FEBRUARY '19

EARLY FEBRUARY

Blue-faced Honeyeaters are always common at Banks Street Reserve, the adult (first photo) has blue skin around the eye while the juvenile and immature (lower photo) has it of a yellow-green colour.

The bird above is a female Variegated Fairy-wren, notice the dark red-brown colour between the eye and the bill (lore) and a blue-grey tail. The bird on the photo below is a female Red-backed Fairy-wren, very plain-coloured and almost no features.

The Sacred Kingfishers are still in the reserve, above a juvenile. They will leave the Banks Street after the 21st of February (last time I saw them for this year). 

 White-browed Scrub-wren, male.

 Willie Wagtail, an immature.

 Leaden Flycatchers can be seen on and off at this time of the year, the bird above is an immature, notice the brown, light colour of the edge of the feathers on the wing and a pale base of the bill. It  is possible that this bird has started its migration north after growing up in the south. By mid-February migration is in the air.

 Eastern Whipbird, I'm not sure if it's an adult finishing its moult, or a young bird (still developing short crest). Eastern Whipbirds are found and heard in the reserve throughout the year.

Another bird that is still moulting, the Golden Whistler, a female.

 January was very dry this year, the water-level in the creek was very low, the Egrets (Great and Little) and the White-faced Heron on the photo above were looking for food on what used to be the deepest part of the creek (on February 1st). After a few days, rain finally arrived, Breakfast Creek filled up again and the Egrets and the Heron left.

 Pied Currawong

 This immature Dusky Moorhen is about to leave the parents, after a few days, I could hear one adult calling the way they call while nest-making and incubating, are they starting a second family for this year, just after the recent rain?

 Juvenile Little Pied Cormorant

 It looks like the autumn migration has started for these Spectacled Monarchs, I saw three together, the two adults above and the immature below. At Banks Street Reserve they can be seen during autumn and spring migration. 

 Pheasant Coucal  

This Torresian Crow was keeping an eye on me, there was a newly-fledged  crow nearby and the two parents seemed very agitated, they followed me and swooped me a few times until I left. 

 Trigonodes hyppasia - Triangle Owlet Moth (above)

 Lampides boeticus - Long tailed Pea Blue (above)

 Mocis trifasciata Triple-banded Looper Moth (above)

Junonia villida - Meadow Argus

MID FEBRUARY

Leaden Flycatcher, an adult male.

 The Australian Wood Ducks are usually seen regularly in the reserve along the creek and on the short grass during the cooler months (April to November), I don't think they go far for the rest of the year as every now and then they visit, like this female.

 Every so often I see a Keelback Snake along the creek's edge, this one was looking for food behind every corner of all those rocks around. Keelbacks are the only snakes that can feed on Cane Toads and are non-venomous.

 Occasionally, something very unexpected happens at Banks Street Reserve. At the end of my walk on the 14 of February, I spent some time between 7.30 to 8 am sitting by the edge of the creek under the two big Fig Trees looking at the birds coming and going when suddenly this beautiful young male Superb Fruit-dove landed on one of the lower branches above the water at four meters from me. It didn't seem to be bothered too much by my presence and attempted to land for a drink but quickly flew back up possibly after seeing the Keelback that I had seen there just before. It flew from branch to branch without hurry and hung around quietly for at least 15 minutes, it then moved higher in the canopy until it disappeared. I was astounded and could not believe I had such a great encounter with this rare and beautiful bird right in the middle of Brisbane's suburbs. 

 The photo above clearly shows the origin of the scientific name for the Superb Fruit-dove, Ptilinopus superbus. Ptilinopus means 'feathered foot' in Ancient Greek, (quoting the book - Latin for Bird Lovers - by Roger Lederer and Carol Burr), in fact in all the doves of the genus Ptilinopus the feathers grow down to the bottom of the tarsus.

The pale-green feathers among the red side of the neck, the purple crown and in the middle of the black band across the chest show that this bird was born last spring/summer and has now almost completed its moult into adult plumage.

 The Brush-turkeys seem to have become more social now that the breeding season is over, they are sharing activities within small groups of all ages.

 Immature Spectacled Monarch stopping over while migrating.

 Variegated Fairy-wren, a female.

An immature Australian Magpie.

Grey Butcherbird

 Juvenile Olive-backed Oriole.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Pale-vented Bush-hen, the dark, grey bill indicates a juvenile. By now, they are becoming more and more difficult to see or hear.

LATE FEBRUARY

 Pale-headed Rosellas have been visiting more frequently in the last few weeks. 

A Brush Cuckoo was seen on February 21st, I saw another bird here last November 18th although at that time the bird was calling non-stop, whilst this one now was very silent. I suppose they use Banks Street Reserve as a staging spot during migration. 

White-throated Needletail, a flock of about 15 circled above the reserve. 

 As the water level drops, Egrets arrive, I saw three Great Egrets and two Little Egrets today (21.2.19).

Common Aaeroplane - Phaedyma shepherdi

 Silhouette of a Brown Goshawk stalking Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on the Quandong flowers, their feeding frenzy was interrupted many times today (22.2.19).

Juvenile Shining Bronze-cuckoo.

The Little black Cormorant can be seen mostly during the warmer months.

A shy Pheasant Coucal, they have stopped calling in the last few weeks and the feathers on their head and neck are showing more and more light brown streaks. 

 A Little Egret fishing together with the Royal Spoonbill.

A very scruffy-looking young Brush-turkey walking along the dry creek bed.

Galahs

Tawny Frogmouth

Black-faced Monarch, a visiting migrant.

For this month I have visited Banks Street Reserve 14 times, I saw and heard a total of 71 species of birds, on average 40 per outing: complete list for February on eBird.