On Father's Day, I specifically left home to find a Rockwarbler (aka Origma), with my wife and son in tow. Not long after parking at Wishing Well in Morton NP, we ambled down to Beachamp Cliffs and Bonnie View to immerse ourselves in the intoxicating panorama there that can awaken all of us if we allow it.
Two Rockwarblers revealed themselves between BC & BV. One of the pair called incessantly, its fine bill opening wide with each series of shrill yawps. I was stoked - I'd not encountered a Rockwarbler in the Southern Highlands before (although they're around here and there). The bird is a NSW endemic, restricted to sandstone/limestone escarpment country within about 200km of Sydney.
In the late 90s (when I was living briefly on Sydney's North Shore) I found a Rockwarbler asleep under a sandstone overhang near The Sphinx monument in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, whilst I was searching for the unmistakable Red-crowned Toadlet (listed as 'vulnerable' by NSW DEC). My torch beam didn't startle the Rockwarbler. The bird seemed a breathing metaphor for solace.
LJ, September 8 2011
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