Bryan continues with his excellent project of interviewing migratory waterbirds before they fly to Northern Asia. Here he speaks to a bar-tailed godwit.
This Spokesbird appears by arrangement with Birdlife Australia and the Global Godwits Association.
Bryan continues with his excellent project for Birdlife Australia, interviewing various migratory waterbirds before they fly to Northern Asia. Here he speaks to an Eastern Curlew.
An Eastern Curlew.
This Spokesbird appears by arrangement with Birdlife Australia and The Pan-National Association of Eastern Curlews.
Every year millions of migratory waterbird birds fly from feeding grounds in Australia to breeding grounds in Northern Asia. This year, Birdlife Australia decided to explain and monitor this process and John and Bryan were asked to participate. Fortunately Bryan has a great interest in these matters and knew how to get hold of a few spokesbirds. Here is his first encounter.
A Red-Necked Stint.
This Spokesbird appears by arrangement with Birdlife Australia and other Red-Necked Stints.
We had a wonderful response to our March quiz and we thank everyone who entered. The winner was Stan Hope of Stanhope. And very nice work Stanley. For the record, the answers were as follows:
True. Your house is worth more than you paid for it 20 years ago. More news as it comes to hand.
True. The full forward for the federal opposition is Bill Shorten. The previous two spearheads were stretchered off under the blood rule. Bill was handily placed on both occasions to help with the clean-up.
True. Bernard Tomic is going along beautifully and recently chalked up a massive PB of 28mins 20 seconds at the Miami Masters.
False. The Shapelle Corby Special was a one-off program. The Severn Bore is an annual wave phenomenon on a river in England.
False. Scott Morrison is not an Admiral. In a lot of countries he would not even have a navy. He is the Immigration Minister.
True. According to Joe Hockey the Australian economy has been fixed, is collapsing, will be transformed, is recovering, has run out of money, is the envy of the G20 and has been reported missing. Hold on to your tickets.
Buddy Franklin. The GFC didn’t play for the Swans.
False. It’s the other way round, Nick Minchin and Alexander Downer are not Australian sportsmen and David Warner is not a diplomat.
False. There is no Senator Bigot. The man in the photograph is a highly paid Brisbane librarian.
True. The age of entitlement is over.*
True. It has been suggested that the Grand Prix isn’t loud enough. Other concerns for organisers are that the trees are insufficiently dendriform and the sea isn’t wet enough.
False. Bernie Ecclestone is the state’s most highly paid official but technically the Premier is still Denis Napthine.
False. The ALP is not in liquidation. Management has expressed the hope that it will be able to trade its way out of the current difficulties.
False. It was Tammy Wynette. Tania Hird has never released a single.
False. George Pell is not fallible. He trusted some people who simply weren’t up to it. He admits this freely and has named them all publicly on his way to the airport.
False. Paul Howes will not be going into politics. He has simply accrued a large number of RDOs, a substantial backlog of sick days and a fair bit of leave.
False. Arthur Sinodinos has never met Arthur Sinodinos and was not previously aware of his existence.
False. Craig Thompson is not appealing.
True. It was the former Governor General Quentin Bryce. The dive was a reverse republican somersault with a damehood and two twists. The degree of difficulty was 9.97 and although the entry was a bit messy, the wonder is that it could be attempted at all.
True. Australia does have a one day cricket team. It is hoped that one day they’ll play cricket.
*A list of those to whom this does not apply is available in the first class lounge.
We had a wonderful response to our Christmas quiz and we thank everyone who entered. The winner was Clay Tonsouth of Clayton South. Well done indeed Clay. For the record, the answers were as follows:
True. Tony Abbott has defended the need for secrecy in dealing with asylum-seekers by saying it is similar to the conduct of war. The war he is referring to is possibly Evelyn; particularly ‘Scoop’.
False. Neither Patricia Wak nor Kermit Jagger played cricket for Australia. Kerry O'Keefe was detailing a significant incident which occurred away from the field of play.
True. Justin Bieber has retired. He is twelve.
False. The man in the picture is not Joe Hockey. The man pictured was signing for the deaf at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. It was later discovered that he had no qualifications for the job whatsoever and was ‘simply waving his arms about’. Mr Hockey is the Australian Treasurer.
False. The album ‘Tapestry’, one of the best selling albums of all time, was recorded by Carol King. Calorie King is an online weight-loss organisation.
True. Christopher Pyne is concerned there is insufficient emphasis on ANZAC Day in the Australian school curriculum. In order to be consistent with other government policies, this will replace science.
False. The Battle of Waterloo was won by the Duke of Wellington. Duke Ellington was a composer and band leader.
False. Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop did not describe the conditions of Australian mining workers as worse than those of asylum seekers on Nauru. She described the conditions of asylum seekers on Nauru as better than those of Australian mining workers.
True. Using the model of the Sydney to Hobart yacht-race, the way to stop the boats is to welcome them with a lot of hooting and yelling and give everyone on board a drink. This seems to work well every year.
True. Tony Abbott’s removal of the carbon tax will reduce your electricity bills. This will work as follows. When you receive an electricity bill, slip it under your pillow. In the morning there’ll be a tooth.
True. Media comment on Alastair Cook ( C ) has been rather harsh. Following representations from the English players, his status is expected to be lifted to Alastair Cook (B minus).
True. A tax on going to the doctor is an excellent idea and no, it won’t reduce the profits of international mining companies.
True. Piers Morgan is an English cricketer. He faced one over, was clean bowled and suffered a broken rib. He was immediately approached by The Test and County Cricket Board about how soon he can start.
True. Australia has just had it hottest year on record. This was not the result of an increase in temperature. The cause was an absence of cooler conditions.
True. Holden will close its manufacturing business in 2017. Holden Adelaide will close and Holden Port Melbourne will close. Holden Caulfield will retain his status as important fictional character.
False. Hitting a tennis ball over the net through your legs while running backwards is a considerable skill but it doesn’t have a name. ‘Federation’ is a constitutional term.
False. The man photographed is not Prince Harry. It is Ben Stokes, a Siddle-order batsman in the English cricket team.
True. The school play this year will be The Dog that Whistled, by John Howard. John is an old boy of the school and will also be directing the production. Tony Abbott will play George Pell, Christopher Pyne will make a brief appearance as Yorrick and Cory Bernardi will continue to feature in the role of Bill Heffernan.
False. The Prime Minister has announced that medical insurance premiums will rise by 7%. The suggestion that Medibank Private will be privatised is clearly absurd.
True. Diplomat Jacqueline Zwambila feels she cannot not return to Zimbabwe without persecution. She will be sent to an offshore detention centre in case other international diplomats are encouraged to avoid persecution. We need to break their business model.