January 2020 and the Holt sighs in damp relief

Well we finally got some decent rains. The dams have almost filled and some of the shrubs I had frankly written off have surprised me by throwing out green "I'm alive!" shoots. We lost a couple of Tree Ferns, but some younger plants have sprung up in their place, and much too my surprise, the Lilly Pilly (which was doing an impressive impression of a piece of driftwood) has started to green again.

To my surprise the Nankeen Night Heron has stayed on and is still here now. The Great Egret just managed a couple more weeks, but still fun to watch...as the pair of them weighed into my fish stocks!

Gotcha!

Great Egret in mating plumage

Its the blue/green eye piece that shows  us that the bird is 'in the mood'.

Having a preen

Meanwhile our Nankeen Night Heron appears far more active than I have been used to birds of its species, flipping back and forth across the dam and even swimming like a duck.

Nankeen Night Heron has lift off

Stalking for a good hunting spot

Obviously not here..

Maybe act like a duck and the fish won't notice me.

There was also a quick trip up north which produced:

Red-winged Parrot

A Stink bug nymph

Rajah Shelducks

A Dingo bitch

And an Azure Kingfisher

But meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Regular (Seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Brown Honeyeater
Bush Turkey
Cicadabird
Common Bronzewing
Common Koel
Double-barred Finch
Forest Kingfisher
Galah
King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Nankeen Night Heron

Nankeen Night Heron

Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Duck

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Scarlet Honeyeater
Spangled Drongo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone

White-throated Gerygone

White-throated Honeyeater

Common (Seen Weekly)

Channel-billed Cuckoo
Common Mynah
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Thornbill
Crested Pigeon

Crested Pigeons

Dollarbird
Eastern Boobook
Figbird
Great Egret

Great Egret

Intermediate Egret
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Plover
Pale-headed Rosella
Pheasant Coucal
Satin Flycatcher
White-throated Treecreeper

Rare (Seen once)

Australian Ibis
Buff-rumped Thornbill
Little Pied Cormorant
Rainbow Bee Eater
Scaly Breasted Lorikeet
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

And this months Australian mammal is from the way up north, but you see them in the local area as well...

A Dingo