I met Steve about 3 years ago when I went onto his place to search for
tadpoles and frogs. Steve took more than a casual interest in animals and
soon the conversation got around to birds. When I mentioned owls this was
to be a turning point, and marked the start of a very special relationship.
A few weeks later we went into the bush at night and I showed Steve a Sooty
Owl. He called up a Barking Owl by using a whistle. From that point on Steve
clicked into how to detect owls and within a few more weeks he had found
several Sooty and Powerful Owls.
At this time I encouraged Steve to apply for a grant through catchment management
to fence off the wetlands behind his house and revegetate it for wildlife.
Within a year this project was underway and, as you drive along Illaroo
Road today you can see the results of Steve's efforts. Birds that Steve
recalled as a child have returned to the wetland. Steve's work has changed
the landscape in a positive way.
He was sensitive to his environment and the preservation of wildlife became
a dominant preoccupation. Steve could see that the wonder of nature at Bugong
(north-west Nowra) and other nearby haunts would be lost for future generations
if
decision makers did not wake up to what is being continually destroyed.
The information that Steve shared with me has gone some way in preserving
the area. We published several joint papers on birds.
Steve showed and taught me a great deal. We spent quite a bit of time in
the bush together and I only wish that I had taken the opportunity to spend
more time with him. In particular his observation on nesting owls and parrots:
Steve had located several nests of Glossy Black Cockatoos and Sooty and
Powerful Owls. Just prior to his death he had found a pair of Masked Owls
adjacent to Bangalee Reserve which were probably in the process of nesting.
(These are all listed as Threatened Species by the National Parks and Wildlife
Service).
Steve would sit for hours quietly in the bush and observe owls at their
nest. He rarely called up animals by using whistles and preferred to sit,
wait and watch rather than disturb the birds.
Steve was also involved with the Tapitalllee Creek revegetation project
and actively participated in the fox control program. Steve went from being
a shooter to a conservationist. He realised that the bush where he played
as a child was being carved up and cleared and a quality of life was being
lost to urban sprawl.
Steve leaves behind a wife, Jackie, and daughter Kayla. His contribution
to the local community was that of a humble man. He will sadly be missed,
but his community will remember him by the trees he planted.
Gary Daly