October and the season starts to change

Pacific Black Ducks sailing off into the sunset

October is a time when the seasons change and we begin to look toward the wet season. The smaller birds such as the Honeyeaters, Padalotes, Gerygones and Thornbills move deeper into the woodland as the summer visitors arrive.  Dollarbirds, Cicadabirds and Channel-billed Cuckoos begin to arrive as the weather warms and the humidity begins to hint of the summer storms to follow.  Down on the Lap Swamp the Curly Milfoil is blooming and the dragonfly population explodes as the days heat up.

An Australian Emperor takes a break

 Dragonflies and Damselflies are tricky to photograph as I have to wait until they land on something, and more frequently than not they are happier darting back and forth across the still waters of the dam. Some, such as the Common Glider and the Tau Emerald virtually never land, whilst others seem happy to sun themselves on a rock or stem.

An Australian Emperor on the seed thrown grass heads

 The shot below was one of those rare moments when I managed to catch a Common Glider at rest. These fairly large dragonflies are more commonly seen on the wing, even mating in flight.  The best identifying feature are the deep red markings at the base of their wings.

A Common Glider takes a rare break

 I suspect my 100-400mm Canon zoom isn't the best lens for shooting them, but it's the only lens I have and so we'll just have to make do.  Having said that it's brilliant for birds.

A newbie for me, a Black-faced Percher.

Eastern Billabongflies mating on the dam.

Another new one for me, the Unicorn Darner

The Unicorn Darner laying eggs form the pad of the Milfoil

The other effect of the increasing temperature is an increase in lizard sightings.  You will see a variety of skinks around the Holt throughout the year. If you take a walk through the bush you will see dozens of the little fellows scutting through the leaf litter, but as summer approaches you begin to see the larger beasties, often sunning on the gravel at the side of the road (and unfortunately frequently as roadkill).

A Common Bearded Dragon

Very scaly and spikey.

A Major Skink

and a small Skink that I couldn't be bothered to ID because there's so many of them

I was getting very worried this month as the Plumed Whistling Ducks vanished. They have been here daily since the big storm of 2012 and early in the month there numbers began to drop and then by mid moth they had vanished. My only idea as to where they might have gone was that unseasonal rainfalls on the western side of the Great Dividing Range had brought about a rush of growth and flowering, which might have tempted them away, but I am relieved to report that as I write this (at the end of November) they have returned in numbers again.

a pair of Plumed Whistling Ducks

and on that happy note let's move onto the rest of the birds....

Regulars (seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove

A Bar-shouldered Dove

Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Galah

A Galah snacking on grevillea flowers

King Parrot
Little Corella
Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied Butcherbird
Rainbow Lorikeet

Portrait of a Rainbow Lorikeet

Sulphur crested Cockatoo
Welcome Swallow

Common (seen weekly)

Brown Honeyeater

The small but very vocal Brown Honeyeater

Cicadabird
Forest Kingfisher
Laughing Kookaburra
Plumed Whistling Duck
Red-browed Finch
Scarlet Honeyeater
Spangled Drongo

A Spangled Drongo on the Silky Oak

Striated Pardalote
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Channel-billed Cuckoo
Collared Sparrowhawk

A Collared Sparrowhawk causes a stir amongst the chooks

Common Mynah
Eastern Yellow Robin

An Eastern Yellow Robin collecting nesting material from a Stringybark Gum

Dollarbird
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Leaden Flycatcher
Little Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Southern Boobook
Variegated Fairy Wren

The male Variegated Fairy Wren

White-throated Treecreeper

Rare (seen only once)

Brown Goshawk
Brown Thornbill

A Brown Thornbill on a She-Iak (Casuarina)

Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Grey Goshawk
Intermediate Egret
Little Wattlebird
Pheasant Coucal
Purple Swamphen

A Purple Swamphen lurking in the sedge on the Lap Swamp

White-bellied Sea Eagle
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Which is 57-species

Up the mountain

Just a note, this is a mid-posting, a quick note between the monthly birding lists to ramble on a little about things beyond the Holt.

A Red-Necked Pademelon

As most of you (my eleven gallant followers) may be aware Pardalote Holt is built on the saddle between two unnamed foothills of Mount Tamborine. Its always seemed a little odd to me that there are so many geographical features in Australia that don't bear a name. I suspect there might be an Aboriginal name for the area, but who knows?  Anyway, I digress, we built the Holt on the side of Mt Tamborine.  The mountain wears a broad kilt of Eucalypt woodland about its flanks, but as you make the final climb to the plateau you enter sub-tropical rain forests that apparently hail back to the super-continent of Gondwana.  Pretty impressive huh! At one point in time Australia was covered with rainforest, but as Gondwana split apart and the climate changed the continent dried out and so the remains of these ancient rainforests are now limited to a scattering of mountain tops along the east coast of Australia...and we've got some just up the road!

Now trying the tempt the rainforest down the hill to grow around the Holt is a bit of a non-starter.  I've tried to grow a small patch utilizing the grey water from out bio tanks, but realistically its just too warm and too dry down here.  So, if I want to enjoy the rain forest I have to take a short drive up the hill (or a long steep walk) and at the top there are a number of preserved areas with interesting walks to enjoy.  I'm stating the obvious here, but the flora and fauna is dramatically different from around the Holt and so each trip is quite an adventure.  I avoid the trails on the weekend as they are very popular amongst the tourists and few of the timid beasties that dwell within the deep green will hang around when there's a troupe of Korean holidaymakers tramping through the glens.  So, the best time to go is during the week, and preferably as soon after dawn as possible so that you still catch the shy nocturnals grabbing a last snack before hunkering down behind the verdant cloak to sit out the day.

As you wander the paths you need to keep your ears open as you are more likely to be alerted to the presence of something by the rustle of leaves than by seeing something; however, a good indicator of the likelihood of the local inhabitants being around is their food being left around.  Contrary to general opinion animals aren't tidy creatures and they completely ignore signs about littering, but that is to our advantage because it gives us clues to their whereabouts.

A part eaten Black Apple.

What a mess!

and noting the uneaten fruit can provide further indications of hungry critturs.

An invasive weed, the pretty Mickey Mouse plant.

The Rose-leaved Raspberry

and the Veiny Morinda

It should be pointed out that I am NOT an expert on Rainforest flora and I have no idea as to whether these fruits are poisonous or otherwise to humans, so please don't try to taste them just because they look pretty.

Anyway, back to my walk.  Perhaps one of my favourite routes is the less well trod Palm Grove section where there are oodles of Red-legged Pademelons.

Mum and Joey munching some green stuff

A passing male is enough for Joey to nip back indoors for safety.

But soon reappears to checkout the munching sounds.

These charming creatures are very skittish, but quite common on the trail.

Yup, I'm watching you guys.

and a passing male further along the track.

The Rainforest provides a home for a great deal more species of furry beasties, but for now I'll move on to my feathered friends.  Perhaps one of the more commonly seen birds in the rain forest is the Pale Yellow Robin, who obligingly pops down to see who is creeping along the track.

Pale Yellow Robin

Another frequently seen small brown job is the Brown Thornbill that can often be seen in small groups scuttling around amongst the shrubs as they hunt for insects.  The giveaway hat they are around is their call, a quiet, but insistent high pitched 'seee' or some fussy squeaks.

At 10cm the Brown Thornbill is one of Australia's smallest birds.

 Little Shrike Thrush are somewhat larger, but less common, but even so they are not an unusual sight amongst the lower branches.

The Little Shrike Thrush

Another Thrush, but less common, is the Bassian Thrush

The Bassian Thrush is more commonly found in the gloom.

You are more likely to find some birds nearer the edges of the forests. Not because they don't live in the deeper sections, but it is at the edges where they come down to feed.

The male Satin Bowerbird searching for food on a lawn that borders the rain forest.

and his mate, Mrs Bowerbird.

One bird I almost always hear, but less commonly see is the Wompoo Fruit Dove... I've often mistaken their call for people talking further down the track, but once you get used to it the call is an unmistakable deep and gruff 'wollack-a-woo'.

The Wompoo Fruit Dove

Whilst the Wompoo seems to spend its time high in the upper canopy the Log Runner clearly lives on the forest floor and its the rustle of leaves that will mostly indicate their presence.

A male Logrunner with a white throat

and the female with an orange throat.

Other birds that are more usual on the forest floor include...

The White-browed Scrubwren

and the elusive Noisy Pitta

Somewhat less common, but dazzling when you see them are the...

A Paradise Riflebird

Regents Bowerbird

Now there's one big omission from this list, Albert's Lyrebird, and that's because I have yet to get a decent shot of one.  I now refer to my chase of the Lyrebird as 'Hunting the Snark' and am setting out on regular expeditions to get a decent picture of one.  So at this point I shall leave you until the end of the month report.  Cheers

Jasmine in bloom and the birds are everywhere

The star of the show this month wasn't a bird, but the Silky Oak.  A Silky Oak is Australia's largest native Grevillea. About 6-years ago I noticed a small sapling had appeared on the side of the dam and so I gave it a bit of help by keeping the weeds from strangling it, staking it against the winds and giving it the occasional feed of some natives fertiliser and this year it has paid me back in spades.  Its golden blooms have been rich and luscious and have attracted all manner of birds...

A Little Friarbird was one of the first regular.

Even the seed eating Red Browed Finches were in on the feed.

Noisy Friarbirds enjoyed the nectar

and Olive-backed Orioles were regulars...

as were the Rainbow Lorikeets...

and a well pollened Spangled Drongo

Funnily enough I'm considering planting a few more around the grounds. That is of course when I find the time. We've had a rough couple of years, partly due to the end of the last commodities boom creating a real trough in my regular work as a recruiter, so to make ends meet I've been working one day a week as an HR Manager for a mining company, 2-days a week as a Careers Counsellor at QUT's Business School, a couple of days helping Susanne as shop assistant at our shop on the mountain, and playing host to an increasing number of Airbnb guests. It's been a tough period, but I think that we're beginning to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. The busy schedule has left less time for birding, which I think reflects in the number of bird species seen this month, but as you can tell, I still carry my camera with me when collecting the mail and having a tea break so that I can still capture our visitors.

Unfortunately the garden is looking somewhat unkempt due to partial neglect, but that doesn't appear to have bothered the wildlife at all. The Koalas can be heard growling almost every night and the Mountain Brushtail Possums are dominating the feeders after dark.  The Welcome Swallows have successfully raised a family in the garage rafters again and this year we have had a family of Spotted Pardalote successfully breed in one of the intermittent creeks.  So, the Holt is buzzing with wildlife even if the owners are looking a little threadbare!

Regulars (seen daily)

Bar-shouldered Dove
Common Bronzewing

Male Common Bronzewing

Double-barred Finch
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra

Laughing Kookaburra

Little Corella

Little Corella defends the feeder from a Cockatoo

Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed Oriole

Olive-backed Oriole

Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong

Pied Currawong

Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Duck

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Red-browed Finch

Red-browed Finch

Scarlet Honeyeater

Female Scarlet Honeyeater

Male Scarlet Honeyeater

Striated Pardalote
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Welcome Swallow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (seen weekly)

Australian Magpie
Forest Kingfisher

Forest Kingfishers start nesting in September

King Parrot

King Parrot

Little Friarbird

Little Friarbird enjoying the pollen

Noisy Miner
Pale-headed Rosella
Spangled Drongo

Spangled Drongo

Torresian Crow

Uncommon (seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Black-faced Monarch

Black-faced Monarch

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Yellow Robin

Figbird

Figbird balancing in the rigging

Grey Shrike Thrush
Leaden Flycatcher

Male Leaden Flycatcher

Lewins Honeyeater
Magpie Lark
Rufous Whistler

Male Rufous Whistler

Silvereye
Southern Boobook
Variegated Fairy Wren

Male Variegated Fairy Wren

Female Variegated Fairy Wren

White-throated Treecreeper
Wood Duck

Rare (seen only once)

Brown Honeyeater
Dollarbird

Normally arriving in October this Dollarbird has made an earlier appearance

Eastern Spinebill
Golden Whistler
Grey Butcherbird
Masked Plover
Pacific Baza

Pacific Baza

Pheasant Coucal
Rainbow Bee Eater
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-headed Pigeon

A pair of White-headed Pigeon

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

A total of 58-species, which is a surprise to me as we have the winter migrants still here in dribs and drabs and the spring migrants arriving.  The numbers of birds were high, but I'd expect more species. Ah! well, there's always October.