Little spot with little-seen Little Kingfisher

Found a quiet little spot to spend a little time lately with little-seen local Little Kingfisher. Seems to lack a partner, so all pictures presumed to be same bird.

Sharing the kingfisher's fishing hole, Striated Heron, one of a pair in the same Three Mile Creek, Townsville, mangroves.

And a Shining Flycatcher female, also possibly without partner, though this bird shows up infrequently and males generally keep more to the shadows.

Shining moments around foot of tower

Shining moments below Payets Tower in the Common yesterday included surprise visit by female Shining Monarch. Quick flit through trees close to pool's edge and the bird darted off northeast. No sign of male partner but no surprise there. The glittering blue-black males seldom leave heavily shadowed creek fringes, habitat hard to find even at the conservation park's wettest.

Osprey appeared overhead almost at same time. Made three circuits of the pool without ever seeming likely to take the plunge for fish, though a few hefty splashes tell of sizeable targets.

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike struck better luck chasing sizeable insect targets in trees around the tower. Chose always to eat them away from the camera.

And Tawny Grassbird popped up out of para grass dying after recent killer dose of spray by Parks and Wildlife, which wants visitors to see more than high grass at the four main viewing areas. Prediction: Grass back bigger than ever within a year. Watch this space!

Shining moments with Flycatcher

Shining moments with Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto) at two nest sides along tidal boundary at Mungalla Station this week.

Female doing most of building at one site...

...and feeding at the other.

Where's the male? He'll be along sometime, I hope.

Zitting pretty and Shining bright

Before later bogging the Toyota in a metre of mud, chased this Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) at Orient Station on foot last weekend. Picture's for Paul, who's chasing the species as a possible cyclone threatens to disrupt birdwatching around Ingham today or tomorrow. And a big thanks to Craig and Cate for pulling me out of the poo - again!!!

No such embarrassments yesterday as I walked by the bogging site to check on Mangrove Robins. Found four skirmishing over territory, so all well there. Better luck photographing male Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto).

It's also one of few birds seemingly fooled by my terrible efforts at mimicry.

And here's a Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora), on the road a while back, and in almost the same place again yesterday. Wonders of the Orient...

What's black and brown and blue and sad?

What's black and brown at the same time? Immature rufous morph Black Butcherbird (Cracticus quoyi race rufescens), as seen from distance in Tyto today, with black splotch on breast showing the all-over colour to come as bird begins second moult on way to turning black.

What's black and brown at the same time? Pair of Eastern Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus). But the streaky brown female wouldn't sit still in fig tree with male above at Mungalla stockyards.

What's black and blue without being bruised? Male Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto) foraging on ground near Mungalla stockyards.

What's black about nesting Mangrove Robin (Peneonanthe pulverulenta)? Finding her gone yesterday and no sign of the two hatchlings from two days ago. Snake? Frog?  Raptor? Third tale of sorrow for the pair: nest abandoned; eggs snatched; hatchlings taken. Bugger. Bugger. Bugger. Better luck next time? 

Dry and hazy but not so dusty

Bit dusty along Orient Road these days as we await the Wet, but images of Horsfield's Bushlark (Mirafra javanica) from earlier in year not so dusty. From memory, the idea was  to show that level wires (and birds) beat the as-shot tilter.

Lesson from Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto) at Jourama Falls is clear: the bird isn't  close enough. In passing, the creek-loving pair recently abandoned a sturdy nest - after having a previous effort collapse into the water.

Much haze turning stealing all blue from the sky this past week, so Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) in Tyto pales in comparison to many shots of the species, though the delicacy of colour pleases me.