Willies thriving; mozzies diving

Almost time to quit the nest for these three Willie Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys), handily located beside bench on southeastern section of Tyto track. Not pictured, hundreds of mozzies lining up for lingering photographers. 

Elsewhere today, terrible picture of Superb Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus superbus): a first for Tyto list.  Female showed up briefly with Scaley-breasted Lorikeets. 


Almost as rare, but not photographed, White-throated Nightjar (Eurostopodus mystacalis) flushed three times near track. No recent sightings of the more common Large-tailed Nightjar.  

Pacific Baza bulletin: One parent seen soaring: one junior heard at distance.     
Click pix to enlarge

Grey days give me the Willies

Added to holdover images of Willie Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys) as leaden skies over Tyto today drained most colour from the place.

Looking good - on a plastic post.

Bird's real: perch converted to post from plastic sign plank.

King of a small castle.

Sunnier scene recently on the lagoon.  

Of a cockatoo and almond I sing

The Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have been raiding the Indian almonds again at the caravan park. Perch and shred them, nip them off, drop them and go to ground and shred them, makes little difference to the birds. But ground-munchers make it easier for me. Female above was happy to let me quite close in the morning sunlight earlier this week (click pic to enlarge). Still hoping for a decent in-flight picture!

Capturing things in flight comes naturally to Willie Wagtails. One of the pair in more or less permanent possession of the hide and its surrounding paperbarks in Tyto snapped up a dragonfly yesterday morning. Looked in general guide to North Queensland fauna but couldn't ID it.

Today, while creeping about looking for Bush-Hens under trees beside an overgrown creek (and being distracted by the first Spectacled Monarch seen for many weeks) this dragonfly persistently flew into the shade and posed on a dead stem. It appears to be one of the same species that made up part of the Willie's breakfast yesterday.

A closing note, on the floods and bird counts: February's 89 total species sighted was about 10 down on lowest previous tally (in past five years). This month has brought just 56 species, about 15 fewer than I'd have expected. But a solitary Latham's Snipe appeared today, a pair of Green Pigmy Geese have returned to the largely deserted open waters, and the insectivores are more visible in resurgent grassland and woodland. The signs point to a count of about 110 for March. We'll see!  

Three, two, one - it's all go!

Came upon these three Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) hiding in a Leichhardt tree near the Tyto entrance today. In fact, parent birds gave the game away with their chattering and scolding runs at me. Luck continued when the centre bird tried to burst into sound just as I was snapping. Win some, lose some. Birds above lack the symmetry of same three but with righthand bird turning head left (below). And, sadly, didn't manage to keep all three in sharp focus.

Similar focus failure with these two Brown Honeyeaters (Lichmera indistincta). Kept hoping also that birds would either get into perfect mirror image, or, failing that, form a bill-to-tail circle. Another almost all round.

Finally for the day, one Little Friarbird (Philemon citreogularis) made an unexpected appearance. It turned up head down for much of the short time it spent foraging near me. Very few Little Friars have visited the wetlands in the second half of the year. They like Tulip tree flowers but find them less attractive at this time of year.

Robins bob up - BBs bounce back

Juvenile White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) on a branch near the lookout knoll at Tyto, no more than 50 metres from a nest site that I watched off and on early in October.

This young bird and another fledged not long after my crawl over green ants in pursuit of a Long-tailed Nightjar. From the day before they left the nest till three days ago - about six weeks - I'd not sighted them.

Yet neither the two juveniles nor their parents could have been far off at any time. Nor is the area densely treed. Some birds and their young have this ability to seemingly disappear, without leaving the breeding locality. Small honeyeaters share the knack.

Willie Wagtails, on the other hand, do not move from the immediate nest zone and dominate their space. There's no denying their breeding and survival supremacy among all the local insect eaters. But few birds can match the Willies' devotion and natural aggression in defence of nest and even mature young.

While on the subject of juveniles' whereabouts, the four young Crimson Finches not long departed from their nest hole in front of the hide now spend their days in Scleria (Razor Grass) 100 metres to the west on an untrafficked (except by me) margin of the main lagoon.

Sadly, the Leaden Flycatchers nesting near the hide seem to have fallen victim to last week's lashing rain. The trim nest sits abandoned. No sign of the birds, or the unknown number of eggs on which they had been sitting.

But the Brown-backed Honeyeaters (Ramsayornis modestus) have returned to the hide and are rebuilding the nest they started and abandoned - and which the Rufous-throated Honeyeaters looted. Brown-backeds' nesting habits are certainly erratic.

First take your dragonfly

First take your dragonfly.
Fast pounce will do the trick.
Shake vigorously by the wings.
Discard the unwanted wings.
Pick up dragonfly by the head.
Gulp three or four times and swallow.

Bad morning for dragonflies. These two captures came in less than three minutes. The Willie Wagtails have young to feed and Willies are excellent parents.

But such large prey cannot be presented whole. So the birds were in no hurry to race off to the nearby nest, in a paperbark hard by the Tyto hide. As I left the dragonflies were under further attack.

The red: Diplacodes haematodes. The other: unknown.