On the 30th April, I enjoyed a new bird for my Brisbane year as a Caspian Tern finally appeared, flying low overhead while I enjoyed a swim at Nudgee Beach.
On the 2nd May, I had a fantastic walk around the Grange Forest, a fantastically good reserve considering its inner-city location. It seemed rather quiet to start with, but I then came upon a great mixed passerine flock, consisting of numerous species including Lewin's and Brown Honeyeaters, Little Friarbirds, Double-barred and Red-browed Finches, Chestnut-breasted Mannikins, Silvereyes, Grey Fantails (my first here), a Rufous Whistler and, best of all, two Rose Robins, another first for me, and an immensely pleasing one considering it was only my second sighting of the species.
Double-barred Finches at Grange Forest Park. They really are stunning little birds.
One of two Rose Robins at Grange Forest Park. I was so pleased to find this species here!
Other birds seen around the park included a Black-faced Cuckooshrike, two Tawny Grassbirds, and an Eastern Whipbird (along with four others heard), which was another first for me at the reserve, taking my total there up to 69, which seems like a great total for the area. What a great trip!
It wasn't until the 11th May that I was able to get out again. My destination was my favourite reserve, Anstead Bushland, in the west of Brisbane. I had a fantastically special morning there, with 46 species and extraordinary number of individual birds seen. Arriving in the car park, it was immediately evident that a swarm of passerines had arrived in the flowering eucalypts. Honeyeaters were abundant, in particular Yellow-faced (a species I had not previously seen here), of which well over 100 were seen, while lesser numbers Lewin's and Brown Honeyeaters, Scarlet Myzomelas and Little and Noisy Friarbirds were also present. Perhaps the most extraordinary spectacle of the trip was the Lorikeet flocks. Approximately 100 Rainbow, 50 Scaly-breasted and possibly as many as 300 Little Lorikeets were seen, which endless large flocks pouring overhead, and large numbers also feeding in the eucalypts. I felt so lucky to witness this extraordinary sight. Other Parrot species present included numerous Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and a pair of Australian King Parrots. Doves were also very much a feature of the morning, with a good number of Bar-shouldered present, along with at least eight Peaceful, my first sighting of this beautiful dainty bird in the Brisbane area. Two Australasian Swamphens feeding on the dry river bank provided another new bird for me at the reserve. A fantastic variety of other passerines was also very much enjoyed, with about 150 Silveryes, numerous Double-barred (my first here) and Red-browed Finches, Grey Fantails, Rufous and Australian Golden (another reserve tick) Whistlers, White-browed Scrubwrens, Red-backed Fairywrens and both Striated and Spotted (my first here again, such amazingly stunning birds!) Pardalotes also present. A male Little Bronze Cuckoo was a fantastic surprise (yet another tick here), while a magnificent Pheasant Coucal, another Rose Robin and two Grey Shrikethrushes (more firsts for me here), an Olive-backed Oriole and numerous Black-faced Cuckooshrikes brought me more great joy. Several Rainbow Bee-eaters were feeding overhead, while a pair of Magpie-Larks was a surprising first for me here. The highlight, however, was undoubtedly finding approximately ten Varied Sitellas. This was a fantastic lifer for me, and one that I have been unsuccessfully searching for for some time. They gain their name from their uncanny resemblance to the Old World Nuthatches, whose genus is Sitta, though at only 10cm long, they are considerably smaller. I watched these magnificent little birds creeping around the eucalypts for some time, before it finally became time to leave heaven and return to university. With one lifer, two Brisbane ticks, three year-ticks and 13 firsts for me at the reserve, and a truly mind-blowing number of birds seen, it had been an amazing morning! And I had forgotten to bring my camera.
Five days' later, I was back in west Brisbane, this time visiting Priors Pocket in Moggill. I had one target here, and I was overjoyed to find it almost immediately. In fact, 28 of them. Once again, I had left my camera at home, so I had to try and photograph it through my binoculars with my phone. I do not recommend this technique.
Three of the 28 Pink-eared Ducks at Priors Pocket. They are the second, fourth and fifth from the left, while the other ducks are Grey Teals and a Masked Lapwing is chilling on the right-hand side.
It was third-time-lucky for me finding these beautiful in this fantastic area, and it was certainly worth the effort of the previous two trips. I enjoyed watching this rare visitor to the Brisbane area for some time, before I decided to have a further search of the area. I ended up finding a number of interesting species, the highlight of which was undoubtedly four Eastern Grey Kangaroos relaxing under a tree. They are so awesome! A White-bellied Sea Eagle flying low over the river was a fantastic surprise, while a Brahminy Kite perched eating a fish made for a great sight. I was extremely pleased to spot a Buff-banded Rail flying across the river (I also recently saw one at the UQ lakes, which was brilliant!). Other birds seen included Australasian Grebe, Australian Pelican, Australasian Swamphen, White-headed Stilt, Black-fronted Dotterel, Rainbow Bee-eater, Galah, unsurprisingly Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Rufous Whistler, Grey Fantail and an amazing number of Striated Pardalotes, along with a year-tick in the form of seven Common Starlings, a surprsingly scarce species around Brisbane (long may that continue!).
My final trip was a non-birding visit to Gold Creek Reservoir on the 19th, where a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo overhead and a stunning Azure Kingfisher perched right next to me were fantastic bonus sightings, especially considering I hadn't brought binoculars with me! Other birds present included immense numbers of Bell Miners and (once again) Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, along with a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas.
I will be trying to find Grass Owls again this evening, so we shall see how that goes! In the mean time, my Brisbane year total has been ticking over at a great rate, but I am starting to run out of potential additions. I am now at 188, and I would love to reach 215. I can only keep on trying!
Brisbane year total: 188, additions: 8 (Caspian Tern, Peaceful Dove, Varied Sitella, Spotted Pardalote, Pink-eared Duck, Common Starling, Azure Kingfisher, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo)
