Stormy November

Well I've already done a post on the hailstorm that happened on the 18th, but there was the rest of the month as well, and a very hot and sticky month it was too.  In the first half of the month it seemed to be storm after storm.  Tolkein, who hates storms, got so tense he began to throw up after 4-days of storms in succession. I have to add that most of these storms were more noise than anything else as the worst of the weather usually ends up skirting around the other side of Mount Tamborine, but if you area a very small dog they can be very frightening.

The sticky weather had deterred a lot of work in the garden, and having recently attended two courses on invasive weed eradication by the Land for Wildlife people I was eagerly planning my assaults on the Devil's Fig, Mollasses Grass and Singapore Daisy that has established a small, but insistent grip on one small corner of the land.  The work was going to involve a considerable amount of poison being sprayed, so ideally I needed the weeds to be growing vigorously and a day with no wind.  prior to the hailstorm there was too much wind, and after the hailstorm the weeds had been so battered that they wouldn't have taken the poison on, so I'm still plotting their downfall from the garden shed.

The warm humid weather brings with it a flourishing of activity on the dams with Dragonflies appearing in numbers.

Diplacodes bipunctata are one of the regulars commonly seen skimming over the lily leaves.

As is Orthetrum caledonicum...

The native pond lilies attract an assortment of bugs including native (sting-less) bees

The reed beds are a favourite for the dragon and damselflies.

Rhyothemis phyllis chloe appear in large swarms floating on the thermals near the house, but it's extremely difficult to catch one on the wing. Fortunately this one obligingly paused on a wall for a moment.

A bit of a thrill for me was the sighting of a Cicadabird.  Whilst not uncommon these smaller members of the cuckoo-shrike family are often heard rather than seen, and even then they can often be mistaken for cicadas as their call imitates their namesake.

Male Cicadabird

The other less welcome visitors included Lace Monitors, large Goannas that can grow up to 1.5 metres in length and will eat a lot of things including pullets and chicks!

Lace Monitor up a gum tree...excellent climbers.

Fortunately the dogs protect the coops and chase them up the nearest tree.

So, onto the birds of November...

Regulars (Seen at least five times a week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Forest Kingfisher
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Magpie Lark
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Pale-headed Rosella
Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Wood Duck
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Dollarbird
Eastern Whipbird

Eastern Whipbird

Grey Shrike Thrush
King Parrot

Sparky still with us despite the storm.

Little Friarbird
Mallard
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Duck

Spangled Drongo
Welcome Swallow

Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times in the month)

Brown Goshawk
Bush Turkey
Channel-billed Cuckoo
Dusky Moorhen
Eastern Yellow Robin
Figbird
Leaden Flycatcher
Red-backed Fairy Wren

Red-backed Fairy Wren amongst the devastation after the storm

Rufous Whistler
Scarlet Honeyeater
Spotted Turtle Dove
Striated Pardalote
Welcome Swallow
White-necked Heron

White-neck Heron hunting in the reeds

White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
White-throated Treecreeper
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 Rare (Seen only once)

Cicadabird
Crested Pigeon
Golden Whistler
Indian Mynah
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Black Cormorant
Little Bronze Cuckoo
Little Pied Cormorant
Long-billed Corella
Nankeen Night Heron

Nankeen Night Heron over the Lap Swamp

Pheasant Coucal
Satin Flycatcher
Variegated Fairy Wren

Which is 62-species, despite the hail and devastation. See you soon for December and the recovery shots!