October flowers in all its glory

October is  a lovely time of the year in Queensland.  The weather is beginning to warm as we move towards summer, but is still pleasant. There are a few showers around and the garden is blooming. The Jasmine tails off this month, but the Grevilleas step up a notch and a combination of scents from the Brunesca, Sweet Peas and Gardenias are sweet and heavy in the air.  There were some nervous moments in the first week of the month as a relatively large bush fire was burning near Canungra, only a few miles away.  By day we could see columns of smoke rising, and the hill seemed to be steaming, but at night you could see the flames and then things became a little worrying. It took a few days, but the fire service eventually took control and put it out.

One of the joys of this time of the year is the number of juvenile birds appearing.  The Welcome Swallows flew their nest in the garage

Ohh Mum, it's a bit scarey out here.

There, made it to the light thingy!

Keep going son, you can do it.

Aaagh!  That was a long way (about 7 metres).

The swallows weren't the only ones and over the month we saw a number of juveniles including Magpies, King Parrots, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Olive Backed Orioles.

The garden was in full flower with the Bougainvilles resplendent in their cloaks of petals.

I love this spot, where the Bougainvilleas shine over the reed beds, which in turn provide shelter for the Dusky Moorhen and the ducks.

Variegated leaves and double coloured delicate blooms.

One of the classic pinks.

These hardy and thorny shrubs provide little food, but lots of cover and are their thorny branches are firm favourites with the finches.

I know that they aren't natives, but they're as tough as old boots and give you a massive splash of colour. At the other end of the dam, not to be outdone, the Irises and Gladioli pitched in.

Looking back over the reeds toward the Sedge and Iris beds below the stair.

Wouldn't be an Australian garden without at least one Gladioli!

The common Flag Iris is still difficult to beat (and very hardy).

Still, enough of the plants, lets get back to the important stuff...the birds!

Regulars  (seen at least 5 days in the week)

Australian Magpie

Aww cummon da, let's place chase the leaf.

Bar-shouldered Dove
Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch

I know I keep snapping them, but they're gorgeous!

Forest Kingfisher
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Mallard
Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Ducks

Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet

Feed me mummy!

Spangled Drongo

Love the eye!

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck
Torresian Crow

 Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Bush Turkey
Dollarbird

The extremely wide gobbed Dollarbird.

Eastern Whipbird
Grey Shrike Thrush
King Parrot
Noisy Miner
Pale Headed Rosella
Red-backed Fairy Wren
Spotted Turtle Dove
White-necked Heron
White-throated Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen two to five times during the month)

Brown Falcon
Brown Goshawk
Brown Honeyeater
Brown Thornbill
Channel-billed Cuckoo
Collared Sparrowhawk
Golden Whistler
Leaden Flycatcher

Leaden Flycatcher

Lewins Honeyeater
Little Corella
Long-billed Corella
Red-browed Finch

Porky little fellow, or was it cold?

Sacred Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

A Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scarlet Honeyeater

Scarlet Honeyeater in a Honeygem Grevillea

Striated Pardalote
Variegated Fairy Wren
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-throated Treecreeper
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (Seen only once)

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Cicadabird
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Spinebill
Figbird
Indian Mynah
Little Cormorant
Little Wattlebird
Mistletoebird
Pale Yellow Robin (1st sighting)

Crappy shot, but it's a Pale Yellow Robin

Rufous Whistler
Varied Sitella

Which is 66-species; pretty damn good if I say so myself.

Next installment 'The Hailstorm' or "Bye,bye garden"

September and the start (and finish?) of Spring.

Last post I commented that Winter was over in a flash, well it seems like Spring is heading the same way.  As I write this we're in early October and the temperatures are hitting 7-8 degrees over season average.  ith the thermometer hitting the mid-thirties it's getting a tad too hot and combine this with the normally dry Winter/Spring conditions and the plants are looking stressed, not to mention the rising fire danger.  However, despite the heat some plants have to flower, it's that time of year.

Daviesia mimosoides - David's Tree

Dianella rara

Dogwood

Quinine Bush

Goodenia rotundiflora

Lomandra Longifolia (Mat Rush)

Lobelia Gibbosa

Of course flowers are all very lovely, but what really get's me going is our feathered friends and once again September proved a stormer with 70-species recorded at the holt. Perhaps one of the more exciting visitors for me where completely new to us, Long-billed Corellas.

Long-billed Corellas at the feeding station.

Even more satisfying was that they weren't just passing through and have been visiting regularly ever since their first arrival.  We have had their cousins, Little Corellas, visit occasionally in the past, but at the same time that the big boys arrived a group of 4-Little Corellas turned up and they've hung around as well.

Little Corella in the Silky Oak

A visitor that brought mixed feelings was a Brown Goshawk who set up shop for 3-days.  Beautiful bird and lovely to see it, but I was very concerned about the other birds.  Fortunately we have a pair of Pied Currawong nesting in the old gum over the Lap Swamp and they mobbed the Goshawk so often it eventually gave up and flew off.

Brown Goshawk

In flight - killing talons ready

Wondering what I was doing 60m away on the balcony with a camera.

This month's birds...

Regulars  (Seeen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-Shouldered Dove
Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Bronzewing
Bush Turkey

Bobby the Bush Turkey

Double-barred Finch
Eastern Whipbird
Forest Kingfisher
Galah
King Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Friarbird

Little Friarbird

Mallard Duck
Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Pale-headed Rosella
Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Brown Honeyeater
Little Corella
Long-billed Corella
Magpie Lark
Noisy Miner
Pied Butcherbird
Red-backed Fairy Wren
Silvereye
Spangled Drongo

Spangled Drongo

Spotted Turtle Dove
Striated Pardalote
White-throated Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen x2 - x5 per month)

Brown Goshawk
Crested Pigeon

Crested Pigeon - well you'ld be annoyed if you had to wear that hat!

Figbird
Golden Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Leaden Flycatcher
Lewin's Honeyeater
Rainbow Bee Eater
Satin Flycatcher
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scarlet Honeyeater
Variegated Fairy Wren
White-eyed Duck
White-necked Heron

White-necked Heron hunting in the dam.

White-throated Tree Creeper

White-throated Treecreeper

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (Seen only once in the month)

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Brown Falcon
Eastern Spinebill
Grey Fantail
Dollarbird

Dollarbird

Little Wattlebird
Masked Plover
Plumed-whistling Duck
Red-browed Finch

Red-browed Finch

Rufous Whistler
Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

Top Knot Pigeon
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-bellied Sea Eagle
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-faced Heron
Willie Wagtail

70-species, pretty damn good if I say so myself.  I would point out that I only count birds that I see from the deck, driveway, or around the dam, and we are in the middle of a gum forest.  If we drove 5 minutes down the road many of those birds that appear as uncommon or rare would bounce up into the regulars slot. The other thing to take into account is how difficult it can be to see and identify small birds in the canopy. I'm fairly confident that if I had x-ray vision birds like the Golden and Rufous Whistlers, Grey Fantails and the various Fairy Wrens would also be up as regulars.  Still, birding wouldn't be so much fun if it was too easy.

Winter gone, bang, that was quick, Spring is here..

I really enjoy winter and have been a liitle disappointed that this year it seemed to come and go so quickly, but by August the weather was warming fast and becoming very spring-like. The jasmine fired up and went into overdrive and the woodland started to decorate itself with a host of small flowers.

Acacia Fimbriata (Brisbane or Fringed Wattle)

Pultenaea retusa (Blunt-leaved Pea)

Hibbertia Vestita

Lewins Honeyeater in the Jasmine

Jasmine in bloom below the deck.

Hovea Fabaceae

Smilax Australis (Barbed-wire Vine)

Pandorea (Maroon)

Not only is this all very pretty, but accompanying the blooms are some wonderful scents, and of course, a host of small nectar feeders.

Scarlet Honeyeater on the Honey Gem Grevillea

Brown Honeyeater on a Robyn Gordon Grevillea.

And so, plants out of the way, let's move onto the birds.

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie

Australian Magpie

Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Brown Honeyeater
Double-barred Finch
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Friarbird
Mallard
Noisy Friarbird
Pacific Black Duck
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Juvenile Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow (nesting in the garage)
Wood Duck

Common  (Seen at least x2 per week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Bush Turkey
Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Whipbird
King Parrot
Noisy Miner
Silvereye
Striated Pardalote
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen at leats x2 - x5 per month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Collared Sparrowhawk
Forest Kingfisher
Grey Fantail

Juvenile Grey Fantail

Grey Shrike-thrush
Golden Whistler
Leaden Flycatcher
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Corella

Little Corellas squabbling on the bird table

Magpie Lark
Peaceful Dove
Rainbow Bee Eater
Red-backed Fairy Wren

Red-backed Fairy Wren

Rufous Whistler
Scarlet Honeyeater
Spangled Drongo
Variated Fairy Wren

Variated Fairy Wrens

Variated Fairy Wren (Male)

Varied Sitella
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-eyed Duck
White-faced Heron
White-throated Treecreeper
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (seen only once)

Brown Thornbill

Brown Thornbill

Figbird
Grey Butcherbird
Little-black Cormorant
Letter-winged Kite
Spotted Turtle Dove
Straw-necked Ibis
Top Knot Pigeon
White-throated Honeyeater
Willy Wagtail

Which is 62-species...warming up for September and the big birding month.  However, I shouldn't focus on just birds, so here's a couple of other beasties, both small and large.

Wallum Sedgefrog on a native raspberry

Red-necked Wallaby and Joey

And th..th..th..that's all folks.