Thanks, Alan. Amazing how we photographers of unusual birds just ever-so-slightly exaggerate the quantity of our photos! My nephew, an ornithologist, however, tends to understate the numbers!

Dottyp I was amazed at how accurately some professional wader ornithologists can estimate flocks of over 1 000. Even they tend to underestimate, knowing that they tend to underestimate. But to be within 5% is pretty amazing.

When one said 2 380 of a flock wheeling after a raptor put them up, I thought unpleasant things about him. The total, counted through scopes a species at a time after they landed, was 2 421. While doing this he was also able notice small numbers of wader species which I failed to see despite it being my job to identify all the species and have an idea of rough proportions. I felt redundant.

It is easy. You just count their legs and divide by two.

Me

Glad to hear you're staying a bit longer.

We love having you here.

I thought I had replied to peterSale before. I am sure you are jesting but waders tend to stand on one leg and rest with their head under their wings.

Counting heads would reach a gross underestimation and dividing the number of visible legs by two would be even worse. Counting waders is actually a very advanced visual pattern recognition task.

Alan I was joking. It was actually a paraphrasing of an old joke of a dairy farmer (or sheep farmer) who was asked how many he had in the paddock. When he gave the answer they asked how he had done it so quick. "Simple. I count the legs and divide by four".

Fascinating, information Alan. Much appreciated. It is fascinating how good brains are at doing things we think they should be able to do.

How about - count the number of legs multiply by pi divide by... never mind.

OOPs That should read
It is fascinating how good brains are at doing things we think they should NOT be able to do.

Glad to see the thread lives on.

I'm currently in Colorado; where, Alan will be happy to know, there are no kookaburras (plenty of conservatives though).

.. and other ferals too I bet!

I would love to visit Colorado one day but it wont be next year.

Oh yeah, we've got our share of ferals, particularly of the two-legged variety.

I'm staying near the foothills, and the number of deer I've seen in just two days is pretty amazing. These are suburban deer, unafraid of people. Just today I saw a couple of them crossing a fairly busy street. I love having them so close, but the homeowners whose gardens they eat might disagree. There have been mountain lion and bear sightings up this way too - all within the city limits.

Those native belong and should be accommodated if at all possible not just if it is convenient.

I saw the tail and hind quarter of a mountain lion in the Blue Mountains of Washington State as we drive around a corner on a dirt road it must have left the road, leaping up a very steep bank. A better look would have been great but a friend of mine worked on a project with these animals and did not see one in 9 months. He saw kills, tracks and scats but that is as far as he got.

I see Colorado voted Democrat two times in a row for the first time since the 1932/36 elections.

Given the options, I'm not surprised :)

I haven't been around much on this board so just saw this one. Glad to know that you are staying in Perth Mel. I hope we will be treated to additional trip reports, as the spirit moves you.

Mel, I remember how badly your home area was hit by fires a few months ago - hope everyone is doing as well as possible. Takes a lot of $/ time & often both to recover & rebuild after such devastation.

Mel, I just saw this and I too am relieved that the uncertainty is now over and that you get to Wait Awhile longer in Perth!

Thank you Bokhara; LOL sassy_cat.

We've had some pretty spectacular weather since I've been in CO - cold, but crisp, sunny and clear, perfect for a bit of hiking. I've just returned from a short trip to Buena Vista, where the mountains, hot tubs and margaritas were lovely.

I saw some of the fire damage on the way home while driving down US Route 24 from Woodland Park to Manitou Springs. This road was closed during the worst of the fire, and some of the businesses there were hit hard by the closures. The fire came awfully close to the road, but oddly enough, it's a bit difficult to spot the fire damage since the trees are devoid of leaves this time of year, and it was such a dry year that many trees have been lost due to lack of water. There's no denying the black sticks though, and the charred remains of homes in Mountain Shadows.

It does my heart good to hear all the touching stories that came from the fires...the overwhelming community assistance makes me proud of my hometown.

Our favorite little cafe in the Dandenongs, just a few minutes from here, as rife with bird life. Rosellas swarm outside the windows until the cockatoos bully them out for a few minutes... and then they're back. But steps from the front door, always favouring the handrail of the front walk is a pair of kookaburras. They've become so used to people walking by, one can approach and could touch them, though we wouldn't, of course. So interesting.

My daughter's prep school has a kookaburra that likes to sit in a large tree over the little schoolhouse and laugh at the kids. Must know something, that one.

I meant to ask Alan if Eclectus Parrots were something he sees in his area? I'm just fascinated by that both genders are brightly marked, but completely different.

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I didn't catch on until after I posted the age of the thread. Mel, hope you're having a good time in CO, despite the witnessing the aftermath. CO's probably my fav state back home.

No you need to go another 12 hours' drive north of here to see Eclectus Parrots. It would be faster to fly to New Guinea.

Did you know that the male locks the female away in the nest whole once they have mated? Talk about protecting paternity!

On the other hand yesterday I had a Golden Bowerbird come into his bower while I was standing almost in it, explaining his handy work for some English guests. A bit like this bird here but more fiddling with the arrangement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQU-CpxQUuQ