Glorious April

What a difference a month can make. As we move into winter SE Queensland hits perfect weather.  Dry warm days, cool and clear nights. It's times such as this when I could almost like living here! Of course its also the time when you can really get back into the garden, so I started with a fresh new garden bed.

As you are well aware, I have no topsoil on my acreage. If I want to plant anything I have to carve a hole in the rock with a mattock, add earth, water, plant and then hope for the best.  Fortunately our good friends Neil and Bobbi were having some work done at their place, on the top of Mt Tamborine, and this led them to having several tons of spare soil. Rich, red, nutricious, Mt Tamborine soil.  So, several trailer loads later I had the makings of a garden.  I'd bought a treated wood planter set that was mouldering away under some breeze blocks at the back of the local hardware store and away I went, and here's what I did.

Step 1.

Allow small dog to choose site.

 Step 2.

Mark off site using pegs and string to line up with house.

 Step 3.

Dig in planter so it's level and line with old bird seed sacks.

Step 4.

Use barrow loads of rich volcanic soil.

Step 5.

Half fill the planter with soil

Step 6.

Add layer of straw and fresh chook poo straight from the chicken coop.

Step 7.

Scatter 2 kg of Dynamic Lifter onto chook poo.

Step 8.

Cover with second layer of soil.

Step 9.

Fill planter to brim and level with rake.

Step 10.

Plant and immediately add sugar cane mulch around plantings, and add corner rods for anti bird netting.

Simple process and all done within an afternoon...a long afternoon as it took a hell of a lot of barrow loads of soil.

One of the joys of this time of year is the wildlife and here's a recent pair of visitors to the Holt, a Red-necked Wallaby and her joey.

Joey's head just poking out of pouch.

Checking around

Time to get out?

Out and time for fun!

And he's away!

but stays close in case of danger

A real delight to watch, but on with the birds...

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Brown Honeyeater
Bush Turkey
Galah
Mallard Duck
Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck just digging the rays...

Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Double-barred Finch
Eastern Whipbird
Grey Fantail
Laughing Kookaburra
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied Butcherbird
Rainbow Bee Eater
Striated Pardalote
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times a month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Bushhen

Bush Hen hunting.

Collared Sparrowhawk
Eastern Spinebill
Golden Whistler
Grey Shrike Thrush
Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret hunting

Gotcha!

King Parrot
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Black Cormorant
Magpie Lark
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Rufous Whistler
Spangled Drongo
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 Rare (Only seen once in the month)

Eastern Yellow Robin
Forest Kingfisher
Leaden Flycatcher
Little Friarbird
Mistletoe Bird
Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Scarlet Honeyeater
Straw-necked Ibis
Variated Fairy Wren
Weebill
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

Willy Wagtail
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

Which, by my sums, is 57 species, and the numbers are climbing.  Several of those birds included as uncommon or rare, such as the Eastern Spinebill and the various Honeyeaters, will really start appearing more regularly now that the dry weather has come and the grevilleas are picking up steam.

Before I go here's some pics of a Jabiru.  I didn't see it on our dams, but about a mile down the road on a nearby farm dam.  I did offer it an invite, but it ignored me.  they aren't common around here and it was a real treat to see one.

Jabiru on a dam

Otherwise know as the Black-necked Stork

Coming in at around 1.25m tall it's one big bird. Another name is the Policeman Bird!

And that wraps it up for April.