January 2018 proved to be another dry winter in South East Queensland. It wasn't that long ago that we expected big rains and to be flooded in during the year's start, but the last couple of years the trend seems to be for hotter and drier summers.
The Ti Tree Wetlands
To be honest I don't get a lot of free time these days. I leave for work around dawn and get back at dusk, which means I spend quite a bit of time on the weekends catching up on the household chores, but occasionally I switch the steam iron off, stow the ironing board and carpet cleaner, and just bugger off with camera in hand. Recently I had joined a FB page for birders in SE Queensland that alerted me to a nearby wetland that I wasn't aware of. 25-minutes later and boy! am I glad I came. The Ti Tree wetlands in Arundal is on the banks of Coombabah Creek and surrounded by suburbia, but that doesn't seem to bother the budgies!
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| Australian Grebe bobbing for minnows. |
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| Fresh up from a dip |
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| Black-necked Stork a.k.a. Jabiru |
Attracting the attention of local birders were a pair of Painted Snipe that had conveniently set up home on a small island barely 10m from the shore of one of the lakes.
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| A pair of well camouflaged Painted Snipe |
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| Painted Snipe hunkering down against the breeze |
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| Royal Spoonbill looking like African Warriors on the veldt. |
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| Quite stunning birds. |
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| Royal Spoonbill filtering for food. |
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| and a Striped Honeyeater |
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| A 26-Spotted Ladybird |
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| St Andrew's Cross Spider |
Regulars (Seen daily)
Bar-shouldered Dove
Brown Honeyeater
Cicadabird
Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
GalahLaughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed OriolePacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
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| Peaceful Dove |
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow LorikeetSpangled DrongoSulphur Crested CockatooTorresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
Common (Seen Weekly)
Australian MagpieChannel-billed Cuckoo
Forest Kingfisher
Leaden FlycatcherLittle Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Willie WagtailYellow-faced Honeyeater
Uncommon (Seen occasionally)
Australian Ibis
Black-faced Cuckoo ShrikeCommon Koel
Eastern Yellow Robin
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| Rather tatty Eastern Yellow Robin |
Figbird
Grey Shrike Thrush
King Parrot
Leaden Flycatcher
Magpie Lark
Pacific Baza
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied CurrawongSacred Kingfisher
Wood Duck
Rare (Seen once)
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Varied Sitella
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| Well they are bloody difficult to photograph! Varied Sitella |
Welcome Swallow
White-throated Treecreeper
45-species, which is about all for now. See you next month
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