Winter finally begins to show.

Well, if I'm now logging birds over the Australian financial year then this will be the first month of the new year.  It sort of fits as we still have a couple of months of winter to go through before spring officially arrives and so it almost aproximates to the Northern Hemisphere.  The unusually wet winter finally began to taper off towards the end of the month and we began to see the beautiful warm, dry days that charaterise the season in South-East Queensland.

Blue Gum towers behind the flowering Honey Gem Grevillea

This is the time to continue bringing the land back to order, so I spend a lot of days scything down the Mollases Grass and Billy Goats weed with the brushcutter.

Tidying up the dam wall

In the Hen House the latest brood of chicks have developed to pullet stage and past the period were they are more likely to get sick.  They are now out of the brooder and mingling with the main flock, although separated at night still.

A Salmon Faverolle in the Pullet House.

On the wild bird front we are beginning to get a sniff of things to come as the Grevilleas begin to move towards peak bloom and the nectar feeders start appearing.  These include the Little and Noisy Friarbirds, Brown, Scarlet, Lewins and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and the Eastern Spinebills.  One, very pretty visitor this month was a juvenile Pale Headed Rosella.

Immature Pale Headed Rosella feeding on the young flower buds of an Ivory Whip Grevillea.

Only the juveniles have the red head feathers.  These disappear in adulthood.

The back plumage is classic for the Pale Headed Rosella.

Yes, you are a very pretty bird.

As mentioned, the adults lose the red feathers and become all yellow, although some cross breed with Eastern Rosellas and the resulting hybrids often have patches of scarlet on their head and face.

Adult Pale Headed Rosella stretching her legs.

I must take a moment to apologise to the plant, the Velvet Leaf.  In previous posts I have said that I hadn't seen it attract any birds despite the yummy looking berries.  Well this month I was proved wrong, as the Velvet leaf attracted a flock of Silvereyes on an almost daily basis.  So well done Velvet Leaf, you do pull in the birds.

Silvereye on the Velvet Leaf.

And so onto the monthly list for July...

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-Shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honey Eater singing in the Grevilleas.

Double-barred Finch

Double-barred Finches

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Whipbird
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Mallard Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Pale Headed Rosella
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird

Pied Butcherbirds after the cat food.

Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet

It was a cold morning.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck

Common (Seen at least x2 per week)

Brush Turkey
Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

King Parrot
Lewin's Honeyeater
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Silvereye
Striated Pardalote
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Uncommon (Seen 2-5x per month)

Australian Ibis
Black-faced Cockoo Shrike
Brown Cockoo Dove

Brown Cuckoo Dove

Brown Goshawk
Forest Kingfisher
Grey Shrike Thrush
Little Corella
Masked Plover
Rainbow Bee Eater
Red-backed Fairy Wren

Red-backed Fairy Wren

Rufous Whistler
Top Knot Pigeon
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-eyed Duck

White-eyed Duck a.k.a a Hardhead

 Rare (Only seen once in the month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Golden Whistler

Male Golden Whistler

Magpie Lark
Pheasant Coucal
Red Goshawk
Royal Spoonbill
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Spangled Drongo
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-bellied Sea Eagle
White-bellied Tree Creeper
White-faced Heron
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

And of course the off Red-backed Wallaby..

Wallaby and joey on the dam wall.

Which is 57-species, only one up on last month, but the numbers are increasing and as I write this (half way through August) the promise of lots of interesting small birds is coming true.

Birds, birds, birds...

Taking an idea from the facebook page, Australian Birds, I've put together a table that covers all the birds that I've seen over the last financial year (July 1st 12 - Jun 30th 13.  The figure 1 merely indicates that the species has been seen during the month, and gives no indication as to the number of times or the number of birds, but you can always trawl through old posts to find more detail.

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Tot Australian Ibis 1 1 1 1 1 5 Australian Magpie 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Australian Raven 1 1 Azure Kingfisher 1 1 Barking Owl 1 1 Bar-shouldered Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Black Kite 1 1 Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Blue-faced Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Bronzewing 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Brown Cuckoo Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Brown Falcon 1 1 1 3 Brown Goshawk 1 1 Brown Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Brown Thornbill 1 1 Brown Treecreeper 1 1 1 3 Bush Hen 1 1 2 Bush Turkey 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Cattle Egret 1 1 Channnel Billed Cuckoo 1 1 1 3 Collared Sparrowhawk 1 1 1 1 4 Crested Pigeon 1 1 2 Dollarbird 1 1 1 1 1 5 Double-barred Finch 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Dusky Moorhen 1 1 2 Eastern Spinebill 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Eastern Whipbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Eastern Yellow Robin 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Figbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Forest Kingfisher 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Galah 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Glossy Black Cockatoo 1 1 Golden Whistler 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Grey Butcherbird 1 1 1 1 4 Grey Fantail 1 1 1 1 1 5 Grey Shrike-thrush 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Intermediate Egret 1 1 1 1 1 5 King Parrot 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 laughing Kookaburra 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Leaden Flycatcher 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Lewins Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Little Black Cormorant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Little Corella 1 1 Little Eagle 1 1 Little Egret 1 1 2 Little Friarbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Little Pied Cormorant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Little Shrike-Thrush 1 1 1 1 4 Little Wattlebird 1 1 1 1 4 Magpie Lark 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Mallard Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Mistletoebird 1 1 1 3 Nankeen Night Heron 1 1 2 Noisy Friarbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Noisy Miner 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Olive-backed Oriole 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Pacific Baza 1 1 1 3 Pacific Black Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Pale-Headed Rosella 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Peaceful Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Pied Butcherbird 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Pied Currawong 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Plumed Whistling Duck 1 1 1 3 Rainbow Bee Eater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Rainbow Lorikeet 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Red-backed Fairy Wren 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Red-browed Finch 1 1 Rose Robin 1 1 1 3 Rufous Fantail 1 1 Rufous Whistler 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Sacred Kingfisher 1 1 Satin Flycatcher 1 1 1 1 1 5 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 1 1 1 1 4 Scarlet Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 5 Scarlet Robin 1 1 1 3 Shining Bronze Cuckoo 1 1 Silvereye 1 1 1 1 4 Spangled Drongo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Spotted Turtle Dove 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Straw-necked Ibis 1 1 1 1 4 Striated Pardalote 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Sulphur Crested Cockatoo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Superb Fairy Wren 0 Torresian Crow 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Variated Fairy Wren 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Varied Sitella 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Wedge-tailed Eagle 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Weebill 1 1 1 1 4 Welcome Swallow 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Whistling Kite 1 1 White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 White-bellied Sea Eagle 1 1 1 3 White-throated Treecreeper 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 White-eyed Duck 1 1 White-faced Heron 1 1 1 3 White-headed Pigeon 1 1 White-necked Heron 1 1 1 1 4 White-rumped Thornbill 1 1 White-throated Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 White-throated Needle Tail Swift 1 1 2 Wille Wagtail 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Wood Duck 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Yellow-faced Honeyeater 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 Yellow-rumped Thornbill 1 1 1 1 4 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Monthly count 53 63 74 52 43 44 49 46 52 55 53 63

The end of Autumn

June 1st is supposed to be the first day of Winter in Australia, and so May would be the final month of Autumn.  Unfortunately the seasons don't seem to take much notice of our arbitrary calender selections over here and so nature does its own thing.

The way it should be!

Local knowledge would have me believe that at this time of year I could enjoy long, dry, balmy days and cooler evenings, and for a good part of the month that was true, but on the 6-days that it rained...it wellied down! This would normally be a good time to be pruning, tree felling and cutting back the long grasses, but the 6-days of rain made things so wet that put a dampener (no pun intended) on all these activities.  So, instead I built another garden bed and watched the birds.

First garden bed now established

New bed for veggies, protected by chicken wire and bird netting.

One of the high points of the month for me was finding an Echidna.  They're probably fairly common in these parts, but this is the first I had seen.  Unfortunately, it would turn over and let me have a look at its head and face and I wasn't going to do a Steve Irwin and poke it, so I only have a shot of its back.

Echidna

Moving swiftly on to the birds...

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie

Magpie's singing on the back deck

Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Bush Turkey
Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill & Brown Honeyeater feeding on Pineapple Sage

Galah

Galah

Mallard Duck
Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck & ducklings

Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet
Torresian Crow
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Common (Seen at least x2 per week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Eastern Whipbird
Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Pied Butcherbird

Pied Butcherbird

Rainbow Bee Eater

Rainbow Bee Eater

Spangled Drongo
Striated Pardalote
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck
Yellow-faced Honeyeater


Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times per month)

Brown Cuckoo Dove
Brown Honeyeater
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Little Pied Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Olive-backed Oriole
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Pacific Baza

Pacific Baza

Pale-headed Rosella
Rufous Whistler

Female Rufous Whistler singing her heart out

Spotted Turtle Dove

Spotted Turtle Dove

Varied Sitella
Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-bellied Sea Eagle

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (Seen only once in the month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Brown Falcon
Brown Thornbill
Forest Kingfisher
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Golden Whistler
King Parrot
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Eagle
Little Friarbird
Little Black Cormorant
Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Variated Fairy Wren
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

White-bellied Tree Creeper
White-thoated Honeyeater

Which is 56 species, one more than May last year (see post June 2012), but what I do find odd is that some of the birds that were common this time last year have become less so this year.  The Double-barred Finch disappeared altogether and I was worried they had been eaten by something, until they re-appeared in June. The appearance of the Pacific Baza increased my concerns at the time, as although their normal food is stick insects and bugs they will eat small birds, and we did have 4 Baza's playing in the trees. In fact the Baza'z (pronounced Bar Za) where in the mating mood - see below.

Incoming Baza

Baza's in love...

Happy little Baza

And that's all for the Merry Month of May.

Glorious April

What a difference a month can make. As we move into winter SE Queensland hits perfect weather.  Dry warm days, cool and clear nights. It's times such as this when I could almost like living here! Of course its also the time when you can really get back into the garden, so I started with a fresh new garden bed.

As you are well aware, I have no topsoil on my acreage. If I want to plant anything I have to carve a hole in the rock with a mattock, add earth, water, plant and then hope for the best.  Fortunately our good friends Neil and Bobbi were having some work done at their place, on the top of Mt Tamborine, and this led them to having several tons of spare soil. Rich, red, nutricious, Mt Tamborine soil.  So, several trailer loads later I had the makings of a garden.  I'd bought a treated wood planter set that was mouldering away under some breeze blocks at the back of the local hardware store and away I went, and here's what I did.

Step 1.

Allow small dog to choose site.

 Step 2.

Mark off site using pegs and string to line up with house.

 Step 3.

Dig in planter so it's level and line with old bird seed sacks.

Step 4.

Use barrow loads of rich volcanic soil.

Step 5.

Half fill the planter with soil

Step 6.

Add layer of straw and fresh chook poo straight from the chicken coop.

Step 7.

Scatter 2 kg of Dynamic Lifter onto chook poo.

Step 8.

Cover with second layer of soil.

Step 9.

Fill planter to brim and level with rake.

Step 10.

Plant and immediately add sugar cane mulch around plantings, and add corner rods for anti bird netting.

Simple process and all done within an afternoon...a long afternoon as it took a hell of a lot of barrow loads of soil.

One of the joys of this time of year is the wildlife and here's a recent pair of visitors to the Holt, a Red-necked Wallaby and her joey.

Joey's head just poking out of pouch.

Checking around

Time to get out?

Out and time for fun!

And he's away!

but stays close in case of danger

A real delight to watch, but on with the birds...

Regulars (Seen at least x5 per week)

Australian Magpie
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bronzewing
Brown Honeyeater
Bush Turkey
Galah
Mallard Duck
Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck just digging the rays...

Peaceful Dove
Pied Currawong
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
Wood Duck

Common (Seen at least twice a week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Double-barred Finch
Eastern Whipbird
Grey Fantail
Laughing Kookaburra
Pale-headed Rosella
Pied Butcherbird
Rainbow Bee Eater
Striated Pardalote
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times a month)

Blue-cheeked Honeyeater
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Bushhen

Bush Hen hunting.

Collared Sparrowhawk
Eastern Spinebill
Golden Whistler
Grey Shrike Thrush
Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret hunting

Gotcha!

King Parrot
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Black Cormorant
Magpie Lark
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
Rufous Whistler
Spangled Drongo
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 Rare (Only seen once in the month)

Eastern Yellow Robin
Forest Kingfisher
Leaden Flycatcher
Little Friarbird
Mistletoe Bird
Scarlet-backed Fairy Wren
Scarlet Honeyeater
Straw-necked Ibis
Variated Fairy Wren
Weebill
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike

Willy Wagtail
Yellow-rumped Thornbill

Which, by my sums, is 57 species, and the numbers are climbing.  Several of those birds included as uncommon or rare, such as the Eastern Spinebill and the various Honeyeaters, will really start appearing more regularly now that the dry weather has come and the grevilleas are picking up steam.

Before I go here's some pics of a Jabiru.  I didn't see it on our dams, but about a mile down the road on a nearby farm dam.  I did offer it an invite, but it ignored me.  they aren't common around here and it was a real treat to see one.

Jabiru on a dam

Otherwise know as the Black-necked Stork

Coming in at around 1.25m tall it's one big bird. Another name is the Policeman Bird!

And that wraps it up for April.