Nathan Road, Dowse Lagoon and D'Aguilar National Park

The past two days have been very busy for me, both being full days of birding. Yesterday, I drove to the northern edge of Brisbane, to the Nathan Road Wetlands Reserve in Redcliffe. Here, I was hoping to find some of the interesting wader species reported during the last month at the reserve.

After an extremely long time spent trying to work out how to access the reserve, it seemed to me that walking through a grassy forest, followed by thick grassland, was the only way to get into the reserve. While attempting to work my way through the forest, a large movement made me jump out of my skin. An enormous Eastern Grey Kangaroo hopped off from about three metres' in front of me, followed by four joeys! It really was an awesome sight.

Some time later, I spotted several White-headed Stilts coming into land on the reserve. Assuming that they must be landing in an open, watery area, I headed towards them. A stunning Swamp Harrier was a surprising, but fantastic, bird to see heading low over the grassland as I approached the Stilts, while I also accidentally flushed a Brown Quail.

It turned out that the Stilts had indeed landed in area of muddy water. Numerous Masked Lapwings; Little, Intermediate and Eastern Cattle Egrets; Australasian Swamphens; White-faced Herons and Royal Spoonbills shared the same spot. Some careful scanning of the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers finally revealed one of my targets, a Pectoral Sandpiper. This Siberian, Alaskan and Canadian breeder mostly spends the winter in South America, but small numbers head to Australia and New Zealand instead, while some birds reach Europe and even southern Africa. This was a very pleasing lifer for me, especially as considering the remarkable migration it has undertaken to reach Brisbane. I also found four Marsh Sandpipers (another Siberian breeder), a new bird for my '600 challenge,' and for my Brisbane list. Sadly, the Ruff, Wood Sandpipers, Latham's Snipes, Australian Painted Snipe and Red-kneed Dotterel, all reported recently, seemed to not be present!

My next stop was Dowse Lagoon, a medium-sized lake surrounded by town in Sandgate, where some interesting birds had been reported earlier in the day, including three Latham's Snipe. Sadly, my search for them drew blank again, but some fantastic birds were seen. Two magnificent Comb-crested Jacanas strolled across the lilypads, while the many ducks present included two Wandering Whistling Ducks and two Grey Teals. Herons and their allies were abundant, with vast numbers of Australian White Ibises and Eastern Cattle Egrets feeding alongside at least twelve Royal Spoonbills and Great White, Intermediate and Little Egrets. Other birds on the lake included several Australasian Grebes, Australian Pelicans, Australasian Darters, Australasian Swamphens (about 25) and White-headed Stilts and a profusion of Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants. The highlight was undoubtedly another '600 challenge' and Brisbane tick for me, a Whiskered Tern, which was hunting low over the water. Birds in the parkland surrounding the lagoon included Olive-backed Oriole and Sacred Kingfisher. I have not been to many places so alive with bird-life!

Two Australian White Ibises flanking three magnificent Royal Spoonbills, with a Pacific Black Duck and Hardhead in front (and a Crested Pigeon in the top right corner!)

On the way home, I visited Nudgee Beach, which was sadly swarming with people, resulting in all of the waders having been spooked, but an Eastern Osprey that flew overhead provided a pleasing year-tick.

Today, I decided to head up to D'Aguilar to visit my final completely new habitat of the year for my Brisbane year list, wet rainforest. I started at Maiala, where I enjoyed a fantastic walk along the Rainforest Circuit. I was immensely pleased to find an Australian Logrunner foraging right next to the path a short way into the forest. This fantastic and distinct species, one of only three members of the Logrunner family, resembled a small Quail with a long tail as it hurried across the undergrowth. This individual was a female, and consequently had a stunning orange throat. This awesome bird was one of my most-wanted species in Brisbane, so I was immensely pleased to find one, and it was shortly followed by another a little further up the track. Not long later, I heard a fantastic and extremely distinctive call echoing through the forest. It was two Wompoo Fruit-Dove making their brilliant 'wom-poo' call. Sadly the two birds seem to fly off as I approached, without me seeing them, though I soon found one just above my head, sat on its nest.

Not the best picture at all! This species is truly magnificent in voice and colour, with its red-and-yellow bill, bright green-and-yellow back and deep purple chest. What an awesome bird!

Other birds seen along the walk included classic Maiala species such as Australian King-Parrot, Eastern Whipbird, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Pale-yellow Robin and Russet-tailed Thrush. Just beyond Maiala, I found a magnificent and petite Rose-crowned Fruit Dove and two Satin Bowerbirds, while an enormous Wedge-tailed Eagle flew overhead. Sadly I missed Green Catbird, Regent Bowerbird and Paradise Riflebird (and, unsurprisingly, Noisy Pitta again), along with several other birds, but I will certainly be back as soon as possible.

I decided to try several other spots in the park on the way back into Brisbane, starting with Boombana. Here. I found a surprising number of the Maiala birds, including three more Australian Logrunners (once you seen one, you can't stop seeing them!). Two Little Shrikethrushes provided my only year-tick here. I then tried Gap Creek Reserve, which was extremely quiet, with an Eastern Yellow Robin and a White-throated Needletail, along with a profusion of Bell Miners the only birds of note, and Gold Creek Reservoir, which produced nothing of any interest bar two Australian King Parrots and a pair of Brown Quails, a species I seem to be seeing everywhere this year!

Brisbane year total: 156; additions: 18 (Swamp Harrier, Pectoral Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern, Eastern Osprey, Bell Miner, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Australian Logrunner, Eastern Whipbird, Pale-yellow Robin, Australian King Parrot, Russet-tailed Thrush, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Satin Bowerbird, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Little Shrikethrush)

And... More birding around Brisbane!

As my final month before university has begun to draw near, I have been continuing to make the most of my free time, adding to my Brisbane year list.

On the 17th January, I returned to Nudgee Beach, with my telescope this time. Sadly, the number of waders present was reduced from my previous visit, though still included great numbers of Pacific Golden Plovers, Lesser and Greater Sandplovers, Whimbrels, Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlew Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints. In amongst the numerous Greater Crested and small numbers of Little Terns, I was pleased to find two Gull-billed Terns, a year tick for me, while a Torresian Kingfisher perched in the mangroves was another addition to my list.

On the 21st, I headed up to D'Aguilar National Park for the first time this year. I tried to focus on finding dry forest species on my visit (I'll be back soon for the rainforest birds!), and so decided on trying Manorina, an area of the park I have not birded before. I saw some good birds during my two-hour walk, though there is still a great deal more to find there! Year ticks included five stunning Brown Cuckoo-Doves, four Topknot Pigeons, a fantastically-showy pair of White-throated Treecreepers (only my second sighting of the species), Large-billed Scrubwren, Australian Golden Whistler, Black-faced Monarch, Scarlet Myzomela and Eastern Yellow Robin amongst several others. I was very pleased to also see two birds I have never previously seen in Brisbane, the magnificent Eastern Spinebill, at least of eight of which had joined a mixed passerine flock, and a fantastic Mistletoebird. It was something of a surprise to find four White-throated Needletails soaring above the canopy, while a male Cicadabird was another great bird to see. I will make sure I spend as much time as possible in this national park this year!

Finally, this morning I headed to Anstead Bushland Reserve. I had two main targets, the Varied Sitella and the Apostlebird, though as is always the case with this reserve, one can certainly hope to find something out-of-the-ordinary there! Not long into my walk, I came across one of my targets, in fact 18 of them:

Part of the flock of 18 Apostlebirds. This has been one of my most wanted birds since moving to Brisbane. Its surprisingly large size (33cm in length), combined with its unusual genetics (it is placed in a family, the mud-nesters, in which the White-winged Chough is the only other member) to make this a really fantastic species to finally see. The species is named after the Twelve Apostles, Jesus's disciples, as they apparently travel around in flocks of twelve, though apparently their groups are usually larger than this. Anstead Bushland Reserve is the only reliable place for the species in Brisbane, and it has taken me three visits to finally see them!

I then headed down towards the river. On the way I found two Bar-shouldered Doves, along with the usual large numbers of Oriental Dollarbirds, Spangled Drongos and Black-faced Cuckooshrikes. By the river I came across a large mixed group of passerines, including several Olive-backed Orioles, Spangled Drongos, Australasian Figbirds, Little Friarbirds, a Striated Pardalote, a Willie Wagtail, a Sacred Kingfisher and Brown and Blue-faced Honeyeaters. A Pheasant Coucal was another great bird to see, and was shortly followed by the sighting of a second individual nearby.

I then decided to walk towards the open area of the reserve. A large group of Welcome Swallows and White-throated Needletails darted through the sky overhead. In amongst the flock, I caught sight of a slim, elegant Swift species with a long, forked tail. Great views of this bird as it flew low over my head confirmed its identity as a Pacific Swift, my fourth lifer of the year (all of which have been at Anstead!) and a very surprising species to find here, given its scarcity around Brisbane.

Seven Rainbow Bee-eaters joined in with the feeding frenzy nearby, while a Black Kite (a year-tick) and four Cattle Egrets drifted over the reserve. I accidentally flushed two Brown Quails from the path, another surprising bird to find here!

It was soon time to head back towards the carpark. On the way, while enjoying the sight of two Laughing Kookaburras calling to each other, I spotted a small brown lump perched on a branch deep within the forest. I was overjoyed to discover that it was a Tawny Frogmouth!

Tawny Frogmouth roosting at Anstead Bushland Reserve. This is the seventh individual of the species that I have seen, with three of those being birds seen during the day. What an incredibly awesome bird and way to finish a great morning!

Brisbane year total: 138; additions: 19 (Torresian Kingfisher, Gull-billed Tern, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Large-billed Scrubwren, Rufous Fantail, Brown Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill, Mistletoebird, Brown Gerygone, Eastern Yellow Robin, Topknot Pigeon, Australian Golden Whistler, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Scarlet Myzomela, Black-faced Monarch, White-throated Treecreeper, Apostlebird, Pacific Swift, Black Kite)

More birding around Brisbane

Since my visit to Sandy Camp Road Wetlands a week ago, I have continued to add to my Brisbane year total with several short trips to wild areas around the city.

On the 11th January, a brief visit to Mount Coot-tha Forest produced my first Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Pale-headed Rosellas of the year, though sadly virtually no other birds at all, as my visit was in the evening,

Two days' later, I enjoyed a fantastic, if extremely brief, visit to Anstead Bushland Reserve in west Brisbane on the way back from a trip to Ipswich. The visit produced two fantastic lifers for me. The first was a very satisfying find, as I managed to track the source of a remarkably high-pitched bubbling call from a bird flying overhead. It was a Little Lorikeet, a bird that I have been keeping an eye out for for some time! At just 15cm-long, this really is a tiny creature, and due to its nomadic habits, it can be a difficult bird to track down. I was very pleased to see another two of the species later on in the walk.

My second lifer was a fantastic bird. I spotted a Channel-billed Cuckoo flying directly towards me and followed it as it landed in a large tree right next to me. While watching it hop clumsily about the tree, I spotted a considerably smaller bird seemingly following it. I was overjoyed to discover that it was a male Oriental Cuckoo, a rare North Asian breeder that migrates south for the northern winter, including in small numbers to south-east Queensland. This bird is virtually identical in appearance to Europe's Common Cuckoo, a bird that I once enjoyed watching in my garden in Dorset each summer, before it sadly stopped returning two years' ago. Finding such a scarce bird was an amazingly-pleasing moment! I was lucky enough to be able to watch it for some time, though my attempts at photography sadly complete-and-utterly failed.

Other birds seen during the walk included a further four Channel-billed Cuckoos, one of my favourite Australian birds, a White-throated Needletail overhead, eight Oriental Dollarbirds and, a 600 challenge tick that had surprisingly managed to evade me up until this point, a Common Bronzewing. I can't wait to come back here!

Finally, today I walked from Kedron Brook Wetlands Reserve up to Nudgee Beach. Sadly the wetlands were very quiet from a wildlife perspective, with a strong wind and overcast, humid conditions combining to push most birds deep into cover. The large lake now held only seven Australian Pelicans and a single Masked Lapwing, while White-headed Stilt numbers were down to just four! Three magnificent Black-shouldered, a year tick, went some way to improve things, while a Brahminy Kite headed overhead and an Australian Reed Warbler was a first for me at the reserve. As I started to walk away from the area, I had a brief of excellent birding, firstly as an Intermediate Egret appeared, shortly followed by a distant Tern species heading over the Brook and a Striated Heron, another new bird for me in 2016, flying low over the mangroves. I was very intrigued to find out what species of Tern this was, given that this is a family I had not previously seen there. When the Tern soon reappeared, I was very surprised to see its thin yellow bill and long, forked tail, revealing its identity as a Greater Crested Tern. This species is traditionally a coastal and seashore-dwelling creature, and presumably the heavy wind had forced it inland up the creek. I was immensely pleased to find a species that had not previously been reported from the reserve on ebird before!

I had further views of what was presumably the same individual, along with a Whimbrel, another year-tick, a little further along the creek, just beyond the reserve, along with at least five Great White Egrets. A small pond just next to the path proved to be fantastically-productive as well, with both a Great White and a Little Egret, an Australian White Ibis, two White-headed Stilts and this selection of Ducks associating on it:

Five Chestnut Teals and a Grey Teal (second from front, a Brisbane tick for me!) next to Kedron Brook bikeway. At least three Grey and eight Chestnut Teals were on the pond.

Little Egret

A little later, a magnificent Whistling Kite flew overhead, being mobbed a Torresian Crow. This was shortly followed a stunning Australian Hobby soaring through, another Brisbane tick for me! This really is a fantastic area for birdlife.

My next stop was Nudgee Waterhole Reserve, where I quickly found my first Eurasian Coots of the year, along with the usual selection of Australasian Grebes, Dusky Moorhens, Hardheads, Pacific Black and Wood Ducks, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants and Australasian Darters. A small group of Variegated Fairywrens in the surrounding forest provided another year-tick.

Eurasian Coot at Nudgee Waterhole Reserve

My final stop of the day was Nudgee Beach, somewhere I really have not spent enough time. I was overjoyed to discover that this really is a fantastic location for wader-watching, and consequently new year birds came rapidly, with numerous Arctic migrant waders present, including huge numbers of Curlew Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints, Lesser Sandplovers and, very pleasingly, Pacific Golden Plovers.

Pacific Golden Plover at Nudgee Beach

Other birds seen included Whimbrels, Far Eastern Curlews, Greater Sandplovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pied Oystercatchers, Australian Pelicans, Little Egrets and Little and Greater Crested Tern. Not having my telescope with me almost certainly prevented me from finding several more species, so I shall return with it as soon as I can!

Brisbane year total: 119, additions: 24 (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pale-headed Rosella, Little Lorikeet, Oriental Cuckoo, Common Bronzewing, Black-shouldered Kite, Greater Crested Tern, Striated Heron, Whimbrel, Grey Teal, Whistling Kite, Australian Hobby, Eurasian Coot, Variegated Fairywren, Pied Oystercatcher, Pacific Golden Plover, Lesser Sandplover, Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Greater Sandplover, Far Eastern Curlew, Little Tern, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper)

Sandy Camp Road Wetlands

Today I caught the train to Sandy Camp Road Wetlands in south-east Brisbane, where I hoped to continue to add to my year total. I was excited to visit this reserve, having read of its diversity of habitats and fantastic diversity of bird species. Immediately upon my arrival, I came across some good birds, including three Royal Spoonbills and these three Magpie Geese, my first ever in Brisbane.

Trio of Magpie Geese at Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, as a close relative of one of the earliest ancestors of Swans, Geese and Ducks, this species really is a living fossil.

Over the course of the next four hours, I searched the lakes and surrounding forest and reed-beds. I found 61 species in the search, a great total at one small inner-city reserve on one day! On the lakes were waterbirds such as Australasian Grebe, Hardhead, Little Egret and Australasian Swamphen, all of which were additions to my year list.

Australasian Swamphen

Hardhead

Australian White Ibises, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants and Australasian Darters were present in huge numbers, all with recently fledge young. The young Darters were some of the ugliest birds I have ever seen! On top of that, other waterbirds included Intermediate Egrets, Australian Pelicans, Dusky Moorhens, White-faced Heron, and Pacific Black and Maned Ducks, while a White-bellied Sea Eagle flew overhead and numerous Sacred Kingfishers were present. I was extremely pleased to find five stunning Comb-crested Jacanas strolling across the floating vegetation.

Comb-crested Jacana, what an awesome bird!

I was also very pleased to find six Wandering Whistling Ducks. This was my first addition to my '600 challenge' total in 2016- it has certainly slowed up drastically! The Whistling Ducks are fascinating birds with complex genetics- it seems that they may be in a family of their own, distinct from all other waterfowl, and it was a great pleasure to see this species again for the first time in nine years!

Five Wandering Whistling Ducks with a single Pacific Black Duck (third from left)

The surrounding forest was also teeming with birdlife, with White-throated, Striped, Blue-faced and Brown Honeyeaters, Striated Pardalotes, Olive-backed Orioles, Rufous Whistlers, Silvereyes and Leaden Flycatchers all present among numerous other species, including three Bar-shouldered Dove, another first for me in Brisbane. The skies above the reserve were filled with Rainbow Bee-eaters, White-breasted Woodswallows, Fairy and Tree Martins and Welcome Swallows, while I flushed six Brown Quails from grassy areas which also contained Red-backed and Superb Fairywrens, Australian Reed Warblers, Tawny Grassbirds, Chestnut-breasted Mannikins and Double-barred Finches. What a great place!

Striped Honeyeater

I will certainly return to this reserve, especially as it is something of a local hotspot for Pink-eared Ducks, Horsefield's Bronze Cuckoos and Brush Cuckoos, all of which would be lifers for me.

Brisbane year list total: 95, additions: 19 (Royal Spoonbill, Magpie Geese, Leaden Flycatcher, Brown Quail, Australasian Grebe, Little Egret, Spangled Drongo, Australasian Swamphen, Bar-shouldered Dove, Comb-crested Jacana, Rufous Whistler, White-throated Honeyeater, Common Cicadabird, Olive-backed Oriole, Striped Honeyeater, Grey Shrikethrush, Wandering Whistling Duck, Hardhead, Oriental Dollarbird)

Meanwhile, at home several Channel-billed Cuckoos have arrived and hearing their extraordinarily raucous calling has become a regular occurrence, while Pacific Koels can also be heard (but, of course, sadly not seen). 

Beginning of 2016

2016 started near perfectly for me, as I saw two Tawny Frogmouths while walking back home from the train station after New Year's celebrations, one of which was in my garden!

As we live in the centre of Brisbane, seeing the extraordinary species here really was a great surprise and a fantastic way to start the year. It inspired me to begin a Brisbane metro year list. Over the next twelve months, I will try and find as many species of bird as possible with the Brisbane metropolitan area, an area that extends from Logan in the south, north to Redcliff Point, west to the western edge of D'Aguilar NP and east to North Stradbroke and Moreton Islands. With a vast variety of habitats included within the area, there will be a huge number of birds to find, the only problem being that I will be restricted by being a full-time student from February onwards and that currently I don't have any way of getting around the city by myself, other than using public transport. The main aim of my challenge is, however, to get out bird-watching as much as possible and I can't wait to see what birds I can find!

In a brief search in the morning, I added several more birds to my total, including White-throated Needletail, before heading north up to the Sunshine Coast for a short holiday with my family.

List total: 20, additions: 20 (Tawny Frogmouth, Australian White Ibis, Pied Currawong, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Welcome Swallow, Spotted Dove, Rainbow Lorikeet, Noisy Miner, Torresian Crow, Feral Pigeon, White-throated Needletail, Eastern Cattle Egret, Masked Lapwing, White-breasted Woodswallow, Straw-necked Ibis, Common Myna, Mapie-lark, Australian Magpie, Pied Butcherbird, Little Black Cormorant)

The trip to Noosa didn't provide many birds at all, the highlights being sightings of Grey Shrikethrush and Bar-shouldered Dove, but it was fantastic to spend some time in the great place.

On the 4th January, we headed back home. I decided to visit the nearby Grange Forest Park in pursuit of some more birds for my year-list. I certainly wasn't disappointed, as I once again found some fantastic birds among the 48 species I saw at this inner city birding hotspot. Two of them, the Little Friarbird and Superb Fairywren were new birds for me at the location.

Despite being a very regular sight around Brisbane, the beauty of the Pacific Black Duck never fails to impress me.

Another stunning bird, the Red-browed Finch

My favourite Grange Forest Park bird, the extraordinary Channel-billed Cuckoo. The extraordinarily loud shrieking of this bird echoes about the park. I saw at least eight of this fantastically-large bird on the 4th.

At least 50 White-throated Needletails soared overhead, while I was very pleased to have a magnificent Brown Goshawk pass low over my head on two occasions and two Black-fronted Dotterels scurried about beach. Chesnut-breasted Mannikin, Double-barred Finch and Australian Brushturkey were other nice birds to see, though Olive-backed Oriole and Pacific Koel (as seems to almost always be the case!) were sadly heard only and a Rail species (probably Buff-banded) could not be conclusively identified.

List total: 53, additions: 33 (Galah, Crested Pigeon, Grey Butcherbird, Laughing Kookaburra, Black-fronted Dotterel, Sacred Kingfisher, Australian Reed Warbler, Red-backed Fairywren, Red-browed Finch, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Willie Wagtail, Superb Fairywren, Great White Egret, Brown Honeyeater, White-browed Scrubwren, Dusky Moorhen, Pacific Black Duck, White-faced Heron, Maned Duck, Silvereye, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australasian Figbird, Brown Goshawk, Little Friarbird, Black-faced Cuckooshrike, Double-barred Finch, Little Pied Cormorant, Tawny Grassbird, Rainbow Bee-eater, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Lewin's Honeyeater, Australian Brushturkey, Noisy Friarbird)

Two days' later, I headed to the City Botanical Gardens in pursuit of a very species. After a short walk, I came across three of this fantastic bird.

The amazing Bush Stone-curlew. What an awesome bird to find living in the CBD!!!

Sadly the lakes in the gardens were virtually devoid of birds, with Pacific Black Duck and Dusky Moorhen the only waterbirds seen, though a fly-over flock of Little Corellas was a nice surprise.

List total: 58, additions: 5 (Bush Stone-curlew, Tree Martin, Little Corella, Silver Gull, Fairy Martin)

The next day, I decided to visit Kedron Brook Wetlands Reserve, another regular birding spot for me. I made a brief stop at the Toombull Shopping Centre for some House Sparrows, the only regular site for this species that I have been able to find in Brisbane so far (I can't actually believe I effectively twitched this species!). Sure enough, I quickly found two individuals, and moved swiftly on towards the reserve. It was a great surprise to find a Striated Pardalote by the entrance, flitting about in a tree directly above my head. This was only my second sighting of the bird in Brisbane, and my first here since settling here in September. Over the course of the next two hours, I found most of the classic birds of the reserve, along with some surprises, not least a magnificent Swamp Harrier gliding low over the grasslands. Despite being abundant in New Zealand, this can be a difficult bird to find on the other side of the Tasman, and was in fact my first sighting of the species in this country since I first visited in 2006! A Chestnut Teal and an Intermediate Egret were firsts for me at this location, while two Black Swans were my first in Brisbane! Other birds seen included a magnificent White-breasted Sea Eagle, numerous Mangrove Gerygones and Mangrove Honeyeaters, two Australian Pelicans and a Brahminy Kite. What a successful trip! While heading home, I was extremely pleased to spot a Pheasant Coucal flying into the riverside grass at Kalinga Park, another fantastic bird to end a fantastic day.

White-headed Stilts, an abundant bird at Kedron Brook Wetlands

A pair of Black Swans in the distance, always a nice bird to see and a Brisbane tick for me

An Australian Pelican flying in to land

Intermediate Egret

List total: 76, additions: 18 (House Sparrow, Australasian Darter, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Golden-headed Cisticola, Swamp Harrier, White-headed Stilt, Mangrove Gerygone, Mangrove Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Scaly-breasted Munia, Chestnut Teal, Black Swan, Australian Pipit, Australian Pelican, Brahminy Kite, Intermediate Egret, Pheasant Coucal)

I will continue to do as much birding as possible over the next few days, while I search for a car and try to figure out how to spend my final month-and-a-half before university!

End of 2015

On the 21st December, while walking our dogs in Kalinga Park on Kedron Brook, I was lucky enough to find a Lewin's Rail and an Intermediate Egret (a Brisbane tick for me). What a fantastic pair of birds to see so close to home!

Three days' later, I visited Anstead Bushland Reserve on the western edge of Brisbane. Here I hoped to find some bushland specialities. I certainly wasn't disappointed! The birding highlights included a stunning female Pacific Koel in the car-park, along with an equally magnificent Pheasant Coucal, 9 Oriental Dollarbirds and 10 White-throated Needletails overhead. I also added a bird to my 600 challenge, with several Little Friarbirds seen around the edge of the reserve.

The greatest sightings of the day were undoubtedly of two mammals. These were Koalas, one of Australia's most famous creatures and an unbelievably cool species to see. Finding two of these awesome animals just a half-hour drive from home felt incredible, there certainly aren't many cities in the world where such a creature can be found so close to the centre!

Koala at Anstead Bushland Reserve. Two of this brilliant creature were seen, at different ends of the reserve. It was a great privilege to see this amazing animal so well in the wild.

On the night of Christmas Day, I headed to JC Slaughter Falls in Mount Coot-tha Forest in pursuit of night-birds. Shortly after dusky, a Southern Boobook appeared, perched at the top of a distant tree, and gave some great views under torchlight. A second individual flew over us a little later, while at least four more were calling from nearby. It was also immensely pleasing to find this bird near the car-park:

Tawny Frogmouth, one of my favourite birds I've seen.

We headed home without any further sightings, other than a profusion of Cane Toads, certainly not a good creature to be seeing here...

The next day was my final day of birding in 2015, as we visited Enoggera Reservoir in D'Aguilar National Park on the edge of Brisbane. Sadly I failed to find any final year-ticks, though a Little Shrikethrush and two Cicadabirds were fantastic new birds for me in Brisbane. Other birds of interest that I saw included a Chesntut-breasted Mannikin, 7 Red-browed Finches, 3 Eastern Yellow Robins, two Leaden Flycatchers, two Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and a Channel-billed Cuckoo, while the usual assortment of Hardheads, Pacific Black Ducks, gallinules and Australasian Grebes were on the lake.

Tawny Frogmouth was my 720th species of the year, a total which included 208 lifers from six countries. 2015 was an immense year for me, with trips to Scotland, Italy, an unbelievable journey from the west coast to the east coast of the USA, an amazing week in Kenya, a great roadtrip up the length of New Zealand and some fantastic time spent exploring my new homeland, Australia. Let's hope 2016 is just as good!