand-feeding rosellas and king-parrots, shoving Currawongs away from our lunch table, and taking in all those cool rainforest birds and Koala of course we deserved a rest-no chance. After a luxurious dinner at O Reilly's, where a Mountain Brushtail Possum amused us from the dinner table, wolfing down fruits from the feeder by the dining table window, we decided to go in pursuit of an elusive quarry that evaded us the night before. I must admit in my laziness the night before I had tried to get it from the road, and failed. I was not going to make that mistake again. This time we made our way into a rainforest gully, and before we had even reached our strategic position, the bird gave a loud knocking call from where we were headed. We shuffled up together, turned off our flashlights, and waited for a short time. Adrenalin was in the air and I nervously put my I-pod into action. Just a short burst of its song, then I waited. The bird called beside us and I quickly swept the open rainforest bows for this hulking nightbird, only to find branches and nothing else. I reluctantly switched off the lights, and tried one more time. Angrily the bird called back just up the trail. Fearing empty branches again but knowing I simply had to try I turned on the light...and there sitting in the spotlight was a marvelous Marbled Frogmouth. It had taken two nights, but I think it was well, well, worth it!

Lots more to come so stayed tuned...Although I have a bit of a tour coming up, so be patient. There is much, much more to come!