Cameras are poised, eyes peeled and expectations high as we cruise the water lily-strewn channels of the Yellow Water wetlands in the tropical Top End of the Australian outback. "Brolga on the left," the tour guide announces. All eyes swivel left, toward the graceful gray crane. Cameras click. "Egret just ahead," he calls. More craning (of necks) and pointing of cameras. "Darter, tern, black-necked stork!" The birders in the group are in a state of near ecstasy. The rest of us are biding our time. Ten minutes later we round a corner and the collective cry goes up: "Crocodile!" There's a...
