www.katherinetimes.com.au KATHERINE TIMES, WEDNESDAY JULY 2 2014 9

SOME backyards aroundtown have recently had the du-bious pleasure of hosting largenumbers of little corellas.

Little corellas are highly in-telligent birds and it is likelythat one of their motivationsfor roosting in towns is thatthey feel safe away from pred-

ators.In the Katherine region over

the hotter months of the year,young corellas fledge and joingrowing flocks of birds thatgather to feed on seasonallyavailable food sources.

Flocks accumulate at feed-ing sites by a process known as“local enhancement”, wherebybirds flying past will changecourse to join other birds theycan see on the ground.

Once the wet season rainssoften the ground, these flockswill disperse over a wide area,as they are then able to dig forthe bulbs and corms previouslyhidden in hard soil.

A full moon can keep littlecorellas awake and movingaround their roost site, ensur-ing that everyone around themalso gets a rough night’s sleep.

Luckily, these birds typi-cally only start calling at firstlight.

Birds will start to call to oneanother, often finding a treewith exposed branches where

they will bask in the earlymorning sunlight before flyingoff to feed.

Once their bellies are full - aprocess that can take from halfan hour to five hours, depend-ing on abundance of food andwhether there are young tofeed - they return to the roostsite.

Here, they will loaf about,preening, playing and restingduring the warmer parts of theday. They will often resumefeeding later in the day beforesettling in for the eveningaround sunset.

They can be at their mostnoisy around this time, as ifdiscussing the events of the daywith friends and family.

It is illegal to physically in-terfere with native birds andyou must not injure them.

Take heart, however, nextwet season and treat your firstvisiting little corellas to somenoise or flashing lights and bepatient, as they will move oneventually.

Connect to Country with Ranger Clare Do you want to know more about flora, fauna and parks in the Katherine region?‘Like’ Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife on Facebook.

Steamed fish with chilli and lime sauce

Ingredients1 400g fish (eg. barra-mundi, snapper orbream)1 banana leaf (optional)Chopped corianderChilli and lime sauce1-2 coriander rootsPinch of salt2-3 garlic cloves, peeled3-5 bird’s eye chillies ormore, if you wish1 tbsp white sugar3-4 tbsp lime juice1-2 tbsp fish sauce

Method1. Rinse the fish well and

pat dry with paper towel.Score the fish by makingthree or four diagonalslices on each side. Thishelps the fish cook fasterand more evenly.2. Next, make the sauce.Using a pestle and mor-tar, pound the corianderroots to a fine paste withthe salt.3. Add the garlic andchillies and continuepounding to a coarsepaste. Season with thesugar, lime juice and fishsauce. The sauce shouldbe hot, sour, salty and

more than a little sweet -but this can be altered totaste. Transfer the sauceto a small bowl and setaside.4. Place the fish on a ba-nana leaf or heatproofplate and then into asteamer. Steam oversimmering water forabout 15-20 minutes oruntil cooked - the scoredflesh should be opaqueright to the bone.5. Spoon the chilli andlime sauce over the fishand serve sprinkled withchopped coriander.

Rodeos have long been apopular competitor andspectator sport in Australia,but were not run on an or-ganised basis until the1880s.

The National AgriculturalSociety of Victoria ran one ofthe earliest recorded eventsin 1888, when a roughridingcompetition was held at theirannual show.

Original events for rodeoin Australia included buck-jumping (saddle broncs), bul-

lock riding, bulldogging, wild-cow milking, wild bullockraces, wild horse races andreleasing the surcingles.

The 2014 KatherineRodeo will include StationSaddle Bronc, Novice BullRide, Novice Saddle Bronc,Juvenile Barrel Race, JuniorBarrel Race, Open Bull Ride,Open Bull Ride, Open Bare-back, Open Saddle Bron,Ladies Barrel Race, Break-away Roping, Junior SteerRide, Junior Bull Ride andMini Pony Ride events.

The Rodeo is proudlysponsored by many local

businesses.Rodeo nominations for the

Rodeo close on July 11 at4pm.

They must be submittedwith the KDSS waiver,ABCRA waiver and pay-ment.

Working Dog Trials willalso be held at the 2014Katherine Show, on Friday,July 18 and Saturday, July19.

Working Dog Trials aim tofoster, encourage and trainherding dogs in the cattle in-dustry - by providing acourse that simulates a mini

paddock situation with all theskill requirements needed ona working property.

Working Dog Trials at theKatherine Show will be heldin the Rodeo Arena and provide a great spectatorsport for people to be in aweof these hard working ca-nines.

Working Dog Trials will beheld in three classes: BushHandler (for anyone to havea go), Novice (for dogs whohave never won a trial) andOpen (open to all entrants).

Please see the KatherineShow website for specifics.

Nominations close on Fri-day July 11.

Late nomination will be ac-cepted until July 16 but incura $5 fee per dog entered.

Contact the office for moredetails.

Nominations for all eventsare simple.

All forms can be down-loaded from the show web-site and emailed tomail@katherineshow.org.au,faxed to 08 8972 1835 or de-livered to the show officewith payment of fees.

More information online at:www.katherinshow.org.au.

IItt’’ss sshhooww ttiimmee aaggaaiinn ssoooonn ...... JJuullyy 1188--1199

> by CLARE PEARCE

>> lifestyle & home

> By Show OfficerCourtney Golding

Katherine - You are BeautifulProudly sponsored by the Member for Katherine, Willem Westra van Holthe, and The EscarpmentRestaurant on Giles Street, Katherine.

There is plenty to love about Katherine and the surrounding region. Why do you love Katherine? Email: editor.kathtimes@ruralpress.com

Janet Noble, Katherine resident and retailer: “I love the Katherine region because ...”

K AT H E R I N E i sbeautiful because it isa good place to stopand set up to see theTerritory - you’ve gotplaces like Edith Fallsand Mataranka just upor down the road.

There are so manythings to see and lookat around here andKatherine is wellplaced to get to themall.

We moved up herefrom Queensland about18 years ago but wewere here in ‘86 and ‘87when my husbandworked on stage one ofTindal.

After the work fin-ished we went back toQueensland but ourdaughter stayed up here,so we came back uphere for three or fourmonths at a time when it

got too cold.Eventually, we just

decided to move up hereand we’ve been hereever since.

People think I’m madbut I love the wet sea-son, because it’s theonly time we get any rain- I reckon it’s terrific.

The people here arereally friendly andKatherine is a nice littletown.