Double dipping

In Australian political speech "double dipping" is usually when someone whose beliefs don't match yours appears to claim 2 benefits rather than the one to which they may be entitled.  A great example arose with maternity leave where the conservative Government offered a scheme but didn't exclude people already getting benefits from their employer.  The Labour Party, in Opposition, jumped up and down both on general principles because many of their members didn't have the employer benefits.  (There are occasions where all Parties adopt a Nelsonian approach as for example where an MP or Senator - other than those representing the ACT - claims travelling allowance while owning a residence in Canberra.  That's not double dipping that is just claiming your due entitlement.)

In birding it means to miss out on a bird you are looking for.  Sean Dooley gives some extreme examples in Anoraks to Zitting Cisticola.  He describes double dipping as missing out on the same species twice, which is fair enough.  However my effort today was to miss once on each of two desirable species.

Despite that the visit to the gardens was very enjoyable as there were masses of flowers.  I think this is called Spring!  This first specimen is an orchid Dockillia teretifolia.  It is an epiphyte which grows on the Coast of NSW, mainly on Casuarinas.

There were several specimens of Thelychiton (or Dendrobium) speciosum.  The difference between the genera is that the former grows on rock and the latter on trees.  These used to be common on the Bega River.

One of the dippee bird species was Scarlet Honeyeater (now known by some taxonomists as Scarlet Myzomela).  They were seen a couple of days ago in the Grevillea area of the gardens. 

Not today, although there were many honeyeaters around the area, including this cloacal eastern Spinebill.

As we wended our way up to the area where the second species  - Olive Whistler - had been seen we passed several Waratahs (Telopea speciosissima). They still flower on even though NSW can't win a State of Origin series and has no teams in either of the Grand Finals this weekend.

No Olive Whistler, but a Common Bronzewing did flash its bronze wing.

In the Spring a Crimson Rosella's thoughts turn to perpetuating the species and these two were hard at work to that end.  I couldn't work out if the male was flapping its wings to maintain balance or for some other reason but it would not add to its personal survival if a Goshawk had been in the vicinity!