Weekends That Were - December 2014

26.12.14

Lindum, Fuller & Sandy Camp Rd

I got to Burnby Rd at quarter to seven, having had a lazy slow-getting-up morning. Lots of water on the clay pan, White-headed Stilts poking in the mud and at least 4 birds sitting on island mud nests, Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterels running around and, happily, the Marsh Sandpipers were back. It’s amazing how easy they are to identify – there’s never any hesitation, even though they are relatively ‘bland’ looking they never look like anything else, there’s never any doubt about what they are – but I double-checked them all just the same….They are not a common bird, but this area – Wynnum north – has always been, in my mind, their stronghold.

I walked down to the end of the road and then down the grassy road extension to the other wet area. What appeared to be the tail end of a very fast moving Red-bellied Black Snake shot through the grass at incredible speed, but a clear view was not obtained so positive ID remains unclear. A couple of European Hares popped and propped, quite relaxed despite my close proximity. Nothing more of interest, back to the car and round to the Kianawah Rd access. A flock of approx. 50 Little Corellas met me at the fence and scattered before me as I crossed the grass. 

 More Marsh Sands (total 11) and 5 scattered Sharp-tailed Sandpipers completed the tally.

Moved on to Fuller Oval and a welcome sight – it has filled with water again and the birds have responded – 8 Australian Grebes, a Latham’s Snipe panicked into flight, 30 odd Pacific Black Duck, 13 Magpie Geese on the far shore, 2 Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets and, hiding out in the lily pads, 5 Wandering Whistle Ducks. Half an hour here and time to move on to Sandy Camp.

The first pond had filled up again, the second pond was completely overgrown with waist high plants taking advantage of the dry conditions and, presumably, fertile pond bed. The third or Wagtail pond also completely dry.

In the Painted Snipe pond two Spotless Crakes showed in spurts and spats. Out on a mud bank in the main pond two Latham’s Snipe assumed they were invisible, but, in fact, were showing well. Bird numbers were generally lower than on recent visits – obviously the birds have dispersed in reaction to recent rains.

On to the rear ponds and, again, numbers were down, Australian Darters, Australian Pelicans and a small breeding colony of Little Pied Cormorants. The Black Bittern Pond produced only a calling Brush Cuckoo, a White-faced Heron and two almost invisible Spotless Crakes growling away in the back of the papyrus bed.

Back on the track and a single Brown Quail in view – looking at it through the bins I noticed a lump on the track beyond it – a fine example of a Blue-tongue Lizard. Unfortunately it crossed the path and vanished into the grass before I could get too close. An Eastern Osprey sat on the nest pole and a Rufous Fantail in the bush at the head of the track – unusual for the time of year at this location.

That was about it for my Christmas birding – it rained solidly through both Saturday and Sunday and then it was back to work Monday!

25.12.14

Oxley - Christmas day

Birding on Christmas day – nothing quite like it. There’s usually no one around, the roads are quiet – even the air traffic seems to die off. Mind you it doesn’t mean the birds are any better, but it somehow seems different.

We went to Oxley. It wasn’t too bad – there was more happening than when I had been here 2 weeks ago, but it was still relatively quiet. The ponds were, surprisingly, almost devoid of life with just a couple of White-headed Stilts, 2 Black-fronted Dotterels, 4 Pacific Black Ducks and 3 Australian Pelicans. There was the usual ‘rack’ of Little Black Cormorants perched up on the overhead wires – 9 in total - and a couple of calling Australian Darters, but all in all, given the current drought out west, it was surprisingly deserted.

On the return walk we heard a triller call and found a very lightly barred Varied Triller sitting quietly up a she oak – only my second VT on this site (The last one was in May 2008). 

Another good bird for this time of year was a Little Friarbird and 5 White-throated Needletails were recorded for prosperity by Swift-Boy Rob who has taken it upon himself to send the records in for every Needletail and Pacific Swift spotted this year. 

We drove around looking for an open McDonalds as we figured that was the only place on Christmas Day that might be open for coffee, but, despite visiting several establishments between Garden City and Salisbury, we finally resorted to a cuppa a la my new coffee machine on my old balcony

20.12.14

Trotter again

Picked Mr D up at 5.45 and we arrived on site at 6.00. Although not quite as humid as my last visit the walk down through the forest left us with wet shirts and sweaty foreheads. A small breeze across the water took the edge off but it was still quite warm despite the overnight south easterly change. The woods were, as always, very quiet. The Tawny Frogmouth still sitting on the nest, no sign of chicks yet. A Bearded Dragon sat frozen on a tree stump and allowed very close approach for photos.

A very brief view of a Collared Sparrowhawk crossing the track ahead of us ticked a new bird for the site for my list and a Spangled Drongo near the water line was the first for a while. A juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle flew slowly across the lake as 4 Comb-crested Jacanas chased each other across the lily pads.

We were unable to re-locate the Red-capped Plover’s nest of two weeks ago and there was no sign of adults or chicks so I suspect the weather or predators have overwhelmed the attempt. There were even less waders here than last time – 2 only White-headed Stilts although a non-flying juvenile indicated successful breeding somewhere very local. The only Terns on site were 4 Caspian and a total of 55 Australian Pelicans was significantly down on last visit’s numbers. Maybe there has been some dispersal due to the recent rain?

Back through the forest to the car it was even quieter than going in, although a large bird leaving a tree and giving minimal views, did get us excited, but left us in the end agreeing to disagree on the identification.

Belesis for breakfast and the pleasure of soft poached eggs, crispy bacon and hot coffee finished off our morning.         

14.12.14

Minnippi

We drove separately and met in the car park at 6.00. I had a prior commitment to take K, A & L to the airport so would have to be home by 8.30, leaving Mr P and Mr D to their own devices….

As we crossed the bridge over Bulimba creek we, as usual, scanned the immediate area. The tide was high and the water level in the river at its max – i.e. little exposed mud showing. To our surprise a Pale-vented Bush Hen was calling stridently from the far bank, down river of the bridge. We had all either seen or heard them here before, but usually had used playback, this self-announcement was unusual. Having said that, this is the time of year to hear them call as they are at their most active in warm, damp conditions.

A few minutes later Rob spotted one of the birds moving slowly under the thick growth just above the water line. We got partial views and some photos of it - good views of this sometime difficult bird. A few minutes more and things got better as it popped out onto the only open piece of mud on the bank and posed for a few minutes while cameras whirled before making a deposit and walking back into cover! Extraordinary!

Hopefully see the link below for action video!

http://youtu.be/kchKL5OVq2s

We were also pretty sure we heard a Lewin’s Rail calling on the other side of the bridge but it didn’t respond to playback.

We carried on and found the lake levels slightly up on our last visit – the recent heavy rains had helped that, but the lake is still very low. An Intermediate Egret in full breeding plumage was quite a sight against the dark green of the water weeds and the other usual water birds poked around their respective interests.

Into the M1 forest and it was fairly quiet. We had heard about a reported Brown Thornbill and, although doubting the accuracy of the record, played for it anyway – with no result. It seems an unusual report, most especially at this time of year. An Eastern Yellow Robin called in the bush while an Oriental Dollarbird perched up above and a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos changed places in their nesting hole.

Back to the lake and we noted a dramatic reduction in the number of duck. There had been 80+ Pacific Black Duck here a few weeks ago and 10-20 Hardhead on a regular basis. Today: 1 Hardhead and about 20 Black Duck. Still no exciting waders despite the low lake level and enticing muddy edges.

Over the hill and past the airfield – Channel-billed Cuckoos flying around constantly calling and being chased by Torresian Crows, Sacred Kingfishers calling in the woods, a distant Pacific Koel also warning of a coming storm, typical summer noises and scenes. 

These woods, too, were quiet and we made our way back towards the airfield.

It was at this point that I realised it was already 8.05 and I had to dash. Leaving the others I walked rapidly back to the car – it took me 15 minutes during which Mr P called me to look up and “were there any Needletails above me?” There weren’t and I hurried on. Ten minutes later and I was home in time to fulfil my obligations…..    

13.12.14

Oxley

Once again venturing out on my own, it was a surprisingly pleasantly cool morning given the heat and humidity of recent weeks. The gate at Oxley had a ‘Track Closed’ sign on it – but was open so I went in anyway. It was obvious from bicycle tracks, dog and human footprints I wasn’t alone in ignoring the warnings. The track itself was fine, as it turned out, but there was quite a bit of tree damage presumably from the hail storm on 27^th November. I would estimate somewhere between 3 and 5% of the trees had suffered either complete or partial damage.

The first section was fairly quiet with, not only numbers but, species slow to appear. The ponds were overflowing with correspondingly very few waders and, surprisingly, very few duck – only 3 Pacific Black Duck and 2 Grey Teal. Five Magpie Geese flew ponderously overhead heading upriver, been a while since I saw any here on site. A trio of White-breasted Wood Swallows appeared to be sharing a nest hole on the island and a pair of Double-barred Finches stopped long enough for a quick photo op.

Overall it was a fairly unexciting 2 hour stroll but I did get some nice pictures of a Bar-shouldered Dove and a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas and just before the exit gate a small number of White-throated Needletails zoomed overhead heading north.

6.12.14

Trotter

As everyone else was unavailable I had a bit of a sleep in and didn’t get to site until 6.45. Very, very muggy - must be almost 100% humidity. Just walking casually through the woods towards the lake and my shirt is sodden. As usual not a lot showing in the forest – calling Olive-backed Orioles and a Grey Butcherbird most noticeable. A Tawny Frogmouth still sitting on the nest near the gate that we found last time, a couple of male Red-backed Fairy-wrens and Silvereyes, a trio of Laughing Kookaburras and a single Grey Shrikethrush.

Reaching the ‘lake’s edge’ it was good to see the water level was still very low but - despite the apparent food availability, perfect habitat of shallow ponds drying out, fresh low vegetation springing up - there were bugger all birds.

Out on the main body of remaining water a few Pacific Black Ducks and a number of Wood Ducks floated aimlessly. Further down a large colony of resting Australian Pelicans numbered in excess of 100, while a few White-headed Stilts poked along the edges and a small group of Great Cormorants sat out the heat. A Plover attracted my attention in the ‘scope – a wader! At last! It was a Red-capped Plover and I followed her through the ‘scope back to her nest scrape where, on closer inspection, I found two eggs. Further along a single Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was almost turned into a Pec, but couldn’t quite make it….A pair of immature White-breasted Sea Eagles flew by and an adult was perched up in a tree, 4 Whistling Kites completed the raptorial numbers, lazily coasting looking for an easy meal.

Making my way back through the woods again to the car I sweated some more but saw little to add to my list. As I drove down the main road on my way home a rain storm arrived to relieve the muggyiness and it bucketed down very heavily for 5 or 600 meters flooding the road and slowing the cars. I thought about the little female Plover out on the mudflats and wondered if she’d survive the deluge without everything being washed away.

Red-capped Plover female