Pardalote Holt

Monday, August 1, 2022

Emerald beckons and a new Pardalote Holt begins

As much as Susanne and I would have liked to continue living at Pardalote Holt for ever, life just doesn't work that way and so in February 2022, after 19 years in Guanaba, we uprooted ourselves and moved to Emerald in the Central Highlands of Queensland. I took on a new job as HR Manager for the largest citrus farm in Australia but after 2-months decided that my new employer wasn't what they portrayed themselves to be and so I resigned. Not what we had planned, but we sold the Holt at the peak of the market and bought our new property on the outskirts of Emerald for a reasonable price and so we're here to stay for the time being. The new property is considerably smaller on just under an acre of land but it backs onto an expansive area of land owned by the local Rifle Club. We've been here almost 5-months now and I've yet to hear a shot fired, but the land appears to be broken scrub ideal for wildlife and of course birds. We're over 1000 kms further north and considerably further inland so I am finding new birds and critters to keep me amused.

Blue-winged Kookaburra

and just to show the blue wings

One of the first birds to catch my attention was the Blue-winged Kookaburra. Down south we used too entertain the Laughing Kookaburra and whilst both birds 'laugh' the call of the Blue Winged Kookaburra is quite different. Difficult to describe but when I awoke on my first morning here I heard the chuckles and immediately knew something was different. We seem to have a family of four that visit the garden on a daily basis.

Our next newbie is the Apostlebird. These birds live in communal groups, usually with one pair breeding and the others assisting with incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks, not something I can recall coming across before. Apostlebirds, or Happy Jacks as they are colloquially named, are immense fun. They chatter and play and appear relatively unafraid of humans although they keep a careful eye on our cats, which is wise.

Apostlebird

Part of a family group

Keeping a wary eye on Monty

Loving couple

Always inquisitive

prepared to stick their beaks in anywhere

Another species we didn't encounter at the Holt was the humble House Sparrow. Much maligned by Ozzies as an invasive species the I've usually seen them in more urban environments, but we have a flock of fifty or so that seem to live in the vines over the garden arch.

Female Sparrow on the pool fence

The advantage of having such a healthy flock of Sparrows is that we're also host to a Sparrowhawk.

This cheeky beggar appears next to the Basil patch no more than 10' from the garden door.

No Sparrows in the Basil.

So lets check out the garden arch...

There's a large flock of Sparrows just 5' above him!

Some birds are familiar from the Gold Coast and that includes;

Peaceful Doves

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Double-barred Finch

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Grey Fantail

Brown Honeyeater

Silvereye

But back to the newbies. Down south we had King Parrots, here Red-Winged Parrots.

The gorgeous female

and a striking male.

Replacing the Yellow-faced Honeyeater of Guanaba we have the Singing Honeyeater. Slightly larger but similar in its habits.

Singing Honeyeater

And then, just to get me really excited, I discovered we have a Spotted Bowerbird that visits regularly. In Guanaba, if I trotted up to the Tamborine Mountain Rainforests I could see the gorgeous Regents and Satin Bowerbirds, but this one is in my back yard. How good is that.

Spotted Bowerbird

and finally, the Superb Fairy Wren that's been avoiding me all week.

And yes, there are Pardalotes here, I hear them regularly, but so far they've been hiding way up in the tree tops.

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Summer rains and the rainforest creeps closer

For those of you who don't live in Australia we have had a wet summer. La Nina has been active and according to the news we've had the soggiest summer in 4-years. Figures have been bandied about but our little corner of SE Queensland has been very damp with some dam filling downpours and steady rain throughout. The effect on the Holt is very visible with green stuff shooting up all over. Unfortunately this has included the invasive weeds and I've been forced to put the backpack on a conduct some spraying. I dislike using poison for a variety of reasons but removing some weeds by hand just isn't feasible due to the need to get the entire root system.

Singapore Daisy

Singapore Daisy is an attractive ground cover and popular with insects but it causes rashes on the dogs skin and will quickly take over if you don't deal with it.

Mother of Millions

Mother of Millions is well named, a fleshy plant that spreads like wildfire and needs to be removed as soon as it appears.

Mistflower

Another attractive groundcover which produces small flowers. It loves the banks of creeks and spreads quickly but care must be taken or the poisons can leech into the water.

On a far more positive note the lush foliage has attracted some of the rainforest birds down from the mountain and Whipbirds have been calling throughout the season. We've also had visits from a pair of Little Shrike-Thrush which is a first for the Holt.

Little Shrike-Thrush

The Little Shrike-Thrush is a busy mid-sized insectivore that hops around in the mid-foliage searching for grubs. It's difficult to capture due to its frenetic activity, but the Whipbird is even harder.

Eastern Whipbird

Whipbirds prefer the lower ground cover and will often search for food under fallen fern fronds and logs. They are a challenge to photograph and I can't say that I've ever managed a decent shot of one.

With the heat and humidity other critters have been abundant.

Golden Orb Spider

Golden orb Spiders have been spinning their massive webs across the forest, trapping flying insects. This is a female with the far smaller (and out of focus) male sitting carefully distant above it. Their webs can stretch for 10m or more and are surprisingly strong and sticky.

Green Tree Snake

Venomous snakes are legendary in Oz but this is the harmless and very beautiful green tree snake. They are about as thick as your thumb and about a metre in length when grown. This one spent a good time slowly meandering around the tree ferns. They have no fangs nor venom and are quite inquisitive so if you don't spook them they'll stop and have a look at you. They feed on frogs, lizards and small mammals.

Palemouth

The dams attract a host of Dragonflies but this Palemouth prefers the mid canopy and shrubs. It's a small dragonfly coming in at around 16mm in length, but a pretty insect with its ochre stripes. Below are a few of the dragonflies more commonly seen skimming the waters of the dam and enjoying the lilies.

Blue Skimmer

Yellow and Black Flutterer

Australian Tiger munching a bug

Almost done!

Mating Billabong Damselflies

And here are the hosting lilies!

Water Snowflakes

Marshwort

Away from the dams the treetops have been noisy at nights as the Koalas have been growling out their mating calls. For a relatively small furry creature they can make surprisingly deep bellowing cries that can carry for a considerable distance.