Trips

Busan to Broome

September 18, 2011 by Clare M 2 Comments

Well, as you read this I will be sitting on an aeroplane heading from Busan to Hong Kong to Sydney….time to go home! I have a day in Sydney with my sister and family and then go home to Broome…..hopefully not delayed by the threat of a Qantas baggage handlers strike starting Tuesday morning as I try to fly north-west.

I joined everyone else with a phone accessory!

This really has been a good place to visit as far as cities go, as I am not a “city girl” and shops don’t excite me….but the fact that all within the city limits are so many high peaks that can’t be built on and where birds still thrive is just great! On top of that there is the Nakdong River and there is still birdlife despite all the industry and pollution. I think of when I fly into Sydney or Perth and all the houses spread for miles and miles and everyone wanting a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a pool….the birds are pushed out. I have never seen so many tall buildings, but at least it leaves some very large green areas and the best thing is that they are utilized. Everywhere I have hiked around the city there have been single women, couples, groups of hikers and very little rubbish is dropped. I feel like they really do like to be with nature here and the government appears supportive with exercise equipment on top of hills and the tracks are maintained well.

Toilets are well located in parks and cheerful!

I am proud to say that I have managed to see over 60 species of birds in my 6 weeks in Busan and that is a lot more than I had expected. Some birds you see every day and others you only see once, but they are all special in their own way as they survive within the boundaries of such a large city. Birds are no doubt in decline in all cities around the world as human populations increase and feral birds thrive, so we should all appreciate what we see every day wherever we are. I will go home and look at all of the thousands of shorebirds in Roebuck Bay that have just returned from north of here and I will realise just how lucky we are to have so many birds so close to home.

A lone Terek Sandpiper in Busan….they will be waiting for me in the hundreds in Broome!

I haven’t just seen birds, but the most amazing butterflies, red squirrels, chipmunks and even a deer….all surviving in forests so close to so many people.

I have had a good time exploring. We will have plenty more news to share from home as our Pied Oystercatchers are all on round two of trying to hatch a clutch of eggs along the beaches around Broome……thanks to our friends that have kept an eye out for us in our absence!

The mystery of an egg with no markings

The big mystery is that one of our pairs of Pied Oystercatchers has laid a white egg….anyone heard of our seen that before????

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!