The convergence

Two of my Sydney stories converged today.

Story 1:
There's a natural area near us called Fred Hollows Reserve. Matt and I found it one day while trying to get from one side of town to another. It's a thin strip of woodland running along a gully between Clovelly and Allison Roads, and the local Council has put in a series of tall boardwalks to help you get you across it. It was created as a reserve in 1993 and named in honor of Fred Hollows, a world-renowned ophthalmologist who died the same year. The first time we walked through the Reserve the sun was setting, and by the time we got to the other side it was pitch-black dark.

Fred Hollows Reserve is a strip of rainforest 

connecting Clovelly and Allison Roads.

(Base layer: Google Maps)

We have used the Reserve since then as a "shortcut" between the businesses on Frenchman's Road and those on Belmore Road (shown in red circles) - though it's more of an excuse to walk through nature than an actual time-saver.

Story 2:
There is a bird that often wakes me up in the morning. One morning I managed to pull on my clothes and run outside before it flew away. I saw it hop from branch to branch in a tall eucalyptus tree, but it was too small for me to identify without binoculars. I suspected then that it was a grey butcherbird, but when I scoured the internet none of the grey butcherbird recordings sounded like my bird. After a straight week of this same routine, I felt defeated.

In the past few months this little bird has continued to plague me, piping up in the morning only to disappear when I go outside. It taunts me from the eucalyptus trees by my office, singing out only on days when I have an early meeting to get to and can't afford to stop. The trouble is, these smallish grey birds like tall trees and cloudy days. Even when I do happen to be standing next to one, it is always silhouetted against the overcast sky, and I never have my binoculars with me to make a positive ID.

The convergence
Yesterday while walking from the hardware store on Frenchman's Road to the grocery store on Belmore Road, I felt the urge to take the "shortcut" through Fred Hollows Reserve. A blanket of clouds had just rolled in on what had been a beautiful sunny day. I was walking on the high boardwalks near the treetops behind a little girl and her frolicking puppy, who stirred up the birds as they went. Luckily, they grabbed the attention of one bird who began to sing excitedly above my head. The little girl vanished down the path, leaving me with a private concert. I immediately recognized the song as my familiar morning bird, but this time, on the high boardwalk near the tree-tops, I was able to identify the singer: a grey butcherbird.

I reached for my phone to make a recording and was pleased to capture a song that was even more varied than usual. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you listen closely you can even hear this one mimicking other Aussie birds (namely currawongs)...

A grey butcherbird singing

in Fred Hollows Reserve