Foster to Mansfield.
I had 300kms to drive today so to break up the journey I stopped at Healesville animal sanctuary in the Dandenong ranges, at 2.30pm there was a bird show scheduled. It starts with a dreamtime legend about a bird, and I was thinking the narration would talk on for ages and my mind started to wander and right on cue as the narrator is talking about a bird circling overhead one of the bird performers appears overhead doing just that, from then on the show had my full attention. There were 2 bird handlers who would walk around the audience and the bird on display would fly on cue between them swooping low over the audience. The timing of handler and birds was incredible, they even had a wedged tail eagle, the biggest bird in Australia - a beast of a bird.
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| The road North |
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| Wedged Tailed Eagle |
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| Yes, the bird is flying straight at me! |
Amongst the birds in the rest of the sanctuary was a Red-browed Finch and this was the bird I had seen last month in the bush, I had made a sketch of it afterwards to record the markings but didn't know until now what it was. I had tried looking for it in John B's What Bird is That? Illustrated bird book but there were several possibilities, it wasn't until I saw the actual bird again in this sanctuary I knew what is was. A red-browed Finch!The day had started cool and wet was turning out quite hot so after witnessing all the animals and the bird show it was time to head off.
At around 7:30pm I arrived at my next airbnb on a sheep farm not far from mt Buller where I wanted to go hiking the next day. Two very enthusiastic working dogs greeted me, big proper dogs! Whisky and Spot. Joy's farmhouse was delightfully cool inside, straight away Joy was easy and fun to talk to. I even got to watch Downton Abby, a lovely evening and so to bed.
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| Joys airbnb near Mansfield |
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| These little ones had an unusual way of looking at things |
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| These were spendid |
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| And a sleepy little bear. |
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