April and the world goes weird

I think that it is impossible to write a blog in these times and not mention Covid-19. It has presented all sorts of challenges at work and in day-to-day life but it has meant that I have worked from home for the whole month. Susanne will back me up on this, that I am very disciplined when working from home and rarely leave my office during working hours, but my office does have a door that leads out onto a first floor balcony and the sound of birds chirping and singing over my shoulder is a terrible temptation. Most of the time I ignore the temptation but when I take a break (usually accompanied by a cup of tea and a cigar) occasionally something special turns up and in this case it was a White-cheeked Honeyeater, an entirely new species for the Holt.  As it happens the bird turned up just after I had finished for the day and dusk was falling fast so I was extremely lucky to capture the shot of this busy little bird as it darted around the Grevilleas in the lengthening shadows.

White-cheeked Honeyeater

 As the nights grow longer I find myself frequently putting the chooks to bed in the dark, and yes, I do literally put some of them to bed as 'The Garage Chooks' sit on the old barbecue unit next to the front door and wait for me to carry each of them to their coops. However, I digress, wandering around in the darkness sometimes enables me to come on some less commonly seen gems, like this Green Tree Frog that I found sitting on a broad leaf of a wild Tobacco tree.

Peek-a-boo

A relatively young frog about 5 cms long ( they can grow much larger)

With the characteristic cream line coming from the back of its mouth.

It's the time of the year for butterflies (Autumn in SE Queensland) and we certainly haven't been disappointed this season. The Hoyas in particular have seen swarms of these dainty insects fluttering around them in the sunshine.

Blue Tiger on a Black Wattle leaf

Unidentified beetle (perhaps the nymph of a Shield bug?) on a Hoya Flower

The lush but ill-named Egg Fly

Autumn is the season for the return of the the LBJs' as the larger birds retreat to the tropics the smaller birds appear to be sucked into the void they leave, so here's a few...

Buff-rumped Thornbill

Scarlet Honeyeater

Female Scarlet Honeyeater

Female Leaden Flycatcher

Mistletoebird at lunch

A handsome fellow

Very reminiscent of Robins

The question is, who does he support?

and onto the birds seen this month....

Regular (Seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Buff-rumped Thornbill

Buff-rumped Thornbill calling to the flock

Bush Turkey
Cicadabird
Common Bronzewing
Forest Kingfisher
Galah
Grey Fantail
King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck

Preening & displaying her scapula

Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow Lorikeet
Striated Pardalote
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (Seen Weekly)

Eastern Yellow Robin

Grey Shrike-Thrush
Scarlet Honeyeater

Scarlet Honeyeater

Spangled Drongo

Welcome Swallow

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Thornbill

Brown Thornbill

Crested Pigeon
Dollarbird
Eastern Boobook
Eastern Spinebill
Figbird
Golden Whistler

Male Golden Whistler

Leaden Flycatcher

Romantic take on a Leaden Flycatcher

Lewins Honeyeater
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Plover
Pale-headed Rosella
Rainbow Bee Eater
Rufous Whistler
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Willie Wagtail
White-throated Treecreeper

Rare (Seen once)

Australian Ibis
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Collared Sparrowhawk
Dusky Moorhen
Little Wattlebird
Mistletoebird

And another shot

Rufous Fantail
Straw-necked Ibis
White-bellied Sea Eagle
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo


And courtesy of Greyhound Australia a critter that's occasionally seen at the Holt...

Sugar Glider