Dry July

Two days of showers mid-month, but otherwise a typical Queensland winter with dry warm days and chilly evenings with the temperature dropping down to +1 degree on the odd night.  This is a great time of year for the birder as the number of small birds rise quickly and the surrounding bush appears to be full of mixed flocks containing Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Grey Fantails and Varied Sitella.  Around the Grevilleas we now have at least 4 pairs of Eastern Spinebills and the Scarlet Honeyeaters are appearing with increasing frequency, whilst the dam is becoming crowded with ducks. I have to admit its the small birds that get me going.  Standing quietly on the end of the dam with two dozen birds and a range of varieties just gives me a real buzz.

I was sitting on the back deck enjoying a cigar one evening when a Fruit Bat flew over swiftly pursued by a huge Barking Owl.  It was split seconds before both were lost in the gloom, but that's one awesome bird and it's great to know that they are around.

The big excitement at Pardalote Holt was twofold this month.  Firstly we had our solar panelling installed, meaning even more self sufficiency,

and we built a chicken coup (kit) as we plan to start breeding.

The new Chook House

We identified the chooks we wanted, Salmon Faverolle, and in next months post you will be introduced to Pierre le Coq and his harem of chooks.

One of the ramifications of installing the solar panels was that we had to remove three trees, two Tallow Woods and a Bloodwood that threw too much shadow onto the the panels.  It was a pity to have to take trees down, but the arborist said that the largest of the Tallow Woods was rotten and could have fallen on the garage, so it needed removing anyway.  For cost reasons I got the professionals to take them down, but I chose to take on the task of clearing up, so I have many weekends with the chainsaw and chipper in front of me.

Timberrrr!

This is a long job, but it's providing ample firewood, which is handy for the chilly nights we're having.  There you go, I spend $$$ on solar panelling to save the planet and then cut down trees and burn them on the the fireplace....madness!

The Birds of July

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week.)

Pacific Black Duck
Wood Duck
Mallard Duck
Bronzewing
Bar-shouldered Dove
Peaceful Dove
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Galah
Rainbow Lorikeet
Pale-headed Rosella

Australian Magpie
Torresian Crow
Pied Currawong
Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Whipbird
Double-barred Finch
Brown Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Lewins Honeyeater
Eastern Whipbird
Rainbow Bee-eater

Rainbow Bee-eater drinking on the wing.

Noisy Miner
Golden Whistler
Rufous Whistler
Silver-eye
Striated Paradalote

Striated Pardalote

Laughing Kookaburra
Grey Fantail
Bush Turkey
Welcome Swallow


Common (Seen at least x2 per week.)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Eastern Yellow Robin
Grey Shrike Thrush

King Parrot 
Magpie Lark
Pied Butcherbird

Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Scarlet Honeyeater

Scarlet Honeyeater in the Honey Gem Grevilleas

Varied Sitella
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Uncommon (Seen 2-3 times during the month)


Brown Treecreeper

Forest Kingfisher
Little Shrike-thrush
Little Wattlebird
Mistletoe Bird
Satin Flycatcher
Scarlet Robin
Spangled Drongo
Variegated Fairy Wren

Female Fairy Wren

Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Weebill

Weebill

Rare (Seen only once during the month)

Barking Owl
Brown Goshawk
Grey Butcherbird
Rose Robin

Which is 58-species...whoo hoo!

June and the dry weather begins

I've been a bit tardy of late and I'm afraid the Blog has suffered somewhat, so I hope to put things right by bringing things back up to date with a couple of posts in the next couple of days.  The Australian winter has been wetter than previous years and as if to underline this June started with a real downpour, but as the month progressed a proper Aussie winter began to kick in and there were only a couple more damp days in the month.  At the same time the temperature dropped and cool drying winds kicked in and plant growth quickly slowed.

The Fey Path

 I've stopped any attempt at planting with the dry season building and instead got back to pruning, clearing up and cutting back the peak bush growth.  The frogs in the dam have fallen silent and even the cicadas are muted at this time of year.

On the last day of the month we heard the first Striated Paradalote call of the year.  The 'chup-a-chup' call of the Pardalotes was one of the first things I recognised when we first found the land and before we built the house.  They nest each year in a mud wall behind the garage and so far seem undisturbed by our arrival, even after we built the garage in front of their nesting wall!

June Birds

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week.)

Pacific Black Duck
Wood Duck
Mallard Duck
Bronzewing
Bar-shouldered Dove
Peaceful Dove
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Galah

Galahs

Rainbow Lorikeet
Pale-headed Rosella
Australian Magpie
Torresian Crow
Pied Currawong
Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Whipbird
Double-barred Finch

Double-barred Finch

Brown Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Lewins Honeyeater
Rainbow Bee-eater
Noisy Miner
Rufous Whistler

Rufous Whistler

Laughing Kookaburra
Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Bush Turkey

Common (Seen at least x2 per week.)

Willie Wagtail
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Pied Butcherbird

Golden Whistler

Golden Whistler

Black-faced Shrike Thrush
Noisy Friarbird
Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Wedge Tailed Eagle

Uncommon (Seen 2-3 times during the month)

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Collared Sparrowhawk
Grey Shrike Thrush
King Parrot
Magpie Lark
Scarlet Honeyeater
Spangled Drongo
Variegated Fairy Wren


Rare (Seen only once during the month)

Azure Kingfisher

Azure Kingfisher

Intermediate Egret
Little Pied Cormorant
Rose Robin
Striated Pardalote
Varied Sitella
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
White-bellied Sea Eagle

Which is 49 species for this month, happy birding!

A dry winter month...at last!

After all the rain in the first quarter it has been quite a relief to have a dry month, which is the way that it's supposed to be at this time of year (Winter) in Queensland.  Overall we've had warm dry days with the temperatures rising to the mid-twenties and cool evenings with the thermometer reading down to 7 degrees, which although freezing to your native coastal Queenslander is still mild to a Pom like myself.

Winter is an interesting time of year for the garden here as most plants slow their growth whilst others burst into bloom.  It's a period when I actually feel as if I'm winning the battle against the Kangaroo Grass and the Blue Billy Goats weed as I spend long hours with the brush cutter on the weekend.  But the real bonus at this time of year is the Grevilleas coming into flower and several plants fruiting, which brings in a host of small birds and keeps the possums happy.

Grevillea

There are a huge variety of Grevilleas, but they all share the same traits of being highly attractive to Honey Eaters for their nectar and to Lorikeets for their pollen. For those of you who are thinking of planting Grevilleas the good old Honeygem is hard to be beaten as reliable and popular with the birds, but the two that really attract and retain the Honeyeaters are the Marmalade and Firesprite Grevilleas.

Another favourite amongst the Honey Eaters are the Banksia's that, like the Grevilleas, come in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes.

Banksia flower

Banksia seed pods

Banksia bush

The candle like flowers on this Banksia grow to almost a foot long.

Banksia flowers

These gorgeous 'Roman Candles' give a Christmassy feeling to the garden.

Poison Peach

A native that a range of  birds adore is the Poison Peach, which is apparently poisonous to cattle, but adored by Honeyeaters and in particular Lewin's Honeyeaters are over this bush constantly. Other fruits that ripen at this time of year are figs, which are much loved by the possums, and each morning there's a fresh pile of half munched fruit beneath the trees.

Possum chomped figs

On the ornamental non-native front (rare in my patch) the gingers are dying back, but this Costa Rica Beehive Ginger has decided to go against the season and bloom anyway.

Beehive Ginger

On the birding front its the time for the small birds.  The Honeyeaters are busy in the Grevilleas and we see mixed flocks of Varied Sitella, Rufous and Gold Whistlers, Silver Eyes and Thornbills. A good set of bino's is handy as most of these small birds flitter about at the treetops, but I have been very gratified to see that my planting has been a success and increasingly we are seeing more at shrub level near the house.

The 'shrubbery' below the deck.

This months birds....

Regulars (Seen at least x5 days per week)

Pacific Black Duck
Wood duck
Mallard Duck
Bronzewing
Bar-Shouldered Dove
Peaceful Dove
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Rainbow Lorikeet

Let's just cuddle up...

...or if there's food involved...

Galah
Eastern Spinebill
Brown Honeyeater
Lewin's Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Double-barred Finch
Noisy Miner
Noisy Friarbird
Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Torresian Crow
Australian Magpie

Australian Magpie

Pied Currawong
Pied Butcherbird

Immature Pied Butcherbird

Butcherbird (Dad!)

Rainbow Bee Eater
Magpie Lark
Laughing Kookaburra
Bush Turkey
Welcome Swallow
Willie Wagtail

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Brown Cuckoo Dove
Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Yellow Robin

Pale Headed Rosella
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Eastern Whipbird
Golden Whistler

Golden Whistler

Rufous Whistler

Female Rufous Whistler

Male Rufous Whistler

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Black-faced Shrike Thrush
Grey Shrike Thrush
Variated Fairy Wren
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

Uncommon (Seen x2 - x3 per month)

Grey Teal

Grey Teal  with Pacific Black Duck

Grey Teal

Glossy Black Cockatoo
King Parrot
Pied Cormorant
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Silvereye
Spangled Drongo
Varied Sitella
Weebill

Rare (Seen once in the month)

White-bellied Sea Eagle

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Mistletoe Bird
Satin Flycatcher
Little Egret
White-faced Heron

White-faced Heron

Straw-necked Ibis
Scarlet Honeyeater
White-headed Pigeon

Which is 55-species seen in May, not bad for one back yard!

So as the sun drops down over Mount Tamborine and the last rays of light graze the tips of the Kangaroo Grass under the gums...

...and the last reflections glide across the still waters of the dam...

...it's time for bed said Zebedee,

Autumn is here

Summer moves into Autumn and in Australia the reverse happens to what goes on in the northern hemisphere, the rains diminish and the sun comes out (alright, you can argue that it never stops raining in the UK). March sees that last of the summer rains and they gradually fade away by the end of the month and then we move into a beautiful period of still, dry days and clear blue skies - well at least that's whats happening at the moment.

When it rains...it rains!

  It's a time for the Queensland gardeners to get out and start taming the growth of summer and so armed with chipper, chainsaw, brushcutter, mattock and shears I have recently spent some exhausting, but deeply satisfying, long days in the garden.

One of the big jobs is clearing the Feather Weed , an aquatic plant that is great for clearing and oxygenating the water but if let to its own devices will clog the dam.  The weed gradually builds into a dense mat and becomes increasingly difficult to shift, although the ducks like sitting on it.

Feather Weed forming a mat around the dam's edge.

As far as our feather friends go it's not so clear as to what's happening.  There appear to be fewer birds in number, but the variety of species increases.  The smaller birds such as Varied Sitella, Satin Flycatchers, and the full range of honeyeaters come out in force, whilst the number of Lorikeets diminishes. For me, this can be a very exciting period as you never know what will turn up next.  One example was that I saw what I though to be an owl or a bird of prey being mobbed by crows and Spangled Dongos, but despite a pursuit though the bush I wasn't able to get close enough to see it clearly enough to identify what appeared to be a large brown bird.  Fortunately it didn't disappear and the following day appeared in the Grevilleas and I was able to identify it it as an immature Koel, a rather large cuckoo.  To my delight I realised that it was accompanied by its foster parents, the Spangled Drongos that I thought had been mobbing it the day before.

Immature Koel

Spangled Drongo

Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch both birds in a single shot, but the Koel is almost 3-times the size of the Drongos so they must have put in some incredible work to raise the cuckoo. The Koel stayed in the area for a few more days before disappearing into the woods around the mountain.

As the days get cooler and the rain fades we start seeing Rainbow Bee Eaters.  They are stunning birds incredible ariel acrobats with the brightest plumage.  They will perch atop the highest gums and then launch themselves into space in twisting and turning jinks in pursuit of flying insects. Sometimes they swoop across the dam to drink on the wing, and a group doing this appear to dance across the water.  The following are a couple of attempts to capture this, but I'm afraid my camera skills aren't up the level needed to really give more than a general impression at the moment.

Rainbow Bee Eater lifts from a drink.

Coming in for a drinking run...

And now for the bird lists:

Common (seen x5 days per week)

Australian Black Duck
Wood Duck
Bronzewing
Bar-shouldered Dove

Bar-shouldered Dove

Peaceful Dove
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Rainbow Lorikeet
Galah
Pale-headed Rosella

Pale-headed Rosella

Torresian Crow
Pied Currawong
Australian Magpie
Noisy Friar Bird
Yellow Faced Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Eastern Whipbird
Spangled Drongo
Double-barred Finch
Welcome Swallow
Laughing Kookaburra
Forest Kingfisher

Common (seen at least twice a week)

Bush Turkey

Bush Turkey in the 'Emu' bird feeders

Wedge-tailed Eagle
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Grey Shrike Thrush
Black-faced Shrike Thrush
Magpie Lark
Rainbow Bee Eater
Variegated Fairy Wren
Little Friar Bird
Satin Flyctacher
King Parrot
Lewins Honeyeater
Pied Butcherbird

Uncommon (seen x2 - x3 per month)

Pacific Baza
Collared Sparrowhawk

Scaly Breasted Lorikeet
White-bellied  Cuckoo Shrike
Common Koel
Little Pied Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Little Black Cormorant
Olive-backed Oriole
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Rufous Whistler
Scarlet Honeyeater
Eastern Yellow Robin

Rare (seen once in the month)

Mallard Duck
Brown Treecreeper
Varied Sitella

And that's a wrap for March.  April is proving to be still, dry and with lots of small birds that are bloody difficult to photograph, but I'll see what I can do.  Cheers!