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.

March and the weather begins to turn.

March was a month of two halves, split by a business trip to Singapore from the 11th - 17th.  Before the trip it was still very wet and in the first week we were flooded in again.  It rained every day until we left, but by the time we came back the rains appeared to have broken and apart from a couple of tropical downpours later in the month things began to dry out. It was still very humid and several nights we had showers, but at last we could see winter on its way.

The Lap Swamp is full...very full!

The water tanks were filled, the dams overflowing and the ground largely sodden, but the plants were beginning to spurt.  In the infrequent dry moments I tried to get a bit of trimming in with the brush cutter, but nature was in a vigorous mood and at best I could only slow the spurts of weeds.  Still, the ducks liked it!

Pacific Black Duck having a wash

In the southern hemisphere March is in the Autumn and this is a time when a lot of the native beasties are mating in preparation for the drier Winter months to come.  It's most obvious with the ducks, but from past experience I know that in the next few months we will begin to see a lot of juvenile birds appearing and some of the wallabies will be carrying joeys.

In the chook pen all has been well, despite an ongoing war between Susanne and Pierre le Coq.  Salmon Faverolles are supposed to be gentle to the point of timidity, but Pierre obviously didn't read his instruction manual and regularly has a go at us.  He seems to like chancing it with Susanne, especially when her back is turned.  This demonstrates what a pea-brain the bird is as Susanne will retaliate with the wellie boot and if she catches him will bury his face in the mud and give him a good seeing to, whereas I largely ignore him. The Salmon Faverolle chicks are now pullets and growing well.  Susanne has got them to sit on her lap when she gives them treats, grated cheese being a favourite.

Mothering the hens or Mother Hen?

Next month we will be moving some of the cross breeds on as make space for more Faverolles, but at them moment the coops are rather crowded at night as we currently have 19 chooks in coops designed for twelve.

And onto the birds....

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie

Australian Magpie with his eye on the dog food!

Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing

Male Bronzewing

Galah
Noisy Miner
Peaceful Dove
Rainbow Lorikeet
Pacific Black Duck
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied Currawong
Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Brown Cuckoo Dove
Bush Turkey
Double-barred Finch
Eastern Whipbird
Forest Kingfisher
Grey Butcherbird

Grey Butcherbird

Grey Shrike Thrush
King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Magpie Lark
Mallard Duck
Noisy Friarbird
Rainbow Bee Eater
Spangled Drongo

A trio of Spangled Drongos

Spotted Turtle Dove
Striated Pardalote
Torresian Crow
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times a month)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Falcon
Golden Whistler

Female Golden Whistler

Leaden Flycatcher
Lewins Honeyeater
Plumed Whistling Duck
Scaly Breasted Lorikeet
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (only seen once during the month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Bush Hen

Bush Hen

Collared Sparrowhawk
Glossy Black Cockatoo
Little Black Cormorant
Little Friarbird
Rufous Fantail
Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Variated Fairy Wren
Varied Sitella
White-throated Honeyeater
Willy Wagtail

Which makes 52 species and the numbers are starting to climb as we head towards winter. And that's all for now.  April update coming soon.