Seeking the Sauce bird
This week at my park I saw a wildly colourful parrot I didn’t recognise. Excited I snapped a blurry pic and sent it to my bird-knowledgeable friend with a message helpfully describing the plumage as “similar to an eighties tracksuit“.
My friend responded patiently; this was an Eastern Rosella – which, he pointed out, I had been seeing my whole life on the label of the Rosella tomato sauce bottle.
Every day since I have been eagerly looking out for my colourful feathered friend without luck.
It’s funny but through this dot joining I now feel a connection with the sauce bird and I know that when it returns to the park I’ll be very happy to say, hello, welcome back.
First though, some pressing questions;
How many lactobacillus in a tub of yogurt?
How many bee-miles in a jar of honey?
How many kneads in a loaf of bread?
How many turns make a round of brie?
Quantifying our world is such a deep human desire, just like Sesame Street’s eponymously named aristocrat – we love to count (btw see answers to the question below).
Ten years ago a genius at BirdLife Australia put our love of counting together with our love for bird-watching and came up with the Aussie Bird Count.
The idea was simple;
1. choose a nice birdy spot
2. count all the birds you see in 20 minutes
3. submit your results
In 2014 nine thousand keen birders signed up for what would become a citizen science celebration that no one saw coming.
By 2023 60,598 people would count 3.6 million birds covering 597 different species!
Now, if you like counting and would also like to get to know the birds of the Merri Creek a bit better, then join us on Saturday 19th October for the CERES Bird Count Picnic at Joe’s Market Garden in Coburg.
Entry to the Bird Count is free – we’ll be holding two 20 minute counting slots at 11am and 12pm.
There’ll be fresh produce at Joe’s Farm Gate, market stalls, a bird-themed raffle, kids activities, music and more!
We’re also running a couple of bird workshops;
- There’s Bird Language with Emily Coats from Nature’s Apprentice who will share her insights about the different ways birds communicate and work together.
- And you can also join a Guided Bird Walk with Tristan Best from Friends of Merri Creek who will be sharing his 35 years birding experience.
Find out more about CERES Bird Count Picnic here.
And for the workshops places are limited so book early.
We’re closed GF Friday
A finals heads up – we’re closed this coming Friday public holiday – so get your Grand Final crumpet order in early on Thursday or just wait until Saturday when we’ll be back delivering as usual on Grand Final Saturday.
Have a great week
Chris
Answers to this week’s questions:
How many lactobacillus in a tub of yogurt?
A lot, there are approximately 100 billion Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacteria in a 1kg tub of Greek Yoghurt.
How many bee-miles in a jar of honey?
On average a 1kg jar of honey requires around 200,000 miles of bee flights with visits to over 4 million flowers.
How many kneads in a loaf of bread?
According to community baker, Cass Hogan, a typical loaf of her delicious sourdough is kneaded about 250 times.
How many turns make a round of brie?
A round of brie takes about 4 to 5 weeks to mature, to get the white Penicillium mould spread evenly through the cheese it’s turned about 35 times.
