A bird in the hand

By ALEX NELSONDuring most of the 2000s I worked at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden, and two decades ago gained an insight into just how zealous keen birdwatchers and twitchers can be when news spread of sightings of an obscure little bird, the grey honeyeater, at the botanic garden.This was prompted by observations in mid-2005 reported by renowned tourism identity, Barry Bucholtz, who often frequented the Olive Pink Botanic Garden during his terminal illness.The photo above by Mike Gillam shows a family of yellow throated miners, a common honey-eater in Alice Springs gardens.Mr Bucholtz emailed his observations to his bird-watching friends, which prompted numerous people – many traveling from interstate – to visit OPBG, seeking to catch a glimpse of the elusive grey honeyeaters. The effect lingered for about two years.

After Barry's death in 2006, the Olive Pink Botanic Garden established a memorial garden (at right) to acknowledge his role in tourism and interest in birdwatching which had proven of such unexpected benefit to the botanic garden. In November 2007, the Barry Bucholtz Bird-Attracting Garden was officially opened by his wife, Julie Bucholtz, and Libby Prell, then Chairman of the OPBG Board of Trustees.I emailed my thoughts and observations on this subject to Tourism Central Australia and the office for the tourism minister. Upon reading that ACT independent Senator David Pocock has an "encyclopedic knowledge" of birds, I sent him the same email, too.Guess whose office replied? Hint – not from the Northern Territory.As a general observation, it's a great pity that Glen Helen Resort to the west of Alice Springs is closed and Ross River Resort to the east has limited access, as both would be ideal bases for birdwatching visitors to Central Australia.I imagine another venue, the Hamilton Downs Youth Camp, could also cater to this market. For one thing, the road into the youth camp passes through mulga country which I was told a long time ago is a favoured area for twitchers looking for grey honeyeaters.Just a few thoughts!PHOTO below by ALEX NELSON: Emus at Pitchi Richi.NOTE: This story was amended at 5.30pm on the day of its publication.