July 1, 2024 • 21 mins
This is something out of your nightmares... Anonymous sits down with Art, not only must she uncover what she is concealing, but she almost must reveal the identity of the hooded figured sitting across from her.
Her only clue? Birds of a feather flock together. Who is Anonymous, and what are they concealing?
Check it out on the socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/concealedwithartsimone/
Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@concealedwithartsimone
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Are you ready to meet someone weird?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We'll get to that bit soon, but now it's time
to faught over me.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm the Gordo's at Simone, and being ridiculously good looking
isn't the.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Only thing I'm good at.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm shockingly good at uncovering who people really are, whether
it's a naughty little secret or something that they're into
that's very strange. I will uncover what they're concealing. This
is concealed. But met Simone. All right, let's not drag
on any longer.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Rall that time?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Hello, Simone and someone you know. You know me very well,
except there's one thing that I've been concealing from you.
I have a skill that some people consider that I
am the best in the world are So not only
do you have to guess what I'm concealing, but you
need to guess who I am.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
This is cook, Oh my god, this is a horror film.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Okay, So I guess we're doing things differently here this week.
My guest this week is anonymous. So far I don't
know who they are. I can't see them. What I
have in front of me is a hooded and masked
figure scarily looking at me. Across from the studio. I
only see two little eye holes, but I can't see
(01:39):
beyond them. I see a little flash of a reflection
from a pupil every now and then, but I'm very,
very worried and confused, and I don't know what they
sound like because we've got a voice changer on them
as well. So that's what's sitting in front of me.
But the way we do things that conceal it is
I'm going to ask our guests three questions, and from
the answers from the three questions, I need to work
(02:01):
out not only what they're concealing, but.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Also how the hell they are.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So guest, anonymous figure, scary horror movie person, The first
question I have for you is do I know you
from this special skill?
Speaker 4 (02:18):
You know me through one of my skills, but the
one I'm concealing is much more unusual, and no one
would believe the two can work together.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Okay, all right, so I know you from a different skill. Okay,
two different skill. No one would believe the two could
work together. Okay, so the one there, I know you
from one skill, but this world's best skill is something else.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Question number two, anonymous figure, how long have you been
working on this best in the world skill.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I've been perfecting this skill for many years. In fact,
when I was running around in nature working on it,
you were busy listening to my chemical romance and learning
the drums as an instant teenager.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
This is getting creepy. I don't like this. Am I
able to leave? Can I quit this episode? Can we
end now? When I was a teenager, you were running
around in nature perfecting whatever this skill is. Okay, nature?
Oh I could be on on the Maybe you are
a landscaper. Maybe you work for Jim's mowing and you've
(03:28):
been doing it since I was fifteen. Okay, okay, all right,
final question? Then, a final question I have for you?
Is you say that I know you? Do we have
a relationship you? Or are you someone I know of?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Birds of a feather flock together?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Okay, all right, okay, birds of it?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Okay, So you must be a drag queen or something
related to that, because or you could be you have
to be a drag queen. I don't know anyone else
other than drag queens. I don't have many friends or acquaintances.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Oh, this is tough. Okay, let's look at our facts.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
I know you from something and something that I do
as well, So it has to be drag or performing
or just being really sexy. Maybe it's that being sexy people.
And all right, so you've been doing this your best skill,
the best in the world's good, been working on since
I was a teenager, so that was, oh, good luck.
(04:30):
Over a decade, am I twenty eight? Yep, that's definitely me,
all right. And Birds of a Feather okay, So I
mean I've got nothing, so I'm just gonna do a
wild guess. I'm going to say that birds of a
Feather Okay, you are. It's the thirtieth anniversary of Priscilla. Okay,
(04:53):
so let's go Priscilla. Oh my god, I'm going to
say that you are Hugo Weaving and you know how
to drive bus.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Hi.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
My name is etcetera, etcetera, and I'm an internationally recognized
drag artist. I know Aunt Simone from season one of
Ruffle's Drag Race down Under. But what she might not
know about me is as a teenager, I was an
avid twitcher, which is the colloquial term for a bird watcher.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh no, it's not a Hugo Weaving from the film Priscilla.
It's my good friend, it't citra e cra How does
she hide this from me? And she twitches? Well, I've
always noticed a little twitch, but this is a big twitch.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
But how does she do it?
Speaker 6 (05:45):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
All right, so we're not here with Hugo Weaving.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
In fact, it is my drag sister, miss et cetera,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Hello, Dowling, how are you?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Ah?
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Hi on?
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I hope I'm a welcome surprise.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
I hope.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
I just thought you have a successful podcast, though I
want to slice to the pie and I've come crawling in.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Well, look, I do have issue because you've done me
up in look the looks department. You've done very well
with the way you look. But luckily, for a lot
of our listeners, they're just listening. So would you like
to describe how beautiful you look right now?
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Though?
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Yeah, I look really beautiful and stunning and gorgeous. I'm
wearing a large asparagus green vig Yes, I smell a
little like asparagus too, really, And I'm wearing a beautiful
multicolored Gingham velvet blazer set with a neon green bias binding.
That matches my acrylic nails that I have perfectly applied.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And they are absolutely stunning. So so yeah, look, when
they said drag queen, I was hoping it would be
you because they could have, you know, paired me up
with some dog that I don't actually like, and they
thought I locked because I'm really good at faking everything.
So it is a happy surprise to see you here
today in front of me.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Oh, you could sound a bit more genuine. It is
a happy surprise. Yeah, No, it's great to be here.
I've been waiting for this day to jump scare you
on your own podcast, and here we are.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Boom, here we are.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
So you've been concealing a talent from me that I
had no idea about. And I feel like I know
a lot about you and I've not heard about this.
And when you first said Twitcher, let's clarify that's nothing
to do with the platform Twitch, in which people stream
gaming on low on.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I'm not a nerd, so I don't know what that is. No,
I'm joking because my special skill is actually potentially the
most nerdy thing about me. It is the most the
most uncool thing about me, and yet the most exciting.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I was going to say, are you comfortable to share
this with the world, because I think it's really going
to paint you in a different light.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Well, I was rather going to share this. I'm going
to release my sex tape online, and I thought that
this would be slightly better for myself and my mum
probably won't get mad at me. No, my skill set
is far more tame. It's actually something most people would
not ever think about in their entire lives.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
So tell us about twitching.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
When we're not talking about involuntary convulsions, we're talking about
what is that identifying bird sounds.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
So twitching is the colloquial term for people in the know,
for bird watchers and people who enjoy orthonology, which is
the study of birds. Twitching is the informal name given
to people that like to meet up on weekends, go
out and spot a few birds in the wild, have
a drummage for a few turkeys in the bush, if
(09:04):
you pardon the expression. Yeah, So I was a twitter
as a teenager. I'd go out to the bush with
groups of men in their late early sixties and I'd
just have a look through some binoculars for different kinds
of bird. Species. I'd wander through the paths of wonder
in my local botanical gardens, hoping to catch a wren
or a robin or maybe even a rooster.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I feel like I've watched a documentary on this exact thing.
So're you hanging out with old men in the forest.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Yeah, I mean they were young at heart, but you're
an old soul. My grandfather used to accompany me to
make it less weird, and I'd tag along with him,
so he'd be like, he'd pretend he was more into birds,
so I would go with him, but he's actually scared
of birds. So, I mean, the things that people that
you love do for you.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So what sparked this interest of bird watching and twitching.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
I didn't have many friends growing up, so a lot
of time outside just kind of wandering around in the forest.
Now I'm not even joking, this is exactly how. And
I used to see the birds flitting from tree to
tree and just thought, Wow, they've got something going on
that I'd like to have you know some knowledge about.
And I remember I bought a little field guide of
(10:18):
birds Australian native birds, and I was like, you know what.
By the end of the year, I'm gonna I want
to have seen every single one, and I set myself
a goal and it kind of turned into a full
blown obsession.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Did the birds take over your lof you know it was?
Was it all about the birds for a bit?
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It was so about the birds that would I was
carrying around a fueld guide with me, like to and
from school to and from like everything I did. My
parents would have to take it away from me before
I went to sleep. Like I would be up at
night looking through my windows with binoculars hoping to catch
a night jar or a powerful owl or some species
(10:56):
of that nature. It was really affecting my life. Probably, Yeah,
obsession is the right word.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Would you say this is almost like Pokemon, but in
real life because you were going through your field book
trying what happens when you find one? You just tick
it off a list? Do you go and pluck a feather?
Do you record the audio to prove that you heard
it or saw it?
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Well, people just have to kind of take your word
for it. But I did have this big almost like
a spreadsheet printed out onto paper with all of the species,
and I'd write down the time of the sighting, the
date of the siding and the location, and then I
could go back and flick through and have a look
and reminisce about all the good times I spent with
all of my bird friends.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
The bird sounds always the same? Or is there a
differentiation from bird to bird but on the same species.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Would you say, oh, bird sounds are so different. You
would not believe the variety of sounds that birds can make,
and even within the species, from juveniles to adults, from
male to female birds. And I used to be really good.
I used to be so good that I used to
be able to identify, like whether it was a young
(12:07):
bird or an old bird, or whether it was a
bird starting its migration or finishing its migration. These days,
I've been in the concrete jungle for a while. Now,
I reckon I can do species. That's what I've got
under my belt.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yet would you have to I don't know YouTube to
know what sounds you listen for, or because they can't
write in a field book, you know cocal like is
there a different spelling on how to describe the sounds?
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Or that's where you're so wrong art? And I wouldn't
I wouldn't blame you as a as a novice in
this field. But there there are phonetic spellings different joke, Yes,
in the field, guy, there's phonetic spellings like a.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
You know, like they.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Spell it t W I T with a little like
little lats or anything, or it's just a wash with lauch.
Oh way, Yeah, it's really They've almost built another language
for me.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Top. And I didn't just listen. I spoke back. I
would know you're not hearing me, I would I learned
the language of the birds. Wow, so fluently?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Could you have conversations with them?
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Well, he's actually a funny story. When I was in
primary school, I was in year six and I had
not many friends because I'd repeated year six, that boring story.
Who cares? But I would spend all of my lunchtimes
on the school oval and bird watching, of course, and
there was this little pod of magpis that would gather
every lunchtime and kind of scuttle around, and I started
(13:39):
talking to them, you know, giving them at Oh.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That's actually very good.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Yeah. I used to be better before my voice broke.
But you know, birds don't go through puberty apparently. Anyway.
I would sing to the magpies and feed them little worms,
and they used to come up to me and we'd
have little conversations and hang out at lunchtime. It was
all great until one day I was sitting in class
and I heard a tapping on classroom window and all
of the magpies were outside the window tapping. And then
they one day they came into the school corridors and
(14:07):
started tracking me down to find me in the classroom.
And after that I was banned from speaking to the magpies.
Oh yeah, because yeah, I really, I kind of like
indoctrinated them a bit, and I think I made them
dependent on me like some big mother bird.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Could you give me because I'm just so impressed by
your magpie, could you give me a couple of other
bird noises for me?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
I could give you. Okay, let me give you a
yellowtail black cockatook Okay wait wowow okay is that one?
(14:50):
I've got an eastern whip bird Okay, okay, okay. Oh,
I'll do a lie bird, but I'll do a liarbird
that is copying me. Hi, my name's etcetera, etcetera. That's
what a liarbird would say if it was around me.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And what would a libird sound like copying you doing
an Eastern whip thing.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Probably that they actually make chainsaw noises and everything. It's
kind of crazy. You can be in the bush and
you just hear like a chainsaw running and you're like, well,
they're coming to get me.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
So has there been any moments in your life where
your special skill has come in handy as a twitter?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
No, except for this moment right here.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Well, actually, the only moments that I think it has
been good is kind of like at a party, you
do an ice breaker to get to know people and
hopefully get them to like you. When I meet someone
at a party and I want them to leave me
alone immediately, I just start talking about it. Hey, do
you know what I was a teen interested in birds?
Do you want me to do some bird calls for you?
Suddenly know what to be seen? It's perfect.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
So I want to clarify something because in your introduction
you did say you were the best at the world this.
Now do you officially hold this title or are we
just leaning into your own delusion?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
I would say I would say out of those in
the world who do it, there, I would be fairly good.
If you put us all in a room together, I
would be one of the one of the top hundreds.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
What this sounds like, sounds like you've lied on your
resime just to get on the podcast.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
Is this true? Well, you did ask me to impersonate
a liar bird, didn't you? And I'm a bird that lies.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
So you haven't stayed in the field of bird watching
and you know bird calls. You've moved into a different career,
which I don't know if I'm outing you here, but
is drag You are a drag queen?
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Oh my god? How could you tell?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Do you.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Think there's any crossover there's been any crossover for you? Like,
have you been able to identify drag queens squawking down
Oxford Street? Or is there any kind of integration between
the two industries.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I mean, to be honest, most drag queens are too
broke to afford nice feathers, So normally I'm just seeing
a chicken or a maraboo strutting around, which isn't the
most exciting bird.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Look.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
To be honest, it's all color and movement. It's all
color and movement, And I think I've become the bird,
like a magpie or a little bower bird collects little
trinkets and things for their nest to increase the chances
of being able to find a mate. I collect little
things so I can increase my chances of maybe one
(17:48):
day owning property in Sydney. Yeah, and that's that's my version.
One day I will be a bird enough to buy
a house.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
I want to put your claims to the two because
I still don't believe any of this. All right, So
what I'm going to be doing is playing some bird
noises for you, and you have to identify what bird is.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Can you do that? Oh?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Absolutely, Yeah, I'm fully prepared. I've got it. I've got
it on lock.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Okay, all right, first bird sound effect?
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Oh okay, now let me tell you what that is.
You may not know it from my earlier impression, but
that's an Eastern whipper.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
That is an Eastern whip bird.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Okay, you've got that one one down, all right, Yeah,
you can still have your claim to fame.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Sound number two.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Here we go. Yep. You'd think that was my knees
when I stand up, but that's actually a ganggang cocka.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Okay, that is correct.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I also would have accepted one of the fung guy
people from the last of us, the clickers would accepted that.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
Yeah, it's good.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Okay. Bird three? What's that?
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I believe that would be a magpie?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Wrong?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
Was it currawong?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Wrong?
Speaker 5 (19:17):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
That's a noisy fryer bird.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
That's a noisy fryer bird.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Oh okay, you've got two out of three so far.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I've said that ain't bad. Bird number four okay.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, I don't like that one.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
What's that home? I think that might be? Is that
a musk duck? No, this is going really well for me.
Wait what is that?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's a cassillary?
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Oh see it.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Also sounded a bit like an e because the emos
do that same.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
Little never got near one of those.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Oh so you didn't collect them in your book?
Speaker 5 (20:05):
Well, not many of them down in Canberra.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Well okay, okay, this is the break up.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
This is what's going to define whether you are in
the world's best or you're a cheap phony.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
It's our final one.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
Okay, are you ready?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Here we go me? What bird was that?
Speaker 5 (20:24):
Is that? Road runner? I'm the best, I'm the best
in the world.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Okay, et cetera. C keep your claim to fame as
the best in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
At twitching. Oh well done.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
How do you feel that actually stressed me out? I'm
in that stressed ages. I can't believe it.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Wow, well you maybe I believe you a little bit now,
maybe just a bit.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Well, you know what, Thank you, because but my childhood
without friends to be able to correctly identify some birds
and maybe one day we can go bird watching together.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
That we'd lovely take me out into the forest with
some old men.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
I was trying so hard not to laugh under that, Mars,
that was the hardest part not to laugh.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
You've been listening to an iHeart Australia production can seal
it with art Simone.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Listen to more of what
Speaker 1 (21:32):
You love on iHeart and if you're fond of a
two faced twitch, check us out on the socials.
Are you ready to meet someone weird?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We'll get to that bit soon, but now it's time
to faught over me.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm the Gordo's at Simone, and being ridiculously good looking
isn't the.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Only thing I'm good at.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm shockingly good at uncovering who people really are, whether
it's a naughty little secret or something that they're into
that's very strange. I will uncover what they're concealing. This
is concealed. But met Simone. All right, let's not drag
on any longer.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Rall that time?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Hello, Simone and someone you know. You know me very well,
except there's one thing that I've been concealing from you.
I have a skill that some people consider that I
am the best in the world are So not only
do you have to guess what I'm concealing, but you
need to guess who I am.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
This is cook, Oh my god, this is a horror film.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Okay, So I guess we're doing things differently here this week.
My guest this week is anonymous. So far I don't
know who they are. I can't see them. What I
have in front of me is a hooded and masked
figure scarily looking at me. Across from the studio. I
only see two little eye holes, but I can't see
(01:39):
beyond them. I see a little flash of a reflection
from a pupil every now and then, but I'm very,
very worried and confused, and I don't know what they
sound like because we've got a voice changer on them
as well. So that's what's sitting in front of me.
But the way we do things that conceal it is
I'm going to ask our guests three questions, and from
the answers from the three questions, I need to work
(02:01):
out not only what they're concealing, but.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Also how the hell they are.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So guest, anonymous figure, scary horror movie person, The first
question I have for you is do I know you
from this special skill?
Speaker 4 (02:18):
You know me through one of my skills, but the
one I'm concealing is much more unusual, and no one
would believe the two can work together.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Okay, all right, so I know you from a different skill. Okay,
two different skill. No one would believe the two could
work together. Okay, so the one there, I know you
from one skill, but this world's best skill is something else.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Question number two, anonymous figure, how long have you been
working on this best in the world skill.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I've been perfecting this skill for many years. In fact,
when I was running around in nature working on it,
you were busy listening to my chemical romance and learning
the drums as an instant teenager.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
This is getting creepy. I don't like this. Am I
able to leave? Can I quit this episode? Can we
end now? When I was a teenager, you were running
around in nature perfecting whatever this skill is. Okay, nature?
Oh I could be on on the Maybe you are
a landscaper. Maybe you work for Jim's mowing and you've
(03:28):
been doing it since I was fifteen. Okay, okay, all right,
final question? Then, a final question I have for you?
Is you say that I know you? Do we have
a relationship you? Or are you someone I know of?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Birds of a feather flock together?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Okay, all right, okay, birds of it?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Okay, So you must be a drag queen or something
related to that, because or you could be you have
to be a drag queen. I don't know anyone else
other than drag queens. I don't have many friends or acquaintances.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Oh, this is tough. Okay, let's look at our facts.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
I know you from something and something that I do
as well, So it has to be drag or performing
or just being really sexy. Maybe it's that being sexy people.
And all right, so you've been doing this your best skill,
the best in the world's good, been working on since
I was a teenager, so that was, oh, good luck.
(04:30):
Over a decade, am I twenty eight? Yep, that's definitely me,
all right. And Birds of a Feather okay, So I
mean I've got nothing, so I'm just gonna do a
wild guess. I'm going to say that birds of a
Feather Okay, you are. It's the thirtieth anniversary of Priscilla. Okay,
(04:53):
so let's go Priscilla. Oh my god, I'm going to
say that you are Hugo Weaving and you know how
to drive bus.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Hi.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
My name is etcetera, etcetera, and I'm an internationally recognized
drag artist. I know Aunt Simone from season one of
Ruffle's Drag Race down Under. But what she might not
know about me is as a teenager, I was an
avid twitcher, which is the colloquial term for a bird watcher.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh no, it's not a Hugo Weaving from the film Priscilla.
It's my good friend, it't citra e cra How does
she hide this from me? And she twitches? Well, I've
always noticed a little twitch, but this is a big twitch.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
But how does she do it?
Speaker 6 (05:45):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
All right, so we're not here with Hugo Weaving.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
In fact, it is my drag sister, miss et cetera,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Hello, Dowling, how are you?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Ah?
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Hi on?
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I hope I'm a welcome surprise.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
I hope.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
I just thought you have a successful podcast, though I
want to slice to the pie and I've come crawling in.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Well, look, I do have issue because you've done me
up in look the looks department. You've done very well
with the way you look. But luckily, for a lot
of our listeners, they're just listening. So would you like
to describe how beautiful you look right now?
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Though?
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Yeah, I look really beautiful and stunning and gorgeous. I'm
wearing a large asparagus green vig Yes, I smell a
little like asparagus too, really, And I'm wearing a beautiful
multicolored Gingham velvet blazer set with a neon green bias binding.
That matches my acrylic nails that I have perfectly applied.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And they are absolutely stunning. So so yeah, look, when
they said drag queen, I was hoping it would be
you because they could have, you know, paired me up
with some dog that I don't actually like, and they
thought I locked because I'm really good at faking everything.
So it is a happy surprise to see you here
today in front of me.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Oh, you could sound a bit more genuine. It is
a happy surprise. Yeah, No, it's great to be here.
I've been waiting for this day to jump scare you
on your own podcast, and here we are.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Boom, here we are.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
So you've been concealing a talent from me that I
had no idea about. And I feel like I know
a lot about you and I've not heard about this.
And when you first said Twitcher, let's clarify that's nothing
to do with the platform Twitch, in which people stream
gaming on low on.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I'm not a nerd, so I don't know what that is. No,
I'm joking because my special skill is actually potentially the
most nerdy thing about me. It is the most the
most uncool thing about me, and yet the most exciting.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I was going to say, are you comfortable to share
this with the world, because I think it's really going
to paint you in a different light.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Well, I was rather going to share this. I'm going
to release my sex tape online, and I thought that
this would be slightly better for myself and my mum
probably won't get mad at me. No, my skill set
is far more tame. It's actually something most people would
not ever think about in their entire lives.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
So tell us about twitching.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
When we're not talking about involuntary convulsions, we're talking about
what is that identifying bird sounds.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
So twitching is the colloquial term for people in the know,
for bird watchers and people who enjoy orthonology, which is
the study of birds. Twitching is the informal name given
to people that like to meet up on weekends, go
out and spot a few birds in the wild, have
a drummage for a few turkeys in the bush, if
(09:04):
you pardon the expression. Yeah, So I was a twitter
as a teenager. I'd go out to the bush with
groups of men in their late early sixties and I'd
just have a look through some binoculars for different kinds
of bird. Species. I'd wander through the paths of wonder
in my local botanical gardens, hoping to catch a wren
or a robin or maybe even a rooster.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I feel like I've watched a documentary on this exact thing.
So're you hanging out with old men in the forest.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Yeah, I mean they were young at heart, but you're
an old soul. My grandfather used to accompany me to
make it less weird, and I'd tag along with him,
so he'd be like, he'd pretend he was more into birds,
so I would go with him, but he's actually scared
of birds. So, I mean, the things that people that
you love do for you.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So what sparked this interest of bird watching and twitching.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
I didn't have many friends growing up, so a lot
of time outside just kind of wandering around in the forest.
Now I'm not even joking, this is exactly how. And
I used to see the birds flitting from tree to
tree and just thought, Wow, they've got something going on
that I'd like to have you know some knowledge about.
And I remember I bought a little field guide of
(10:18):
birds Australian native birds, and I was like, you know what.
By the end of the year, I'm gonna I want
to have seen every single one, and I set myself
a goal and it kind of turned into a full
blown obsession.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Did the birds take over your lof you know it was?
Was it all about the birds for a bit?
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It was so about the birds that would I was
carrying around a fueld guide with me, like to and
from school to and from like everything I did. My
parents would have to take it away from me before
I went to sleep. Like I would be up at
night looking through my windows with binoculars hoping to catch
a night jar or a powerful owl or some species
(10:56):
of that nature. It was really affecting my life. Probably, Yeah,
obsession is the right word.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Would you say this is almost like Pokemon, but in
real life because you were going through your field book
trying what happens when you find one? You just tick
it off a list? Do you go and pluck a feather?
Do you record the audio to prove that you heard
it or saw it?
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Well, people just have to kind of take your word
for it. But I did have this big almost like
a spreadsheet printed out onto paper with all of the species,
and I'd write down the time of the sighting, the
date of the siding and the location, and then I
could go back and flick through and have a look
and reminisce about all the good times I spent with
all of my bird friends.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
The bird sounds always the same? Or is there a
differentiation from bird to bird but on the same species.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Would you say, oh, bird sounds are so different. You
would not believe the variety of sounds that birds can make,
and even within the species, from juveniles to adults, from
male to female birds. And I used to be really good.
I used to be so good that I used to
be able to identify, like whether it was a young
(12:07):
bird or an old bird, or whether it was a
bird starting its migration or finishing its migration. These days,
I've been in the concrete jungle for a while. Now,
I reckon I can do species. That's what I've got
under my belt.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yet would you have to I don't know YouTube to
know what sounds you listen for, or because they can't
write in a field book, you know cocal like is
there a different spelling on how to describe the sounds?
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Or that's where you're so wrong art? And I wouldn't
I wouldn't blame you as a as a novice in
this field. But there there are phonetic spellings different joke, Yes,
in the field, guy, there's phonetic spellings like a.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
You know, like they.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Spell it t W I T with a little like
little lats or anything, or it's just a wash with lauch.
Oh way, Yeah, it's really They've almost built another language
for me.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Top. And I didn't just listen. I spoke back. I
would know you're not hearing me, I would I learned
the language of the birds. Wow, so fluently?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Could you have conversations with them?
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Well, he's actually a funny story. When I was in
primary school, I was in year six and I had
not many friends because I'd repeated year six, that boring story.
Who cares? But I would spend all of my lunchtimes
on the school oval and bird watching, of course, and
there was this little pod of magpis that would gather
every lunchtime and kind of scuttle around, and I started
(13:39):
talking to them, you know, giving them at Oh.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That's actually very good.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Yeah. I used to be better before my voice broke.
But you know, birds don't go through puberty apparently. Anyway.
I would sing to the magpies and feed them little worms,
and they used to come up to me and we'd
have little conversations and hang out at lunchtime. It was
all great until one day I was sitting in class
and I heard a tapping on classroom window and all
of the magpies were outside the window tapping. And then
they one day they came into the school corridors and
(14:07):
started tracking me down to find me in the classroom.
And after that I was banned from speaking to the magpies.
Oh yeah, because yeah, I really, I kind of like
indoctrinated them a bit, and I think I made them
dependent on me like some big mother bird.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Could you give me because I'm just so impressed by
your magpie, could you give me a couple of other
bird noises for me?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
I could give you. Okay, let me give you a
yellowtail black cockatook Okay wait wowow okay is that one?
(14:50):
I've got an eastern whip bird Okay, okay, okay. Oh,
I'll do a lie bird, but I'll do a liarbird
that is copying me. Hi, my name's etcetera, etcetera. That's
what a liarbird would say if it was around me.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And what would a libird sound like copying you doing
an Eastern whip thing.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Probably that they actually make chainsaw noises and everything. It's
kind of crazy. You can be in the bush and
you just hear like a chainsaw running and you're like, well,
they're coming to get me.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
So has there been any moments in your life where
your special skill has come in handy as a twitter?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
No, except for this moment right here.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Well, actually, the only moments that I think it has
been good is kind of like at a party, you
do an ice breaker to get to know people and
hopefully get them to like you. When I meet someone
at a party and I want them to leave me
alone immediately, I just start talking about it. Hey, do
you know what I was a teen interested in birds?
Do you want me to do some bird calls for you?
Suddenly know what to be seen? It's perfect.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
So I want to clarify something because in your introduction
you did say you were the best at the world this.
Now do you officially hold this title or are we
just leaning into your own delusion?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
I would say I would say out of those in
the world who do it, there, I would be fairly good.
If you put us all in a room together, I
would be one of the one of the top hundreds.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
What this sounds like, sounds like you've lied on your
resime just to get on the podcast.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
Is this true? Well, you did ask me to impersonate
a liar bird, didn't you? And I'm a bird that lies.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
So you haven't stayed in the field of bird watching
and you know bird calls. You've moved into a different career,
which I don't know if I'm outing you here, but
is drag You are a drag queen?
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Oh my god? How could you tell?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Do you.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Think there's any crossover there's been any crossover for you? Like,
have you been able to identify drag queens squawking down
Oxford Street? Or is there any kind of integration between
the two industries.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
I mean, to be honest, most drag queens are too
broke to afford nice feathers, So normally I'm just seeing
a chicken or a maraboo strutting around, which isn't the
most exciting bird.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Look.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
To be honest, it's all color and movement. It's all
color and movement, And I think I've become the bird,
like a magpie or a little bower bird collects little
trinkets and things for their nest to increase the chances
of being able to find a mate. I collect little
things so I can increase my chances of maybe one
(17:48):
day owning property in Sydney. Yeah, and that's that's my version.
One day I will be a bird enough to buy
a house.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
I want to put your claims to the two because
I still don't believe any of this. All right, So
what I'm going to be doing is playing some bird
noises for you, and you have to identify what bird is.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Can you do that? Oh?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Absolutely, Yeah, I'm fully prepared. I've got it. I've got
it on lock.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Okay, all right, first bird sound effect?
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Oh okay, now let me tell you what that is.
You may not know it from my earlier impression, but
that's an Eastern whipper.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
That is an Eastern whip bird.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Okay, you've got that one one down, all right, Yeah,
you can still have your claim to fame.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Sound number two.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Here we go. Yep. You'd think that was my knees
when I stand up, but that's actually a ganggang cocka.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Okay, that is correct.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I also would have accepted one of the fung guy
people from the last of us, the clickers would accepted that.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
Yeah, it's good.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Okay. Bird three? What's that?
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I believe that would be a magpie?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Wrong?
Speaker 5 (19:15):
Was it currawong?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Wrong?
Speaker 5 (19:17):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
That's a noisy fryer bird.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
That's a noisy fryer bird.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Oh okay, you've got two out of three so far.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I've said that ain't bad. Bird number four okay.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Yeah, I don't like that one.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
What's that home? I think that might be? Is that
a musk duck? No, this is going really well for me.
Wait what is that?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's a cassillary?
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Oh see it.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Also sounded a bit like an e because the emos
do that same.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
Little never got near one of those.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Oh so you didn't collect them in your book?
Speaker 5 (20:05):
Well, not many of them down in Canberra.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Well okay, okay, this is the break up.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
This is what's going to define whether you are in
the world's best or you're a cheap phony.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
It's our final one.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
Okay, are you ready?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Here we go me? What bird was that?
Speaker 5 (20:24):
Is that? Road runner? I'm the best, I'm the best
in the world.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Okay, et cetera. C keep your claim to fame as
the best in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
At twitching. Oh well done.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
How do you feel that actually stressed me out? I'm
in that stressed ages. I can't believe it.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Wow, well you maybe I believe you a little bit now,
maybe just a bit.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Well, you know what, Thank you, because but my childhood
without friends to be able to correctly identify some birds
and maybe one day we can go bird watching together.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
That we'd lovely take me out into the forest with
some old men.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
I was trying so hard not to laugh under that, Mars,
that was the hardest part not to laugh.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
You've been listening to an iHeart Australia production can seal
it with art Simone.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Listen to more of what
Speaker 1 (21:32):
You love on iHeart and if you're fond of a
two faced twitch, check us out on the socials.
Popular Podcasts
Monster: BTK
'Monster: BTK', the newest installment in the 'Monster' franchise, reveals the true story of the Wichita, Kansas serial killer who murdered at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Known by the moniker, BTK – Bind Torture Kill, his notoriety was bolstered by the taunting letters he sent to police, and the chilling phone calls he made to media outlets. BTK's identity was finally revealed in 2005 to the shock of his family, his community, and the world. He was the serial killer next door. From Tenderfoot TV & iHeartPodcasts, this is 'Monster: BTK'.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.