The birds are back in town

[Michele] Two years ago we had the chance to spend a week in Mission Beach and this was only 6 months after cyclone Yasi.  The region was changed by the cyclone in just about every way, but one of the most startling (except for the stripped vegetation) was the lack of bird song (http://cassowarytales.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/6-months-after-cyclone-yasi.html). In 2009 we were woken every morning by raucous the cries of cockatoos and lorikeets.  At night, the kids would hide under the covers from the creepy calls of the curlews.  In 2011, we didn't hear or see any birds in Mission Beach.

in 2013, we are happy to report that forest is greening up and the birds are back.  The calls aren't as loud for us as they were in 2009 because our house this year is in a new housing track that had been a ranch;. so there aren't mature fruit trees here for the birds.  But we are only a couple blocks away from our 2009 place and I've seen the cockatoos over those trees.

On our first jet-lagged morning Will and I went for a run along the beach around sunrise and we were startled by a kookaburra. Come to think of it the kookaburra might have been calling out because we startled it -- the hadn't yet risen at that point.

The kids report hearing curlews just about every night though they claim not to be frightened anymore by their strange call.  We've also seen some of those maniacal Connecticut-driver like fliers, the starlings.  Seriously, compare starlings in flight to drivers on the Merritt parkway!  I know,  right.  No lorikeets sitings yet but we are keeping our eyes open for them.

I didn't grab any photos of the birds so here is a nice pic from another morning run after the sun had already come up.  This is really just a gratuitous pretty picture to go along with this blog entry.

By the way, the title of this post should be sung along to that notoriously earwormy Thin Lizzy tune.  You got it stuck in your head now didn't you?  See!