Bird watching

Jo and I were up first, keen to investigate the pub kitchen.  While we made our tea and coffee, we watched a plover and her tiny baby just outside the window.  I have hated plovers ever since I was attacked by one in the University of Queensland carpark when I was a student. I had to fend it off with my briefcase.  However, this one was on the other side of a pane of glass, so she was acceptable.

We didn't need to bother about breakfast as we were planning to eat somewhere in Crows Nest, but not before I showed the girls Swinging Bridge Park, where Michael and I had free camped in May.  I had only walked as far as the bridge back then and not beyond, so had missed the little grave that lies there.  


According to the accompanying news article, five-year-old Ethel Tebbs died in Back Creek, Cooyar, in 1905.  Her mother was collecting water from the creek and Ethel ran ahead. Presumably she slipped, fell into the water and was submerged when her mother arrived.  The mother, not seeing any sign of Ethel, decided that she had changed her mind and gone to play with the neighbour's children.  When she reached the neighbour's house, her daughter was not there, so a search ensued and her body was found in the creek.  Artificial respiration was tried, unsuccessfully.

We were pondering little Ethel's fate, when a man with a couple of dogs came past. "Did you enjoy your night at the pub?" Small towns!  Actually, I think he was sitting outside the pub with his dogs when we arrived.  He told us Cooyar was a great place to live, because there is no Telstra reception there and "it keeps the druggies out"

We told him we were having a great time, drug-free, and headed for the swinging bridge.  Eagle-eyed Jo immediately spotted red-backed fairy wrens and blue wrens flitting about below us.  Tiny and fast-moving, they were the devil to photograph!

By the time we wandered off the bridge, the dogs had moved on and the king parrots had arrived.  The next stop was the memorial park to check out the flood height markers. It sure was a raging torrent.

We dropped in to the shop at the servo (the only business in town) because I was trying to buy local honey, as usual; and because of recent press coverage about honey being bulked up with corn syrup and the like, everyone was sold out.  I had no luck there, because they sell take-away food and that's all.  Cooyar people obviously shop in Yarraman or Crows Nest.  And Crows Nest was where we headed next. It has two coffee shops, and two op shops. Perfect.

PS Did I mention that Cooyar has a lovely digger war memorial?