A belated August post

Busy, busy, busy! Another very busy month at work has meant far too little time for me to watch birds, which is especially disappointing as we're moving towards the most active time of the year in regards to our feathered friends at the Holt. Another week spent up on the northern tip of Cape York allowed me to catch some birds that I wouldn't see at home, which is a nice change, but my bird counts are inevitably less reliable as I've had less time to get into the bush and look for the more shy birds such as the Thornbills and Pardalotes (that I know are present). But here's some of the stars of August...

However, here are some of the birds and critturs I found up north...

Bent Wing Bats

 I was lucky enough to be shown this colony living in an old silo of the the old Kaolin Mine that used to run at our mine site.

The colony

 There was quite a thriving quality. The photo's aren't the best, but I basically stuck the camera into a darkened silo and used a flash and auto focus and hoped for the best as I couldn't actually see them.

A small Salty sunning on the mud flats.

A Black-naped Tern on the wing

A Great Bowerbird near the mess.

Jabiru and Egret on the river.

Part of a Little Egret Colony established over the old Kaolin settling ponds.

Pelicans.

Pheasant Coucals on the haul road.

and a Whistling Kite

Meanwhile, back at the Holt, it's small bird season and the Scarlet Honeyeaters and Silvereyes have been present in numbers.

Silvereye hunting bugs in the Black Wattle

Scarlet Honeyeater in the Honey Gem Grevillea.

With the warmer, drier weather there have been some interesting insects abroad as well...

A Teddy Bear Bee on the Billy Goats Weed

A Scarlet Jezebel enjoys some nectar

A Monarch on the Grevillea

So, to the bird lists

Regulars (Seen daily)

Bar-shouldered Dove
Brown Honeyeater
Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch

Double-barred Finch

Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella

Little Corella hunkered down for some oncoming rain

Olive-backed Oriole

Olive-backed Oriole

Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird

Butch singing his heart out.

Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Ducks on the dam wall.

Some get quite curious.

Rainbow Lorikeet
Silvereye

Silvereye

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in the Silky Oak

Welcome Swallow
White-throated Gerygone

Common (Seen Weekly)

Australian Magpie

Maggie checking out the deck for dog food.

Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Yellow Robin

Adult Eastern Yellow Robin

Juvenile Eastern Yellow Robin

Grey Fantail
Grey Shrike Thrush

Another great singer, a Grey Shrike Thrush.

Golden Whistler
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Friarbird
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Pied Currawong

A Pied Currawong who got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning.

Scarlet Honeyeater

A Scarlet Honeyeater takes a break.

Striated Pardalote

Striated Pardalote keeping an eye out.

Torresian Crow
White-throated Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

A Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike.

King Parrot

King Parrot

Leaden Flycatcher

A male Leaden Flycatcher having a bad hair day.

Little Pied Cormorant
Pale-headed Rosella
Rainbow Bee Eater
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-throated Treecreeper

Rare (Seen once)

Brown Goshawk
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Boobook
Figbird
Grey Butcherbird
Masked Plover
Restless Flycatcher
Rufous Whistler

Male Rufous Whistler

Spangled Drongo
Spotted Pardalote

Spotted Pardalote collecting nesting material from a Stringy Bark gum.

Success!

Which is only 52-species, but the numbers are more due to my absence than the birds!

A new member of the family...

Winter is here and cool nights and blue sky days have become the norm. The odd night of rain and some heavy dews have made the pre-dusk mornings dank and chill, but as the sun rises the bush is full of birdsong and when the grevilleas are lit up then it's small bird city! The earliest of the winter arrivals is usually the Grey Fantail, but in June the Eastern Spinebills turn up and dominate the flowering grevilleas, although the Brown Honeyeaters often put up a determined resistance. The shrubs are soon filled with the Spinebills, Brown, White-faced, Yellow-faced and Lewins Honeyeaters. Then, just when you think that you couldn't get any more birds in the Firesprites the Scarlet Honeyeaters turn up and blow everything else away!

Bit of a stunner this one!

Taken from above, bird and flower in harmony.

Rich nectar for hungry birds.

Meanwhile, back in the tree lined creeks Eastern Yellow Robins compete with Spotted and Striated Pardalotes for suitable nesting sites and in the coops the Faverolles are getting broody. Are first chicks of the season hatching on the 18th.

Three of my Salmon Faverolle hens.

and now....may I introduce you to the new member of the family, our Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel puppy, Chudleigh....

Chudleigh meets Bitsy & Tolkein

Chudleigh goes hunting

Juju notes the newcomer and comes out to play

"Hey! You look fun"

Chudleigh cuddles!

Showing remarkable patience towards her new chum!

Ah! well, let's get back to the birds...

Regulars (Seen daily)

Australian Magpie
Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater in the Firesprite

Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill in the Firesprite

Galah
Grey Fantail
Laughing Kookaburra
Lewins Honeyeater

Lewins Honeyeater in the Firesprite

Noisy Miner
Pacific Black  Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Ducks dozing in the afternoon sun

Rainbow Lorikeet
Restless Flycatcher
Striated Pardalote
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
White-throated Gerygone
White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater in the Firesprite

Willie Wagtail
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater in the Firesprite

Common (Seen Weekly)


Eastern Yellow Robin

The perfect Eastern Yellow Robin - all bright and fluffy!

Grey Butcherbird
Grey Shrike-thrush
Little Corella
Noisy Friarbird
Pied Butcherbird
Welcome Swallow

Uncommon (Seen occasionally)


Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Golden Whistler
King Parrot
Masked Plover
Pale-headed Rosella
Rainbow Bee Eater
Rose Robin

A female Rose Robin

Scarlet Honeyeater

Scarlet Honeyeater in the Firesprite

Spotted Pardalote

Spotted Pardalote nest hunting?

Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-throated Treecreeper


Rare (Seen once only)

Blue-faced Honeyeater
Brown Goshawk
Brown Thornbill
Little Wattlebird

Little Wattlebird having left the Firesprite

Magpie Lark
Olive-backed Oriole
Silvereye
Straw-necked Ibis
Varied Sitella

Varied Sitella

Top Knot Pigeon
Wood Duck