Small Brown Jobs on the increase

As I write this, at the end of February, I look back on January with some envy, because in January we had at least one day of decent rain and since then it's been as dry as a bone. So much for wet tropical summers! On the subject of looking back, when I write a new post I firstly look back on previous years to see if there are any discernible trends.  There are of course, certain birds appearing or leaving, and particularly in January a burst of juveniles from everything from Ducks through to Pardalotes, but it did amuse me to note that last January I saw a Little Wattlebird at the Holt. Not an uncommon bird generally, but rare at the Holt, and this January I saw one again. I'm now wondering whether there are any other birds that just appear once a year, but to be honest I don't have the energy to go back though all my posts over the years at the moment. Maybe some other time.

A Little Wattlebird lurking in the Grevillea.

What I really enjoyed in January was the increase in the number of SBJ's (Small Brown Jobs), those smaller birds that you often see in the distance or at the corner of your sight and you often fail to identify as they're gone before you get a good look. It maybe that with the new camera lens I'm able to pick up the SBJ's more easily, it maybe that there are more around, or it maybe that I'm just getting better at identifying them, but whatever the reason I've an increase in the SBJ's on my lists. In particular the various Thornbills - Buff-rumped, Yellow-rumped and Brown Thornbills, and Varied Sitella have been quite active. The other two birds that I seem to be seeing more often are Satin and Leaden Flycatchers, that have now become quite a feature in the scrub above the dam.

The other advantage of having a big lens is that I can now get some decent shots of the insects that appear here, one in particular, the Cuckoo Wasp, was new to me and proved to be a real stunner. These handsome beasties lay their eggs in the cocoons of Mud Wasps. Mud Wasps build small mud cocoons in which they place their egg and a paralyzed spider for the grub to munch on when they hatch. The Cuckoo Wasp hatches and it's grub has both the spider and the Mud Wasp grub to eat and so I should imagine does very well.

A Cuckoo Wasp

Perhaps hunting for a Mud Wasps cocoon - there are plenty around!

A Blue-banded Bee enjoys the flowers of the Milky Corkwood vine.

Amazing what you can capture with a good lens.

Honeybee in the Pink Eucalyptus

Butterflies are now beginning to appear, but not in massive numbers as yet, but still enough to add a further splash of colour to the garden.

The Orchard Swallowtail, a real glamour boy.

A Wanderer enjoying the flowers of the native Gooseberry.

The hot, humid weather has brought out the lizards in numbers. You can't walk through the forest without seeing small skinks scurrying away in the leaf litter, but the larger (and I mean LARGE) Lace Monitors have started to become a bit of an issue as they've been trying to get into the chicken coops to steal eggs (and possibly the odd pullet!), but fortunately the Guinea Fowl have taken on the duty of mobbing them and chasing them off, so no major casualties so far.

This Lace Monitor was only average, about 4' long!

Eastern Water Dragons are less common at the Holt so I was delighted to discover some babies climbing around on a fallen log at the corner of the Lap Swamp.

Sibling friendship.

"OK, what's with the big camera?"

"Bliddy Paperazzi!"

and here's the odds and sods

An Australian Tiger resting on the Woolly Frogmouth

A young Red-necked Wallany on the unkempt dam wall.

Unidentified Dragonfly with stunning bronze colouring

A Chalky Percher (I think)

A Scarlet Percher...perching

A tiny native Bee attempts docking at a pollen station

Success!

Then onto the birds....

Regulars (seen at least x5 days per week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Galah

Juvenile Galah

Olive-backed Oriole
Noisy Friarbird
Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Ducklings at 4-weeks

Peaceful Dove
Plumed Whistling Duck

This year's lone Plumed Whistling Duckling

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeets drying off during a rare wet day.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeaters appear very social birds.

Wood Duck

Male Wood Duck dozing in the afternoon heat

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (seen at least twice a week)

Brown Honeyeater
Buff-rumped Thornbill

A Buff-rumped Thornbill that appears to have been in the webs.

Channel-billed Cuckoo
Cicadabird

Cicadabird munching on a Katyid.

King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Leaden Flycatcher

Female Leaden Flycatcher

Little Corella

A Little Corella checking out the feeder

Little Friarbird

Little Friarbird feasting on my Elderberries

Noisy Miner
Pale-headed Rosella

A Pale-headed Rosella

Pied Currawong
Red-browed Finch

Leaving the grass uncut provides food for the Red-browed Finch

Satin Flycatcher

The male Satin Flycatcher

Spangled Drongo
White-throated Treecreeper
Yellow-rumped Thornbill


Uncommon (seen 2-5x in the month)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Thornbill

The tiny Brown Thornbill

Collared Sparrowhawk
Eastern yellow Robin

The regularly noisy Eastern Yellow Robin

Figbird
Forest Kingfisher

Forest Kingfisher

Grey Fantail
Grey Shrike Thrush
Rainbow BeeEater
Red-backed Fairy Wren

Male Red-backed Fairy Wren

Rufous Fantail

A Rufous Fantail

Rufous Whistler

Rufous Whistler

Striated Pardalote
Varied Sitella

A Varied Sitella with lunch

Willie Wagtail

Rare (seen only once)

Australian Ibis

An Australian Ibis doing what it should be doing and not raiding the trash cans.

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Bush Turkey
Grey Butcherbird
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Wattlebird
Magpie Lark
Pied Butcherbird
Scaly Breasted Lorikeet
Scarlet Honeyeater
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Welcome Swallow
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-faced Heron

Which is a pretty impressive 65 species, 4 up on the same month last year. Gosh that's a lot of birds for one garden (he says proudly).  See y'all next month.