February and it's a chook sale

February is the time when this season's chooks start reaching point of lay and I sell them on. It's a period of mixed emotions as I sadly say goodbye to some of my birds but gratefully receive a boost to my wallet. I keep a few to ensure new blood amongst the flock as some of my older birds no longer lay as regularly as they once did so here's some of the 'keepers'.

Marie (rear) and Therese (front)

Therese is quite the stunner

But Marie is a Splash and they're just drop dead gorgeous!

It's a bit of a change over time anyway as the northern species depart for warmer climes as winter approaches and there's a bit of a gap before all the smaller birds from the south come north.  One species that seems to have set up home here are the Buff-rumped Thornbills. They are tiny birds that drift through the woodland in small flocks searching  for grubs and insects. They have a distinctive call as they constantly chatter to each other.

Buff-rumped Thornbills have no white eyebrow like their slightly larger cousins the Yellow-rumped Thornbill

They do have the streaked coverts but foreheads are plainer rather than the white spotted on black of the Yellow-Rumped Thornbill.

A new visitor to the Holt was a Swamp Wallaby. They apparently commonly travel alone, but this one joined in with our resident Red-necked Wallabies.

Hello! Who's this?

Anyone about?

Boing! Only me.

Regular (Seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Brown Honeyeater
Buff-rumped Thornbill

Buff-rumped Thornbill catches his grub

Bush Turkey
Cicadabird
Common Bronzewing

Common Bronzewing playing peekaboo

Common Koel
Double-barred Finch
Forest Kingfisher
Galah
King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Nankeen Night Heron
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Yellow Thornbill

Common (Seen Weekly)

Common Mynah
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Spangled Drongo

Spangled Drongo

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Thornbill
Crested Pigeon
Dollarbird

Dollarbird

Eastern Boobook
Figbird
Little Friarbird

Little Friarbird stops for a drink

Magpie Lark
Masked Plover
Pale-headed Rosella

Pale-headed Rosellas at the feeder

Pheasant Coucal
Rufous Whistler

Rufous Whistler

Satin Flycatcher
White-headed Pigeon

White-headed Pigeon

White-throated Treecreeper

Rare (Seen once)

Australian Ibis
Little Pied Cormorant
Rainbow Bee Eater
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

And this months Australian mammal courtesy of the Department of the Environment is the Northern Bettong.

Northern Bettong (Kangaroo Rat)