Birds, birds, birds...

Taking an idea from the facebook page, Australian Birds, I've put together a table that covers all the birds that I've seen over the last financial year (July 1st 12 - Jun 30th 13.  The figure 1 merely indicates that the species has been seen during the month, and gives no indication as to the number of times or the number of birds, but you can always trawl through old posts to find more detail.

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Tot Australian Ibis 1 1 1 1 1 5 Australian Magpie 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Australian Raven 1 1 Azure Kingfisher 1 1 Barking Owl 1 1 Bar-shouldered Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Black Kite 1 1 Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Blue-faced Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Bronzewing 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Brown Cuckoo Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Brown Falcon 1 1 1 3 Brown Goshawk 1 1 Brown Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Brown Thornbill 1 1 Brown Treecreeper 1 1 1 3 Bush Hen 1 1 2 Bush Turkey 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Cattle Egret 1 1 Channnel Billed Cuckoo 1 1 1 3 Collared Sparrowhawk 1 1 1 1 4 Crested Pigeon 1 1 2 Dollarbird 1 1 1 1 1 5 Double-barred Finch 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Dusky Moorhen 1 1 2 Eastern Spinebill 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Eastern Whipbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Eastern Yellow Robin 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Figbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Forest Kingfisher 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Galah 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Glossy Black Cockatoo 1 1 Golden Whistler 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Grey Butcherbird 1 1 1 1 4 Grey Fantail 1 1 1 1 1 5 Grey Shrike-thrush 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Intermediate Egret 1 1 1 1 1 5 King Parrot 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 laughing Kookaburra 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Leaden Flycatcher 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Lewins Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Little Black Cormorant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Little Corella 1 1 Little Eagle 1 1 Little Egret 1 1 2 Little Friarbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Little Pied Cormorant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Little Shrike-Thrush 1 1 1 1 4 Little Wattlebird 1 1 1 1 4 Magpie Lark 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Mallard Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Mistletoebird 1 1 1 3 Nankeen Night Heron 1 1 2 Noisy Friarbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Noisy Miner 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Olive-backed Oriole 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Pacific Baza 1 1 1 3 Pacific Black Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Pale-Headed Rosella 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Peaceful Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Pied Butcherbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Pied Currawong 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Plumed Whistling Duck 1 1 1 3 Rainbow Bee Eater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Rainbow Lorikeet 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Red-backed Fairy Wren 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Red-browed Finch 1 1 Rose Robin 1 1 1 3 Rufous Fantail 1 1 Rufous Whistler 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Sacred Kingfisher 1 1 Satin Flycatcher 1 1 1 1 1 5 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 1 1 1 1 4 Scarlet Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 5 Scarlet Robin 1 1 1 3 Shining Bronze Cuckoo 1 1 Silvereye 1 1 1 1 4 Spangled Drongo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Spotted Turtle Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Straw-necked Ibis 1 1 1 1 4 Striated Pardalote 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Sulphur Crested Cockatoo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Superb Fairy Wren 0 Torresian Crow 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Variated Fairy Wren 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Varied Sitella 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Wedge-tailed Eagle 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Weebill 1 1 1 1 4 Welcome Swallow 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Whistling Kite 1 1 White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 White-bellied Sea Eagle 1 1 1 3 White-throated Treecreeper 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 White-eyed Duck 1 1 White-faced Heron 1 1 1 3 White-headed Pigeon 1 1 White-necked Heron 1 1 1 1 4 White-rumped Thornbill 1 1 White-throated Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 White-throated Needle Tail Swift 1 1 2 Wille Wagtail 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Wood Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Yellow-faced Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Yellow-rumped Thornbill 1 1 1 1 4 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Monthly count 53 63 74 52 43 44 49 46 52 55 53 63

That's a grand total of 104-species.  I'm particularly pleased with the total, especially considering the limitations that I have self-imposed.All birds have been seen either from my deck, the driveway or from around the dams, that's not a large area.  The area includes the house, driveway and two dams surrounded by Eucalypt woodland comprising a mixture of gums, She-Oaks (Casurines), and Wattle, The ground is crossed by a number of intermittent creeks and is sited on a saddle between two foothills of Mount Tamborine. Being on a saddle is good, because we're on the bird highway for birds flying around the mountain. I've planted natives to attract the birds, including Midjin Berry, Velvet Leaf, Sandpaper and Davidsons Fig, Blue Quandong, Kangeroo Paws and a variety of Grevilleas.I also feed the birds on seven birdtables with a mixed grain feed daily.  The dams are actively managed and stocked with a variety of native fish, that provide food for a number of birds including Cormorants, Herons, Ibis, Egrets and ducks. If I chose to enlarge the area and simply drove for five minutes, either off the hill onto the river plain or up into one of the surrounding valleys that have all year round creeks, the variety of species would increase fairly dramatically; however, this blog is more about the patch around Pardalote Holt. As you can see from the chart, peak month is September, the first month of Spring, but on the ground you can see the build up from July onwards.It's mid-winter (July) when we start to see the species shift and the numbers of birds such as Grey Fantails, Golden and Rufous Whistlers, Silvereyes and the full range of Honeyeaters begin to appear in numbers. The overall numbers begin to increase as well, for example for most of the year we have a resident pair of Double-barred Finches, but come June the numbers climb and at the moment the pair has grown to a flock of a dozen or more birds. Birds of June 2013 Regular  (Seen at least x5 per week) Australian Magpie Bar-Shouldered Dove Bronzewing Bush Turkey Double-barred Finch Eastern Spinebill Galah Galah on the bird feeder Grey Fantail Mallard Duck Our resident (probably escaped) Mallard Pacific Black Duck Peaceful Dove Pied Currawong Rainbow Lorikeet Striated Pardalote Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Torresian Crow Wood Duck Wood Ducks Common (Seen at least twice each week) Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike Brown Cuckoo Dove Brown Honeyeater Eastern Whipbird Laughing Kookaburra Noisy Miner Pale-headed Rosella Pied Butcherbird Rainbow Bee Eater Rainbow Bee Eater Silvereye Silvereye Yellow-faced Honeyeater Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times per month) Grey Shrike Thrush Golden Whistler Male Golden Whistler King Parrot Lewins Honeyeater Little Black Cormorant Little Black Cormorant in the Lap Swamp Magpie Lark Noisy Friarbird Red-backed Fairy Wren Red-backed Fairy Wren female Red-backed Fairy Wren Scarlet Honeyeater Spangled Drongo Spotted Turtle Dove Varied Sitella Varied Sitella Welcome Swallow White-eyed Duck White-eyed Duck or Hardhead White-throated Honeyeater White-throated Treecreeper Rare (Seen only once during the month) Australian Ibis Black Kite Blue-faced Honeyeater Brown Falcon Channel-billed Cuckoo Eastern Yellow Robin Figbird Intermediate Egret Intermediate Egret fishing on the dam Little-pied Cormorant Nankeen Night Heron Pacific Baza Rose Robin Male Rose Robin female Rose Robin Rufous Whistler Scarlet Robin Wedge-tailed Eagle Whistling Kite White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike Willy Wagtail White-necked Heron And that's all for the financial year.  July has already proved to be exciting with several unusual species appearing, including 2 completely new birds to the Holt.  The great thing about birding is that there's always something new around the next bush! P.s. Sorry about the formatting, the table made everything wonky and I couldn't quite fix it!