Riding home from work yesterday, there were two startlingly gorgeous rainbow lorikeets sitting on the railing of the Harbour Bridge cycle path. They were just hanging out, unperturbed by the cyclists in their own rainbow lycra outfits whizzing past.

I have never seen any birds up there before. While it offers such an amazing view of natural beauty, the bridge itself seems inimical to the natural world. It’s like a massive, bustling conveyor belt for things with spinning wheels and grinding rails and locomotive legs. It even seems that way on the pedestrian side, a conduit for power-walking commuters in sneakers and tourists trying in vain to amble against the bracing wind. Those poor, pointless security guards up there are the closest thing to wildlife.

The lorikeets stayed there long enough for me to ride past, stop in my tracks and head back to take a photo (cycle path chaos!) right up next to them. But as soon as I clicked the button, they were gone.

Invisible birds.