Mulga Underfoot

Bar-breasted Honeyeater
Apologies for the dearth of updates this week. We’re still in a cloudy, sticky, humid weather pattern (more rain forecast through this weekend), and our internet has been quite unreliable – crikey!

Anyway things are going good at Mornington Station. I was out for an evening run day before yesterday and, while hurtling down the dirt track, heard a slithering noise just behind me. Looked over my shoulder just in time to see a very angry, meter-long Mulga snake zipping toward the grass, head raised in agitation – I’d missed stomping its tail by mere inches. That’s the one that, if it bites you, gives you about five hours to live – and I was miles from the station. Got the adrenaline going a bit! Tegan very nearly stepped on one yesterday while wearing flip flops, so I’m not the only one taunting snakes around here.

A group of 60 tourists with a charity group called the Variety Club arrived yesterday to be wined, dined, and accommodated in safari tents. It’s a lot to put up with for the hospitality staff (all hands on deck kind of thing), but the group’s total bill for one night’s stay was $11,000 – a nice big check for the Wildlife Conservancy! (Not to mention the $2,000+ the group apparently spent at the bar alone, or the additional $12,000 shelled out at a charity auction after dinner.) Meanwhile, tourists are wandering around Mornington Station like zombies on patrol as we head into peak season here. Interesting to have a bit of extra company during my field work.

Rain Hits Mornington

We’ve been locked in a weird weather system at Mornington – haven’t seen the sun in more than five days! Heavy clouds have been sitting over us, dumping rain and humidity.

Me, I’m ready for the dry weather to return. My tent is wet, my mattress is wet, my blankets are wet, my sleeping bag is wet, my clothes are hanging soaking on the line. It’s still reaching almost 90 F during the day, giving us a sticky, damp existence. Sweat doesn’t evaporate. Humidity varies between 80 and 98 percent. The power went out because solar panels aren’t operating, and the showers are ice-cold without solar heaters. The roads are closed and some people have been trapped here for almost a week. This is very unusual weather for May – which averages just .3 in of rain. So far, we’ve had more than ten times that in the last few days – and more in the forecast!

Agile Wallabies

Agile Wallabies
Agile Wallabies are the most common kangaroo-like animal around Mornington. There aren’t any actual kangaroos here (no kidding), but these guys are close enough. They hop. Put their babies in pouches. That kind of thing.

We also have Euros, sometimes called Wallaroos (a cross between a kangaroo and a wallaby?), and Rock Wallabies with long tails which hop around cliff faces like springy mountain goats.

The trouble with all these big marsupials is they’re so shy. Aside from grazing on the watered, mowed grass near the restaurant, wallabies generally hop away in a furry blur before you can get a bead on them. So I was happy this morning to catch a pair of Agile Wallabies in a pensive mood, at least long enough to get a quick photo. After some keen looks of suspicion and curiosity, they bounded away to join their mates in greener pastures.

Kiwi Conversation

Mt Leake Gorge
I was doing field work yesterday morning in a rough section along the Adcock River, minding my own business (and a pair of Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens), when a guy in a green shirt popped out from behind a bush. He looked a bit nonplussed.

“What are you seeing?” I asked, wondering where he came from.

“Ah, some bird, looked like a kingfisher,” he said. “Here, take a look.” He showed me a photo displayed on the back of his digital camera.

“Nice – it’s a pair of Rainbow Bee-Eaters,” I said (close enough). “Where are you from?”

Turned out he was from New Zealand (shoulda guessed, green shirt), on a 3-week holiday with his wife, had driven half of Australia already, was camping in an RV, and was headed for a day at Dimond Gorge. His name was Warren. We got talking about New Zealand, since I’d been there last year, and I mentioned I’d climbed a prominence called Avalanche Peak at Arthur’s Pass, inland of Christchurch.

“Yeah, I climbed that once,” he said. “When I was six years old, my dad took me up there. Mind you,” (he scratched his head) “that was sixty years ago.”

With that, Warren disappeared into the vegetation, making his way back to the river crossing. The tourist season here has officially begun – Mornington Station boasts a 4-star restaurant (regular entrees are $49!), safari tents ($300/night!), campground, tours, etc. It’s an expensive place to vacation; punters get charged for everything (just to drive down the driveway commands a $25 “road fee”) but at least people can experience this place without actually working here. Me, I’m happy to get paid (however little) to live in such a place – so much better than being a tourist!

Changing Seasons

Gray-crowned Babbler
I couldn’t believe what I was doing this morning as, inside my tent, I dug around in pre-dawn darkness to find a warm sweater, and actually put it on! Gone are the hot, sweaty nights in front of a blasting fan. This morning the temperature reached 12.1 C (54 F). Downright cold, if you ask anyone around here.

It’s nice to have a break from the heat. Afternoons are barely reaching 37 C now (100 F), quite enjoyable compared to constant 42 C (108 F) of a couple months ago. Funny how relative things are.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went for a bit of a wander from camp, trying to find a set of wetlands to see what birds might be around. The wetlands were almost dried up and I ended up walking 27 kilometers (17 miles) in transit. However, I did see two new birds: Fairy Martin and Gray-fronted Honeyeater – so the hike was well worth it! After more than two months here, it’s getting tough for me to find new birds…

Welcome To My Castle

Tent Castle
With an influx of new researchers and hospitality staff last week, I finally got kicked out of my room. Like the majority of Mornington’s population, I now live in a tent.

But what a tent! I’m used to lightweight, backpacking-style tents, but when Michelle mentioned some kind of montrosity wedged in the rafters of the storage area, I was curious. Turned out to be an enormous car-camping tent. Perfect! Its floor is 4 x 3.2 meters (13.1 x 10.5 feet) and the entire space has a ceiling so high I can stand, stretch my arms over my head, and still not touch the roof. Every wall has a foldable flap, exposing mesh all the way around. The tent even has front and back entrances – seriously, it’s a castle!

I moved in a full-size bed, with frame and mattress, which fits in one corner. On the other side, I arranged two shelving units and a chair, leaving plenty of space to walk around in between. During the day, I can sit in the chair and look at birds (including a resident pair of fairy-wrens) from within my mosquito-proof home. At night, I fall asleep to the thumping of wallabies and distant choruses of howling dingoes. And now it’s getting down to 18 C (65 F) in the wee hours, it’s not too hot to sleep without a fan. I’m glad to call this place home.

Fifth of May

Zebra Finch
Today’s date might not seem particularly notable, but I know three ways that it is.

First, it’s Michelle’s birthday today – I won’t say her age, but it’s a nice round number halfway between 10 and 70… and an excuse for a party! All of Mornington’s staff turned out for a celebratory potluck, with cake (adorned with sparklers) and an amazing amount of food. Michelle was taken for a birthday helicopter ride this morning for breakfast at a scenic pool beyond Spider Gorge, but her biggest present (to herself) is a 5-week trip to Peru, starting in two days. She deserves it for being a great fairy-wren boss!

Second, today is Cinco de Mayo, that awesome Mexican holiday. I tried to instill some latin excitement by announcing at the table, “It’s Cinco de Mayo!” but was greeted by a host of blank stares. Guess they don’t celebrate that one in Australia – I spent the next five minutes explaining what people do on Cinco de Mayo (drink margaritas and Corona, wear big sombreros, eat Mexican food), but it was no use on these Aussies. They didn’t really get it.

Finally, today I have been at Mornington for exactly two months (I arrived on March 5). I don’t know where the time has gone – flown away on a sizzling sun. Good thing I still have a while to go, because I’ve only begun to explore this place! May the next three months bring as much adventure as the last two.

Bring On The Dry

Sara Wading
I’ve been kicked out of my room and moved into a tent (more on that later), which means one thing: it better not rain for the next three months. I don’t want my bed getting soaked (yep, I have a whole bed in my tent).

Not that the weather gives any indication of it. We’re now firmly into The Dry, with blue skies and cooler temps through the northern Australian winter. Two months ago, it was about 42 C (108 F) every afternoon; now it’s only reaching 38 C (101 F). Downright cold! Mornings have been around 18 C (65 F), almost chilly.

After about the driest wet season on record, we’re also getting deeper into a major drought. The Annie Creek road crossing, normally underwater, dried up this week, which is unheard of this time of year. Normally it flows year-round, and, in dry years, it’s been known to go dry in October, but we’re only just getting into the dry months. Even the mighty Adcock River (a tributary to the Fitzroy, which, at its highest flood stage, has the 3rd highest output of any river in the world) is down to a trickle small enough to step across without getting your feet wet. What does it all mean? Only time will tell.

Insect Sampling

Insects
Sara and I have spent the last couple afternoons sorting frozen bugs. It’s at least an excuse to stay in the air-conditioned office…

Basically, we sample insects once each month to get an idea of fairy-wren food abundance. This means running around one afternoon with a butterfly net, sweeping it energetically through the grass (at predetermined spots along Annie Creek), then dumping the loot in a gallon-size ziplock, freezing it for two days, and picking through the subsequent mess with tweezers, carefully sifting insects from grass seeds. It’s a tedious process, but I’m learning some useful Latin. Want to know the order of grasshoppers? No worries. (It’s Orthoptera.) How about the order of beetles? Got that one, too. (Coleoptera.) And want to know what a ziplock full of half-thawed dead bugs smells like? Barfinabucketa. Official term.

Eating And Sitting

Sunday, and a reprieve from the end of a tough week. So what do we do? Sit around and eat all day!

I’m stuffed. This morning I slept in, then wandered up to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. Then came the pancakes, egg frittata, and sticky rolls (the Aussies call them “scrolls”). After that, regular food was dispensed with entirely and I spent the rest of the day pigging out on chocolate, trifle, and other desserts. For dinner, another bowl of cereal. The farthest I walked today was a short amble from my bed to the kitchen and back – hardly a strain!

But it was well-deserved, since Jen and I ran a dusty half marathon yesterday afternoon (for the heck of it). And, speaking of Jen, she’s out of here tomorrow, on a plane back to the U.S. after five months working on a Crimson Finch project. Roughly half of Mornington’s staff will be turning over in May, so we’re getting ready for a new crowd around here. So, to kick things off, according to specific request from her mother, I hereby post all my best Jen photos – retribution for a soon-to-be-lacking communal dinner cook. Take that!