June arrives and its looking like a wet winter, most odd!

Well that was a strange month, the summer (the wet season) had been relatively dry and now that we've moved into the dry season we got drenched. The dams and tanks were soon full and overflowing and the grass bounced back from a long dry summer.  I was quite surprised at just how many birds were visible during the peak of the rain, as usually they disappear, but I think they were hungry and needed the feeders.

Waterfalls appeared on the duck tracks...

The poor old Guineafowl roost in a tree, which was no protection against this sort of downpour.

Rainbow Lorikeets just seem to get soaked.

Water dripping from their tails.

I was quite worried about the Guineafowl, but they survived without any noticeable effects.

This poor little finch couldn't get much wetter.

and there's nothing worse than seed sticking to your bill!

The 'rain event' was fairly heavy, but it was much needed as the ground was crispy crackly dry and we really needed it.  The real upside is now appearing as the citrus trees are full of bloom and as we move into August there are birds nesting everywhere, secure that at least in the short term there will be ample food for their young.

The bird list this month was fairly thin, but that was more of a reflection of how busy I had been. After a long period with no work I finally swung a contract with a mining company to set up their HR policies and procedures. It was only supposed to be for 3-days a month, but it was soon clear that I was working on 'green fields' and so I ended up doing a lot of extra work (which was great for the bank balance that was as dry and crackly as the land before the rain).  So, the bird lists are quite short and I'm sure that had I had the time to get out on the land I would have seen a lot more. Not necessarily a wider variety, but some birds that had dropped to uncommon or even rare would have been pushed up into the regular bracket.  The Rose Robin is a prime example as when I wanted to find him I invariably did without too much effort.

The Koalas are still in the area, and apparently the council have now designated our area as official Koala habitat, which means they take more notice of anyone felling trees, which is good.

This healthy looking male was dozing in the gums.

He woke briefly to see what I was up to, but...

was largely unconcerned so I left him to his dozing.

It has been a very busy period recently and currently I am hosting 7 Chinese students aged between 8-11 and a team leader, so I will keep this post short and let the pictures do the talking.


Regular (seen daily)

Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch

DB Finches sweeping up beneath the feeder

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill

Galah

Galah

Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck

Peaceful Dove
Plumed Whistling Duck

A raft of Plumed Whistling Duck

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeets mutual preening

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Common (seen weekly)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Brown Honeyeater

A Brown Honeyeater on a very wet day

Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Grey Shrike Thrush
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Bee Eater
Striated Pardalote
Torresian Crow
White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater stakes his claim

Uncommon (seen occasionally)

Azure Kingfisher

I'm finally getting the measure of Mr Tricksy

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Golden Whistler

Male Golden Whistler

Female Golden Whistler

Grey Butcherbird
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Pied Cormorant

A fluffy looking Little Pied Cormorant drying out on the raft.

Noisy Miner
Pied Butcherbird
Restless Flycatcher

A Restless Flycatcher that led me a merry dance through the bush.

Rose Robin

Rose Robin

Silvereye
Tree Martin
Welcome Swallow
Willie Wagtail
Wood Duck
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (seen but once)

Brown Thornbill

Brown Thornbill

Brush Cuckoo

Brush Cuckoo

Collared Sparrowhawk
Eastern Yellow Robin
Masked Plover
Olive-backed Oriole
Pale-headed Rosella

Pale-headed Rosella being photo-bombed by a Common Bronzewing

Royal Spoonbill

A surprise visitor, a Royal Spoonbill.

Rufous Whistler
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Spotted Pardalote

Spotted Pardalote showing his fiery rump

...and his spotted head.

Wedge Tailed Eagle
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-headed Pigeon
White-throated Gerygone

Which is a subdued 54 species, but we're moving towards peak season in August and the signs are good.  See you next month.

May

We are all creatures of habit and I am no exception to that. In reality I am probably more so than most and each morning I rise, shower, let the chooks out of their coups, change their water and feed them, feed the cats, the dogs and the tropical fish and the replenish the feeders for the wild birds before sitting on the deck for my morning cuppa. It's about then, between 7.15 am and 7.45am, or thereabouts, that I see and record most of the birds on my sighting lists.  It starts with the ducks, that queue up on the dam wall when I appear, and then the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, Rainbow Lorikeets, Galahs and a lone pair of Little Corella that appear and start the squabbles on the bird feeders. By the time that I am finishing my cup of tea the parrots have often largely moved on and the pigeons, doves and finches appear to sweep up all the smaller seed and scraps and then, as the sun finally starts to reach the garden the Honeyeaters and Spinebills make their entrance on the Grevilleas. I've wondered whether the suns warmth is needed to loosen up the nectar, but they might just feel the cold a little more than the larger birds. Later in the day when I stop for lunch, collect the mail, or step out onto the balcony for a cigar is usually when I pick-up the less common birds, especially those that appear to be just passing through.  Some of the different species come and go with the seasons.  Now is the time for the Grey Fantails, Rose Robins and Eastern Spinebills and by July I expect to see the Scarlet Honeyeaters appearing in numbers again. I'd have thought that by now I'd have picked up all the regulars in the garden, but there are always surprises and I'm beginning to suspect that a pair of White-browed Scrub Wren have set up home in one of the narrow steep sided intermittent creeks that climb from the Lap Swamp to the heights of the hill behind us.  I'm not totally sure as I hear what I think is their angry staccato outbursts from behind the foliage, but I'm keeping a careful eye on the area now and we'll see what turns up.

It can be taken for granted that birds bring me great joy in general, but when something unusual turns up in the garden its a real treat.  It doesn't need to be a rare bird in the region, just something that I don't normally see at the Holt and this month it was an Australian Grebe.  This smaller waterbird appeared after some rain, the dam waters being freshened up and presumable bring the small Rainbows (minnow size fish) nearer to the surface.

The Plumed Whistling Ducks were very curious about the newcomer...

Some were less than amused and piped to warn him away...

but with your head underwater you probably don't hear much.

but he finally got the message.

The Pacific Black Duck were altogether far more sanguine about the grebe's appearance.

and the Grebe? Well he (or she) just ignored them all and did his own thing.

Having said that every now and then the regulars can get up to something that is really amusing.  The Rainbow Lorikeets in particular are always up to something, this time just preening after some rain, but they can be such fun to watch.

Thoughtful pose

Bemused pose

Rainbow Lorikeets seem quite prone to getting very wet.

That's it, shake it out!

Every now and then there's a change to the grand scheme of things. In November 20012, after the big hail storm that smashed us, the Plumed Whistling Ducks changed their status from rare visitors (usually a pair or four around Christmas) to become all year round residents.  In their case there was the dramatic storm that heralded the change, but I'm becoming increasingly confident that the Rainbow Bee Eaters are moving into the all year resident status as well.  These stunning birds spend much of their time high in the canopy and leaping skyward to catch a passing flying insect, but each day they come down to the dams and swoop across the water and then splash, stop in mid-flight, dunk themselves and then soar up onto a branch to preen. Unfortunately my camera skills are not to the level that I've really been able to catch this activity yet, but I'll keep working on it.

Returning to his perch, high in the gums, with his catch.

The Bee Eater then beats his prey into submission before eating it.

and then settles down ready for the next foray.

Regulars (seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Brown Honeyeater
Common Bronzewing

The male Common Bronzewing

Double-barred Finch
Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill on his favourite Fire Sprite Grevillea.

Galah
Grey Fantail
Little Corella
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove

Tiny Peaceful Doves are all year residents.

Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck

A few of the 60+ Plumed Whistling Ducks that call the Holt home.

Rainbow Bee Eater
Rainbow Lorikeet

Hard to beat the colours of a Rainbow Lorikeet

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow

Common (Seen weekly)

Bar-shouldered Dove
Golden Whistler

Male Golden Whistler juggling a grub

Female Golden Whistler may not be as colourful, but has gorgeous eyes.

Grey Butcherbird
Grey Shrike Thrush
Laughing Kookaburra
Lewins Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote

A Striated Pardalote

Welcome Swallow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Blue-faced Honeyeater lurking in the Honey Gems.

Brown Thornbill
Collared Sparrowhawk

Collared Sparrowhawk causing the usual panic amongst all the other birds

Eastern Yellow Robin
King Parrot
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Pale-headed Rosella
Rose Robin

The rather gorgeous male Rose Robin

Silvereye
Wedge-tailed Eagle

A magnificent Wedge-tailed Eagle

White-faced Heron

A White-faced Heron hunting in the Lap Swamp.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

It's not that uncommon to see a flock of a dozen or so Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos passing through.

Rare (Seen but once)

Australian Grebe
Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike with Rainbow Bee Eater in the background.

Buff-rumped Thornbill
Little Egret
Magpie Lark
Mistletoebird

Mistletoebird with Mistletoe....

Pied Butcherbird
Rufous Whistler
Tree Martin
White-browed Scrubwren
Wood Duck
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

and that's all for now...and by the way, it finally rained!