Cotton Pygmy Geese

After being lucky enough to finally get Forest Kingfisher for the year, it was good to hear from Andrew that on the same day he had found Cotton Pygmy Geese near Woodford, and they might still be there. So I made a run up there with my mother. We had two goals - find the geese, and look for Richmond Birdwing butterflies at Mt Mee. Heading out to Mt Mee, we got their about an hour before sunset - making me a bit nervous we wouldn't make both of our targets. As we walked around the area looking for butterflies I had basically given up when all of a sudden a large butterfly cruised by over the road. "There's one!" I yelled out and sure enough a female Richmond Birdwing spent the next few minutes gliding around the canopy around near the road and carpark. Yes I'm being deliberately a bit vague, as this critically endangered butterfly must be a target for collectors and I'd rather exact directions not be stored on the Internet forevermore. Suffice to say a midday visit to some of the better rainforest habitat in the area could produce some good luck!

The Pygmy Geese were looking less likely as we made a dash for Woodford. We got to the pond Andrew had the Geese on days before just as the sun went down. I spent a frantic five minutes looking around the edges of the pond, checking every bird, and finally, I despondently headed for the car. At which point my mother found the pair and pointed them out to me. Somewhat embarrassing for me, but honestly, I was just happy to have this uncommon species in the bag for the year!

Species to date: 305