Recent birding

It has again been over a month since my last post, and once again it has been absurdly busy!!

In recent times it has slowed down a little thankfully, and this has afforded me the opportunity to do some birding.

During my mid-semester break, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Melbourne on the 3rd and 4th April. The main purpose of the trip was to catch up with a friend and to spend some time with my family, but of course birding must always occur. A very brief walk around one of my favourite city birding locations, the Royal Botanical Gardens, produced the usual assortment of Melbourne birds, namely Australia year-ticks in the forms of Red Wattlebird, Little Raven, Common Blackbird and the magnificent Nankeen Night-Heron, of which I was immensely pleased to find five. Other birds seen here included Bell Miner, White-browed Scrubwren and Little Wattlebird, along with a fine selection of waterfowl such as Chestnut and Grey Teal and Australian Swamphens. Having read about a very exciting spectacle that occurs at St Kilda Pier each night, that was where I spent my evening. I was shocked at the size of the crowd gathered- at least a hundred people were crowded onto a small platform by the waterside. I was extremely glad that this did not put the birds off, as at least eighteen Little Penguins came to shore!

Little Penguins behind a pair of Black Swans at St Kilda Pier in Melbourne. Breathtaking does not even begin to describe the sight of such magnificent creatures right in the middle of the city, and in combination with a stunning sunset it created a truly beautiful evening.

As I have previously only seen Little Penguins in New Zealand, this was a fantastic Australia life tick for me.

After a brilliant time in Melbourne, it was sadly time to head back north for university. It was two-and-a-half weeks before I finally got the chance for another trip out, this time to Simpson's Falls in Brisbane's Mount Coot-tha Forest. I had an absolutely fantastic stroll through the forest, and I decided to return for another trip the next day. Some fantastic birds were seen over the two visits, the highlight of which was finding two Rose Robins (sadly both females, so lacking the resplendent bright-pink plumage), which was a life tick for me. A Peregrine Falcon that soared far overhead was almost as fantastic, despite being absurdly distant I was immensely satisfied to find this bird in the Brisbane area for the first time. Other birds seen included a magnificently close Fan-tailed Cuckoo, six Topknot and one White-headed Pigeon, eight stunning Pale-headed Rosellas, two Australian King Parrots, a Little Lorikeet, both Grey and Little Shrikethrushes and Rufous and Australian Golden Whistlers. Honeyeaters were present in abundance, with numerous Scarlet, White-throated, Lewin's and Yellow-faced seen on both visits. Striated Pardalote, Eastern Whipbird and both Rufous and Grey Fantails were among the other birds seen. What an awesome place. And what a remarkably scenic place.

Simpson's Falls looking good

On the 25th I was also lucky enough to have some free time and decided to spend it visiting Black Duck Hole in the Brisbane suburb of Murrumba Downs. I had one main aim here, and I was fortunate enough to achieve it fairly quickly:

Two of seven Cotton Pygmy Geese at Black Duck Hole. This stunning creature is the smallest duck on earth, at less than 30cm in length. It is a predominantly Asian species, with a small extension into northern Australia. It is a rare bird as far south as Brisbane, though Black Duck Hole appears a regular haunt. What an awesome bird and a fantastic lifer!

Numerous other birds were present, not least three of these guys:

Plumed Whistling Ducks in the middle, with two Dusky Moorhens on the left and two Grey Teals and a Pacific Black Duck on the right. This was my second Brisbane tick of the day, and another brilliant bird to see.

Black Swans are not birds I see regularly around Brisbane, so it was fantastic to see six here, including three cygnets.

Other birds present included vast numbers of the regular waterfowl species (it was great to find loads of Australian Swamphens), eight Royal Spoonbills, a Whistling Kite and a extraordinarily feral Muscovy Duck. I was immensely impressed by this reserve and I will definitely be back!

Meanwhile, I have also been doing as much birding as possible around the UQ campus. The lakes have unsurprisingly been the highlight, and I have been spending a lot of time with the two resident Helmeted Guineafowls. They have been bringing back great memories of Africa. Besides them, the only real bird of note seen at the lakes was a Striated Heron, among high numbers of the regular ducks, cormorants and herons and several fantastic Australian Pelicans. Another source of great joy has been my regular encounters with Tawny Frogmouths, both at UQ and at home in Windsor, they have been almost nightly!

An horrifically blurry photograph, but seeing these beasts almost every night has been absolutely immense.

Brisbane year total: 180, additions: 6 (Long-billed Corella, Rose Robin, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Peregrine Falcon, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Plumed Whistling Duck)

Since my last post...

It has been over a month now since I last updated this blog, and what a month it has been!

I was able to fit in two final wildlife-watching trips before university. The first was a return trip to Lake Samsonvale on the 17th February, where I hoped for better luck in finding some of the special birds that have been there in recent months. Sadly I chose an extremely hot day to visit, and consequently birds were very hard to find, though I did end up seeing 47 species. My attempts to find the Musk Duck, a potential lifer for me, on the lake itself unfortunately proved futile, though finding nine Great Crested Grebes among a great selection of the more common waterfowl was pleasing. A magnificent White-bellied Sea Eagle flew low overhead, as did six Australian Pelicans and a pair of Whistling Kites. Passerines were rather scarce, but it was great to find two Brisbane-area year-ticks in the form of Varied Triller (four) and Shining Bronze Cuckoo (two), while a decent selection of other woodland seen included four Bar-shouldered Doves, seven Striated Pardalotes, four Common Cicadabirds, twelve Rufous Whistlers, nine Leaden Flycatchers, three Double-barred Finches, an Eastern Yellow Robin and a Grey Shrikethrush.

Two days' later, I headed to Mount Coot-tha in search of a final addition to my 600 challenge. My first stop was the Botanic Gardens, where a pair of Plumed Whistling Ducks had been reported the previous day. Unsurprisingly, my search drew blank, though a great number of waterbirds were present, including a large flock of Hardheads and several Australasian Swamphens.

My next stop was the JC Slaughter Falls, where I held a vague hope of discovering a roosting Powerful Owl. This did not happen, and virtually no birds were seen, so I moved on to my final location, Simpson's Falls. As I got out of my car, I was very pleased to hear a fantastic chorus of bird song. Fantastic numbers of passerines were showing, presumably due to the impending thunderstorm. Striated Pardalotes, Large-billed and White-browed Scrubwrens, Brown Thornbills, a pair of Australian Golden Whistlers, Olive-backed Orioles, Lewin's and White-throated Honeyeaters, Spangled Drongos, Rufous Fantails, Eastern Yellow Robins and both Black-faced and Spectacled (a year-tick) Monarchs were all showing well, along with a Grey Shrikethrush. A flock of White-throated Needletails darted overhead, while a Sacred Kingfisher made for a nice sight in the forest. It felt as though a final addition to my 600 challenge must have been hiding somewhere, and so it proved when a fantastic Wonga Pigeon flew across the path in front of me, bringing my final total up to 680 species between finishing school in June and starting university. I am immensely proud of this total, which includes a fantastic total of 207 lifers (78 in Kenya, 70 in the USA, 50 in Australia, 8 in New Zealand and 1 in Italy). What an awesome time it was, especially considering everything else that happened in that time, from travelling across the USA, up New Zealand, visiting the Kakamega Forest (somewhere I have always wanted to go), and of course moving to Australia.

On the 21st February, I arrived at my college at the University of Queensland to begin my fresher week, bringing to an end the amazing period of my 600 challenge. Since then, I have been immensely busy settling into my biology course, which I really hope provides me with some fantastic opportunities.

The 19th March was my first opportunity to go birding since starting university, and I was lucky enough to be going out on a pelagic trip out of Southport that I had booked in January. After an extraordinary first trip, on which I was lucky enough to see a Queensland first in the form of a Cook's Petrel, along with another rarity in Black Petrel, I was immensely excited. After a terrible night's sleep in a backpacker hostel in Southport, I was on-board the boat by half-past-five in the morning. I was pleased to find a pair of Bush Stone-curlews in the port carpark, while several Far Eastern Curlews and numerous Greater Crested Terns were seen as we began to head out to sea. Just offshore, we caught site of an Arctic Jaeger, which was shortly followed by at least six more of the species, along with six Pomarine Jaegers, only my second-ever sighting of the bird, following a flock of 28 off England in 2014. These remarkable birds breed across far northern tundra and taiga, from Alaska to Scandinavia and Siberia, and spend the northern winter as far south as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It was a fantastic privilege to see such extraordinary birds so well and in such numbers, and both were firsts for me in Australia. Not long later, the first of many (at least 400) Wedge-tailed Shearwaters of the trip appeared, however things remained rather quiet for the next two hours or so. We enjoyed the bizarre sight of a pair of White-faced Herons flying low over the ocean as we headed out to the shelf, apparently most likely birds from Lord Howe Island relocating to the mainland, while a further Pomarine Jaeger was the only other thing of note seen before we arrived at the shelf. After four hours' of travelling out to sea, we finally came upon what we were searching for- a large flock of seabirds. Unfortunately the flock appeared to consist only of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, though eventually the first Tahiti Petrel of the day appeared, before a Hutton's Shearwater (a bird I had previously only seen in New Zealand, and consequently my third Australia tick of the day) appeared.

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters

Baiting the water successfully drew in more birds, and before long, close to 300 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were around the boat, along with at least 12 Tahiti Petrels, two Flesh-footed Shearwaters and three Wilson's Storm-petrels. Two unidentifiable large sharks and a school of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins also made visits to the bait, making for a truly awesome spectacle. It was hugely exciting when another birder called out a Pterodroma species heading towards the boat. It turned out to be a Kermadec Petrel, an enormously pleasing lifer for me. This bird breeds across the Pacific, from Lord Howe Island to Juan Fernandez Island, and is a rare visitor to Australian waters. I was overjoyed at seeing the bird, but frustratingly missed out on the opportunity to photograph it. Thankfully, a second individual bird appeared a little later, giving fantastic views as it circled the boat. Again, I very nearly missed out on photographing the bird, but thankfully I managed to take one decent record shot!

Kermadec Petrel (top) with a Tahiti Petrel below it. What an awesome privilege to be able to see both these birds at the same time!

Sadly, with a large swell building up, it was soon time to head back to shore. On the extraordinarily rough return journey, we encountered many more Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, several Tahiti Petrels and at least ten more Hutton's Shearwaters. I am sure that had we been able to stay out on the shelf we would have seen some fantastic birds, but sadly it was too dangerous. After four hours' of clinging onto the deck for dear life we finally got back to Southport, where a Brown Booby struggling to fly into the wind just off the beach made for a fantastic end to a great trip.

The final totals of the day were:

Wedge-tailed Shearwater- 400+, maybe closer to 600

Hutton's Shearwater- 11+

Flesh-footed Shearwater- 2

Wilson's Storm-petrel- 3

Tahiti Petrel- 16+

Kermadec Petrel- 2

Brown Booby- 1

Pomarine Jaeger- 7

Arctic Jaeger- 7+

What an awesome trip!

Meanwhile, with my three additions in February, my Brisbane year total has progressed to 174.

Brisbane year total: 174, additions: 3 (Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Varied Triller, Wonga Pigeon)

Three (mostly) frustrating weeks of birding

Over the past few weeks I have been trying my best to continue to add to both my 600 challenge and Brisbane year totals, with mixed results.

On the 26th January, I headed to the western area of Brisbane. I started at Priors Pocket in Moggill, where a large number of Pink-headed Ducks had been seen in late December, and I was very much hoping that this potential lifer would still be there. Sadly, this wasn't the case, but I was extremely impressed by the selection of birds present in this little farming area surrounded on three sides by the Brisbane river. A small farm pond (presumably where the Pink-eared Ducks had been) was swarming with Pacific Black and Maned Ducks, Grey Teals, Australian Pelicans, Eastern Cattle Egrets, Masked Lapwings and Straw-necked and Australian White Ibises, while an Australasian Grebe and several White-headed Stilts and Black-fronted Dotterels were also present. By the riverside, I was overjoyed to spot three enormous Wedge-tailed Eagles circling overhead together, a fantastic bird to find this close to the city, while other birds seen nearby included two Galahs, a Common Bronzewing, several Tawny Grassbirds and a small mixed flock of Red-browed Finches and Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. It certainly felt like a spot with great potential, and I'm very hopeful that I'll see some great birds here at some point!

My next stop was one of my favourite wildlife-watching spots around Brisbane, Anstead Bushland Reserve. Sadly, it was a little quiet today, with a Black Kite, two Channel-billed Cuckoos, two Pheasant Coucals and my first Little Corellas and Tawny Grassbird at the reserve being the highlights.

I decided to move on to the nearby Moggill Conservation Park, where some fantastic species had been reported a few days earlier. Frustratingly, it was equally quiet here, with two Pale-headed Rosellas and several small flocks of Little Lorikeets (a species I had only seen once previously) the only birds of any note. With heavy rain starting to fall, I headed home after a rather disappointing morning.

The next day, I decided to stay closer to home by visiting the Grange Forest Park. I had a decent walk around the park, with 40 species seen, including my first Collared Sparrowhawk of the year, along with a Brown Goshawk and my first Black Kite at this location. Other birds seen included White-throated Needletail, Black-fronted Dotterel and Olive-backed Oriole. This really is a fantastic place for birds, considering its position right in the middle of the city.

Two days' later, I headed northwest of the city to Lake Samsonvale. The previous day, birders have found 92 species along Golds Scrub Lane, including several birds that would be lifers for me. I decided that I had to give it a go!

Sadly, it was once more a frustrating morning, as I missed all potential lifers. It was perhaps due to the heavy rain the previous night that forest bordering the road seemed virtually devoid of birdlife, though I did find a small number of decent birds. At least three Brush Cuckoos were heard, but unsurprisingly (and disappointingly, as this would be a lifer for me) none were seen. A young Little Bronze-Cuckoo, my first in the Brisbane area and of my 600 challenge, was more forthcoming, giving great views as it was fed by its Red-backed Fairywren foster parents. Both Black-faced and White-bellied Cuckooshrikes were seen, though I missed another potential lifer in their Barred relative, while an Australian Golden Whistler, several Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and Oriental Dollarbirds and a pair of Bar-shouldered Doves were to only other birds of note in the forest. The cemetery area at the end of the lane was a little more productive. Bizarrely, it seems as though some people have decided to dump their unwanted domesticated fowls at cemetery, with a magnificent Peacock, five Helmeted Guineafowls and a very loud male Red Junglefowl all proudly patrolling the area, and joined by a wild Australian Brushturkey. A Whistling Kite and a Brown Goshawk went overhead, along with numerous White-breasted Woodswallows and a Rainbow Bee-eater. A search of the lake with my telescope produced a good selection of waterbirds, with four species of Cormorant, along with Australasian Darter, present, along with a Great White Egret, two Black Swans and several Mallards along with most of the regular Brisbane waterbirds. The highlight of the morning was undoubtedly finding at least 12 Great Crested Grebes around the lake, a bird I had not seen in Australia for nine years. Rather like Prior's Pocket, this feels like a place with great potential and I will certainly be back to find some great birds here at some point I hope!

I decided to visit Bunyaville State Forest on the way home, another place that had recorded some fantastic birds in the previous few days. I was feeling starting to feel despair, as once again I failed to find my target birds. In fact, I saw virtually no birds at all, with several White-throated Needletails and a Common Cicadabird the only notable sightings, and actually virtually the only sightings at all.

I then headed to Nudgee Beach, where a pair of Beach Stone-Curlews had been seen the day before. On what was shaping out to be one of my most frustrating days' of birding ever, it was inevitable that I would miss them. And of course, I did. In fact, with the tide almost all of the way in, no waders were present, and I had to make do with two Oriental Dollarbirds, eight Torresian Kingfishers and a Grey Shrikethrush. It didn't really help to improve my day!

Two of my friends from England arrived in Brisbane on the 31st January for ten days, which rather thwarted my attempts at birding. I still kept an eye out as we spent the time mostly fishing (almost as unsuccessfully as I had been birding!). Birding-wise, a Common Sandpiper (a year-tick), a Striated Heron and a flock consisting of several Little and Noisy Friarbirds (new for me at the reserve) at Kedron Brook Wetlands, a Spotted Harrier over Pinkenba Boat Ramp and two Wedge-tailed Eagles and a Channel-billed Cuckoo over Enoggera Reservoir were the only highlights. Fishing-wise, two decent Bream and two minute Catfish were the only fish of note.

With my friends, who have about as much interest in wildlife as Tony Abbott has in legalising same-sex marriage, gone, I was finally able to go birding again, and I decided to visit Kedron Brook Wetlands for a proper session on the 10th February. It was amazing to discover that the reserve was flooded, with about 200 metres of wading through truly foul water carrying all sorts of rubbish along the cycle path required to access the area. I held high hopes of being able to find some more waterbirds than usual on this visit, with the dry grassland now a boggy marshland. I was unable to find any rare birds on the reserve unfortunately, though it was great to see great numbers here than I have for some time. Herons and their allies were particularly numerous, with several Great White, Intermediate, Little and Eastern Cattle Egrets, ten White-faced Herons and a Straw-necked Ibis joining the ubiquitous Australian White Ibises. Two Chestnut Teals and a single Grey Teal (my first here) were seen, along with three Pacific Black Ducks, while a decent number of raptors were hunting over the reserve. These consisted of two resplendent White-bellied Sea Eagles, a Whistling Kite, a Brahminy Kite and, best of all, two Swamp Harriers, my first here.

Almost a record shot? One of two Swamp Harriers showing much better than my photograph would suggest at Kedron Brook Wetlands

It was a great day for members of the Gallinule/Rail family as well with record reserve counts for me of both Australasian Swamphen (5) and Dusky Moorhen (a spectacular count of two), along with a fantastic Buff-banded Rail, my first of the year.

It was equally pleasing to find that the number of waders, if not species diversity, was vastly improved from my previous visit, with close to 100 White-headed Stilts, 60 Masked Lapwings and four Sharp-tailed Sandpipers present. Hopefully something more interesting will take advantage of the great habitat here soon!

At least 95 (I didn't count, that is definitely an estimate) White-throated Needletails (a Kedron Brook Wetlands tick) were hawking overhead, while other species of note included Australian Pipit, Tawny Grassbird, Australian Reed Warbler, both Mangrove Gerygone and Honeyeater, Sacred Kingfisher and three Spangled Drongos, another first for me here. Overall, 47 species were seen, a decent total for a short walk at this inner-city reserve.

On the 12th February, I headed back to west Brisbane for an early-morning walk around Anstead Bushland Reserve. I found several birds I had not previously seen at the reserve, including eight superb Australian King Parrots, a great count of 22 Pale-headed Rosellas, a White-bellied Cuckooshrike, a Common Cicadabird, a Galah and several White-browed Scrubwrens, Eastern Yellow Robins and Rufous Whistlers, while at least 15 White-throated Honeyeaters and two Bar-shouldered Doves were nice birds to see. Sadly none of these were new for me in Brisbane this year, but it was still a very pleasant walk. I then headed to Hawkesbury Road Nature Refuge, where some interesting birds had been seen the day before. I missed them all again. Four Common Bronzewings and two Australian King Parrots were the most interesting birds seen.

I decided to head back to Priors Pocket in Moggill next, bearing a forlorn hope that the Pink-eared Ducks may have returned. They hadn't, but a flock of 22 Grey Teals was the largest I have ever seen, while a similar selection of common waterbirds was also present. Two Whistling Kites went over, another nice bird to see.

The next day, I returned to Bunyaville State Forest in pursuit of any of the several interesting Honeyeater species seen there recently. I failed completely, though finding this Koala was immensely satisfying!

Koala at Bunyaville State Forest, what an awesome creature!!

Finally, I decided to head back up to Mount Glorious in D'Aguilar NP this morning. My short walk was a great success. Almost immediately after starting the rainforest loop, I found an extraordinary medium-sized bird creeping about the undergrowth.

A Noisy Pitta!!! This has been one of the birds I have most wanted to see since moving to Brisbane. What a beast! I watched this bird for some time before it creeped too far into the undergrowth for me to be able to see it.

This Green Catbird was one of 12 seen along the walk. With their extraordinarily-varied voicebox, this really is a fantastic bird.

A great selection of other rainforest birds were also present, with two White-headed Pigeons, two Crimson Rosellas and two magnificent Grey Goshawks providing further year-ticks, while two Russet-tailed Thrushes, an Australian King Parrot, five Pale-yellow Robins, two Satin Bowerbirds, a White-throated Treecreeper and an Australian Golden Whistler were other great birds to see. What an awesome national park this is!

Brisbane year total: 170; additions: 14 (Collared Sparrowhawk, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Australian Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Common Sandpiper, Buff-banded Rail, Noisy Pitta, Green Catbird, White-headed Pigeon, Grey Goshawk, Crimson Rosella)

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).