Leave it to two Americans to plan a trip into the Hunter Valley on one of the hottest, driest days of the year. As the temperature crept over 40 C, we guzzled the wines - mostly Shirazes, Chardonnays, Semillons and Verdelhos - hoping the blazing sun would spare the bottles we kept shoving under the car seats. The highlight of the day was this approachable and gorgeous peacock, one of several keeping cool under the shade trees at Krinklewood Winery.
Peacock at Krinklewood Winery, Hunter Valley (NSW)
According to the owners, the birds "just arrived one day when we were building the Krinklewood cellar door." They still don't know where the magical birds came from, but you can catch a glimpse most days if you care to make a trip (the wine alone is well worth the 2 hour journey from Sydney). Maybe they were attracted by the egg-shaped fermenters these biodynamic growers use (we got the unofficial tour).
Apparently they used to have peahens as well, but they were eaten by foxes. Also spotted on our trip into the Hunter: 2 unidentified green birds, a group of striated pardalotes (my first sighting!), and some strange unidentified sounds.
On an ordinary day I might have traipsed into the fields after the sweet melodic tunes... but with sweat literally dripping from every inch of my skin, and lots of wines to take down before the end of the day, even this bird aficionado decided to save the birding for another day.
The best news? With many more birds left to see in the Hunter, I might just have to make a few more trips...
