Damn those Know-All Bird-People!!!

OK, it's funny but it didn't seem so at the time.

Here's what happened:  there's this most incredible and beautiful bird that has begun to hang around Baby Jane's place since Cyclone Yasi and because I'd never seen anything like it before, I spent days trying to get a photo of it - and finally succeeded to take this one ...

... which is actually better than the official and professional shots of it, so I'll be defending the copyright with my life ...

- simply so I could play One-upmanship with all those know-all-seen-all bird-watching people in my life. You know who you are!!!

Anyway I sent a taunting e-mail to the various Bird-Crazy Folk I know saying "I've taken a photo of this most rare and amazingly beautiful bird but you'll have to wait until I get back to HK before I send you the photo. I have no intention of telling you what it is, in the meantime, so ... SUFFER!!!"

Richard wrote back. "You've seen a Wompoo Fruit Dove."

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I didn't know the bird's name, hoping it was too rare for inclusion in any ordinary bird-book, but I looked up the name he mentioned...

 

Not my photo.

Mine is MUCH better!

... and he was exactly right!

Now I'm back down in Townsville I asked him how he guessed so immediately and he said "It had to be something you've never seen before but which is now common around these parts, and the Wompoo Fruit Dove has been driven out of the jungle since Cyclone Yasi destroyed all their habitat and so we're ALL seeing them everyplace."

And yes, I'm now feeling very very stupid ... although I have started to laugh about it but only after several days of really feeling it!

Childish, huh!  But nonetheless a superb bird photographer! Yes?