100 Best Shots from 2018

At the end of 2017 I decided to adopt Banks Street Reserve as my birding patch. Living only at five minutes drive and only cycled by the creek a few times years ago, I had a feeling the place may have held some surprises. So my New Year resolution for 2018 was to visit Banks Street Reserve at least once a week. Surprising it was indeed.

The park is only five kilometres from Brisbane City and it is about thirty hectares large, it is enclosed by the suburbs of Alderley, Ashgrove and Newmarket. All the way from Enoggera Reservoir, Breakfast Creek, or Enoggera Creek bypasses the southern side of the park and is crossed by two small bridges for pedestrians and cyclists. A number of different habitats, enhanced by recent years restoration of native plants create a wonderful home for a great variety of creatures. Dry sclerophyll forest, moist forest sections, riparian vegetation, open lawns, thick and low shrub and some tall grass together with a playground, make the place a hidden gem for wildlife as well as for nature lovers. The locals love running, cycling, walking their dogs and playing, although surrounded by suburbs and major roads, Banks Street Reserve is a place of peace and beauty.

The following photos were taken throughout 2018, it is not a complete list of all the species that I saw, it is just what I could photograph, for all the birds recorded at Banks Street Reserve you can refer to eBird, a website I always contribute to after every outing. The main focus of this blog will be to share my sightings of mostly birds but also all the other creatures, plants and landscapes that make this urban park so special.

Following is a selection of my favourite outings at Banks Street Reserve during 2018:

- January 26, a very close encounter with the Poweful Owl.

- July 23, I have seen a total of 41 species including one of my favourite birds, the Eastern Spinebill, recorded there for the first time and not seen again yet.

- September 17, lots of migrants, new birds for the location and a record of 52 species observed. Same record also for the 23 and 29 of September. A total of  six new species observed for the first time here in September only.

- November 5, first record of a male Satin Flycatcher, a rather uncommon bird for Brisbane.

- December 1, new record of 54 birds seen, including the uncommon Pacific Swift; I saw for the first time the chick of the Rufous-tailed Bush-hens; the Great Egret was back after a long time.

The best months for 2018 (with the highest number of bird species seen or heard) were August through to mid-December when between 60 to 72 species were recorded each month. September and November both recorded a total of 72 species, with an average of 47.62 birds per outing.

I hope you will enjoy finding out more about our local wildlife in Brisbane. If you don't want to miss a post, please subscribe your email on the right-hand side.

Pacific Black Duck

Maned Duck, males.

Maned Ducks, male and female.

White-eyed Duck, female.

Australian Brushturkey, male attending the nest.

Spotted Dove

Crested Pigeon

Rose-crowned Fruit-dove

Topknot Pigeon

Pheasant Coucal

Channel-billed Cuckoo

Fantail Cuckoo

Brush Cuckoo

Tawny Frogmouth Chick

Tawny Frogmouth with Verreaux's Skink

Tawny Frogmouth

White-throated Needletail

White-throated Needletail

Dusky Moorhen

Rufous-tailed Bush-hen

Rufous-tailed Bush-hen

Masked Lapwing

Little Pied Cormorant

Great Cormorant

White-faced Heron

White-faced Heron

Cattle Egrets

Rufous Night-Heron

Straw-necked Ibises

Royal Spoonbill

Pacific Baza

Brown Goshawk pair

Brown Goshawk

Laughing Kookaburra

Sacred Kingfisher

Galahs

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos

Australian King-Parrot, immature male.

Pale-headed Rosella, juvenile.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Variegated Fairywren, male.

Variegated Fairywren, eclipse male.

Variegated Fairywren, female.

Red-backed Fairywren, male.

Red-backed Fairywren, female.

Lewin's Honeyeater

Noisy Miners nestlings.

Scarlet Honeyeater, male.

Brown Honeyeater

Noisy Friarbird

White-browed Scrubwren

Eastern Whipbird

Australian Magpie

Pied Currawong

Common Cicadabird, male.

Grey Shrikethrush

Golden Whistler, female.

Golden Whistler, male.

Rufous Whistler, female.

Rufous Whistler, male.

Rufous Whistler, male.

Olive-backed Oriole

Spangled Drongo

Willie Wagtail

Rufous Fantail

Gray Fantail

White-eared Monarch

Black-faced Monarch, immature.

Blach-faced Monarch, adult.

Spectacled Monarch

Magpie-lark, female

Leaden Flycatcher, female

Satin Flycatcher

Restless Flycatcher

Torresian Crow

Rose Robin, female

Welcome Swallow

Tree Martin

Australian Reed Warbler

Common Myna

Red-browed Firetail

Ring-tail Possums

Stony-creek Frog, female.

Stony-creek Frog, male.

Tusked Frog, vulnerable.

Strangesta ramsayi

Splendid Ochre

Evening Brown

Keelback Snake

Pacific Swift

Silver-eye

White-eared Monarch, immature.

Australian Ibis

Koala

Recently-fledged Spangled Drongos

Catoria camelaria moth

Great Egret