Living and Birding Gratitude: Every Tattoo Tells A Story

As I mentioned in the 23 May blog post, The only bird that I remembered from reading the Torres Strait chapter of Sean Dooley’s book, “The Big Twitch” was the Red-capped Flowerpecker. When I first read it, I had never heard of a Red-capped Flowerpecker. Nor did I ever dream that I would see one on the same island that he did up in the Torres Strait off Papua New Guinea. But I did and now I have the ink.

Old skin, new ink. My left arm this week. Such great birds, such wonderful memories.

Tattoos are an integral part of my Gonzo birding experience. Full stop. I got my first bird ink in August 2018. It was for Amytornis barbatus, Black Grasswren (I actually know how to spell that without looking). It was my 700th bird in Australia. My Aussie list is now at 784. I do hope to reach 800 before I am done, but those last sixteen won’t be easy.

Top, Gonzo Birder and a Booby (Red-footed) and the first tattoo. In truth, this was second as it covered the first tattoo of Amytornis barbatus with Grey Grasswren feathers.

All of my tattoos are on my arms. I want them where I can see them and easily show them to people if I want. They are wonderful, permanent reminders of joyous times in my life. I can glance down at the Letter-winged Kite tattoo on my right forearm and remember the moment I saw it perched on a fence in Terrick Terrick NP in Victoria and knew for sure that it was not a Black-shouldered Kite. I can reach back in time and touch that moment by looking at the tattoo.

On a side note, that bird illustration was done by my dear friend, the talented Paul Riss. Paul was also the inspiration for me to begin to get bird ink. He has heaps of Latin bird name tattoos. At this writing, I have 23 birds and I am not finished yet.

Looking at the tattoo of Princess Parrots in a tree (from David Adam’s photo) can take me far out into the North Gibson Desert where I first beheld the pastel parrot porn of Polytelis alexandrea. I can see those birds as well as the campground at Jupiter Well. That whole wonderful area out there is “... about as far from anywhere as you can go and still be on Earth” to quote Sean Dooley from the Big Twitch. I loved it out there.

As Gonzo as it gets at Jupiter Well camping area (non-alcoholic beer there)

Princess Parrots when they were new. Ink does age and spread a bit.

I can look down at the name, Ficedula mugimaki and be back on Cocos Island on the grass staring into the foliage to see that beautiful flycatcher as it flitted about. It was the same spot where I got excellent looks at an Eyebrowed Thrush. Its name, Turdus obscurus, is also on my skin.

There is Ficedula mugimai above the Rufous Scrubbird (another great memory)

Yes, I can tell you stories of every bird on my arms. They are all birds I have seen in Australia and are all very special to me, special enough to be made a permanent a part of me. I have already written about them somewhere. Whether on social media, in this blog, or in my books (which were based on these blog posts). So I will stop writing and look through my photos for which pictures to use to accompany the words. Here are some photos of my birder ink.