Thursday April 28; Blue Mountains and Lyrebirds

Today we boarded a train and headed west to Katoomba for a guided bush walk in the Blue Mountains. Our excellent Rangers, Liz and Paula, led us on a 4 hour hike through eucalyptus forest, as well as temperate rainforest at the bottom of Jamieson valley. Highlights included waterfalls, tree ferns known from the Jurassic, cockatoos, amazing vistas and rock formations, and not one, but TWO lyrebirds! These birds are known for their ability to mimic other birds' songs and incorporate them into their own courtship rituals. They also have a mating dance where they display their tail feathers to try to attract the females of the species. We watched them scratch up the soil looking for invertebrates to eat, and observed pilot birds, small individuals of other species that hang around looking for leftovers. It is truly amazing to see one of these birds, but TWO?  It was fate, as we took a path that was not on our original itinerary, and ended up seeing these rare and beautiful animals.