My inaugural foreign birding was a work trip to Spain in March 1999. Armed with some info from the new fangled “world wide web” and Dave Gosney’s guide, I spent some time on the plains of the Rio Salor near Caceres. I highlight of that trip was finding both of the European species of Bustard, Little and Great Bustard. The latter became one of my favourite birds. They are endangered in Europe because they rely on rural plains with low intensity agriculture. As such they are now restricted to places like Extremadura in Spain, and Eastern Europe. In Britain they are extinct — or at least they were until a reintroduction program tried to bring them back to Salisbury Plain, one of the few spots in Britain that hasn’t become an agri-desert because instead it’s a bombing range for the MoD.
Just a few months after that initial trip I went back with Steve Young, and we stalked a flock of 6-7 on the same plains (trip report). A dangerous highlight of that first trip came as we tore down the motorway on the way back to Madrid listening to the magic sound of Great Bustard in display (listen here). I still smile when I hear it, but that day Steve — who was driving — was doubled over in stitches as he swerved across the road at 120km/h.
Then I observed them quite close to Madrid Airport at a place called Valdetorres de Jarama in 2002 near Madrid (trip report), and I even saw them ball-of-feathers displaying in Austria at Neusiedlersee on the far western edge the great Hungarian plain on a 2 day post conference trip in 2006 (trip report).
Little Bustard 
Great Bustard
Steve and I dipped on Houbara Bustard in Morocco (trip report) and I also dipped on Bengal Florican at Kaziranga in December 2016 (a brief pre-conference sortie that I have shamefully never written up). Consequently Australian Bustard became one of my most wanted Australian birds, maybe even my most wanted. Numerous trips to the outback over the last 6 years have failed to yield a sighting, nor had 3 dedicated twitches to Hindmarsh Island, the mallee east of Murray Bridge, and the Adelaide Plains near Bowmans.
After a stellar 2018 with a trip of a lifetime to West Papua in July, I’ve hardly done any birding in 2019. Local birding has held fewer riches and I’ve not had any trips planned, so I’ve been spending more time out on my bike up in the hills and down to the beach, and much less time birding.
Sunday morning, though, when I woke up for my bike ride I had a sore throat and it was 2 degrees outside. Knock that on the head! But it was sunny and Nikki and Lou were going shopping. I really should do some birding. After doing some chores I headed off very late morning down the South Eastern Freeway, destination undecided, but probably Monarto, Tolderol or Clayton Bay, or maybe Middleton for some whales.
En route I received a message from Paul Coddington that a Bustard had been found on the road into Tolderol. My mind was of course immediately made up. I bombed down to Langhorne Creek and then along Dog Lake Rd. I kept an eye out for stray bustards but reached the Tolderol gate without seeing anything so turned around and headed north again. Fortunately about a km beyond Mosquito Creek Rd I saw a car suspiciously parked on the verge and as I crawled past spied a familiar face, Teresa Jack. I scanned but still couldn’t see anything, but Teresa directed me to some decrepit looking corn where on closer inspection I could see a head poking out!
After about half an hour it stood up and walked slightly away but giving much better views.
Over the next couple of hours I waited around for it to show better, eventually getting great views when it came into the open. Yay!
