SEPTEMBER '19

 September is finally back, last year the migration month was the the most productive, I am looking forward to see what birds will turn up in the Reserve this year. The Leaden Flycatchers are back, at least a pair (female above and male below) can be seen and heard loud and clear in the heart of the woodland, calling, singing and catching flying insects.

 Kookaburras          

Pacific Black Ducks

 Rainbow Bee-eaters, I was very glad to find this pair, male and female, resting on a tree close to the oval, I saw one last month flying overhead, by the previous records it looks like they visit the reserve only during the spring movements.

 White-eared Monarch, I saw one on 7/9, after seeing them on November and December last year, obviously another bird passing through and going somewhere else.

Australian Ibis

 Variegated Fairywrens, at this time of the year there are many young birds that have recently left the nest and are now begging for food with very high pitched but soft calls coming from the thick bushes.

 Black-faced Cuckooshrike

 A Pheasant Coucal, skulking along the creek, still wearing the non-breeding plumage.

Masked Lapwing


MID SEPTEMBER

Blue-faced Honeyeaters and a Gray Butcherbird.

 Nice to see the White-eared Monarchs again.

 Little-pied Cormorant

 Willie Wagtail on the dry creek bed.

A male Golden Whistler taking a bath in the shallow water of Enoggera Creek.

The Eastern Spinebill is still hanging around the Reserve, soon it will be gone to a highland rainforest.

A female Figbird.

 White-faced Heron

Royal Spoonbill

 This Dusky Moorhen is building a nest on top of a pile of debris stuck on a branch overhanging just under a meter above water.

Pacific Black Ducks are usually seen in pairs or small groups, when I see a lonely duck in spring I can't help but think that its mate is sitting on the eggs somewhere hidden in the vegetation.

 A male Red-backed Fairywren carrying food to the chicks.

Not a good photo but this it's all that the White-throated Gerygone allows me to take here since it always keeps to the upper canopy.

 A Black-faced Monarch coming from the north.

 Brown Goshawks

 A Pale-headed Rosella feeding on the Anzac Flower weed - Montanoa hibiscifolia

 Black Flying Fox

 It has been very dry lately, the creek is drying out every day more, this Buff-banded Rail was feeding on some small-size prey items on a very shallow pool. I had not seen the Buff-banded Rail since January 2018, when it had a chick.

A pair of Galahs landed in one of the open-grass areas to feed on short grass seeds, I could notice the difference between male and female: the colour of the iris in males is dark brown while in females is red-pink.

A male Scarlet Honeyeater.

The hanging nest of the Dusky Moorhen from yesterday had an egg early on my visit but no bird to be seen. Coming back at the end of my walk, I was disappointed to see an empty nest and six eggs underwater right under the nest, suggesting they bounced off maybe while the mother tried to jump on and off, or maybe, an attempt of predation.

The first Channel-billed Cuckoo of the season, coming from Papua New Guinea, was seen on 15/9, it was sitting quietly on top of a tall figtree, harassed by other birds.

The Royal Spoonbill is starting to grow the long plumes at the back of its head, for the breeding season.

 Spotted Dove

The Bush Stone-curlews visit the reserve at night feeding on the open spaces, a breast feather is the only sign of their presence by day.

Crested Pigeon

 Straw-necked Ibises

 The most popular nest in the Reserve.

Pacific Black Ducks

 There is an abundance of Leaden Flycatchers at the moment, a female here, hunting for flying insects.

Little-pied Cormorant enjoying the new water on the creek brought from the storm a few days ago.

White-eared Monarch

Rainbow Lorikeets


LATE SEPTEMBER

 First arrival of the season for the Sacred kingfisher! (22/9)

Usual behaviour on the nest, a female with ruffled feathers, walking and scratching nervously, with the male nearby.

A female Red-backed Fairywren

Pheasant Coucal

 Black-faced Cuckooshrike

 A male Brown Quail, the first time I saw it here. A local told me they used to see Brown Quails near the creek years ago. Could this be a return?

 Quinine Bush or Bitter Bark - Petalostigma pubescens or trioculare

 A Noisy Friarbird feeding on the flowering Silky Oak.

 Little Corella

Torresian Crows feeding on a dead fish along Enoggera Creek, an adult (pale iris) with two young birds.

Pale-headed Rosella

 Pale-vented Bush-hens are quite vocal at the moment, and if seen, not too shy, provided one stands still and quiet.

 A Buff-banded Rail rushing to another Buff-banded Rail calling from the creek on the other side of the cycling track. I managed to take a recording of the call which can be listened to on the eBird list of the day.

A Spangled Drongo, like many other birds feeding on the nectar of the flowering Silky Oaks. Migratory Spangled Drongos are arriving at Banks Street Reserve joining the resident ones.

 Koala

This is a Splendid Ochre - Trapezites symmomus - I believe the pattern under the wing identifies it as a female.

 I was very happy when I finally managed to get a decent photo for the Painted Buttonquail, a very shy bird, I had to squat still and quiet for ten minutes before it started moving and feeding again after I accidentally scared it walking near the area. It is amazing how it can move on the dry leaf litter almost without making any noise.

I believe this is a Northern Brown Bandicoot, a young one as it was smaller that the usual Bandicoots. I couldn't get any better view as it was very shy, even the sound of the camera shutter scared it off.

 Another great find on the last day of the month, a pair of Dollarbirds, migrating from south-east Asia. My first sighting for the location.

A male Australian King Parrot.


The wonderful month of migration has come to an end once again. This September I visited Banks Street Reserve 16 times, saw a total of 82 species of birds (the most I have ever seen here in a month!), on average 49 per outing. Check out the complete September list of birds seen and recorded on eBird.

The following list gathers all the birds that showed a migratory and/or nomadic behaviour for Banks Street Reserve this month (September 2019) only, some of them aren't necessarily migratory in South-east Queensland, but visited the reserve only occasionally. Others are long-distance or altitude migrants, the comments in brackets are sourced from the main Australian bird books and my own experience at Banks Street Reserve. This list of migratory species does not show the total size of spring migration as some birds will arrive or show up in the coming months, other birds may have visited the Reserve but no one was there to see them, yet I think it shows how Banks Street Reserve is a very important stop-over location for many migratory birds:

1. Brown Quail (nomadic according to Simpson & Day)

2. Pacific Koel (passage and breeding migrant from south-east Asia)

3. Channell-billed Cuckoo (passage and breeding migrant from New Guinea and Indonesia)

4. Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo (passage migrant)

5. Shining Bronze-cuckoo (passage migrant)

6. Fan-tailed Cuckoo (passage migrant)

7. Buff-banded Rail (nomadic and breeding)

8. Painted Buttonquail (nomadic/passage)

9. Rufous Night-heron (only seen during warm months, possibly nomadic)

10. White-bellied Sea-eagle (nomadic)

11. Sacred Kingfisher (breeding migrant, from South-east Asia)

12. Rainbow Bee-eater (passage migrant)
13. Dollarbird (passage migrant from south-east Asia)

14. Little Lorikeet (nomadic)

15. Eastern Spinebill (wintering altitudinal(?) migrant and nomadic)

16. Yellow-faced Honeyeater (wintering migrant)

17. Scarlet Honeyeater (wintering migrant/nomadic)

18. Brown Honeyeater (nomadic)

19. Little Friarbird (nomadic)

20. Noisy Friarbird (nomadic, passage migrant, possible breeding)

21. Striated Pardalote (passage migrant and resident)

22. White-throated Gerygone (passage migrant)

23. White-winged triller (passage migrant)

24. Gray Shrikethrush (nomadic/passage)

25. Golden Whistler (wintering, passage, nomadic?)

26. Rufous Whistler (wintering, passage)

27. Rufous Fantail (passage migrant/nomadic, resident?)

28. Spangled Drongo (some resident and some breeding migrant)

29. White-eared Monarch (passage)

30. Black-faced Monarch (passage)

31. Spectacled Monarch (passage)

32. Leaden Flycatcher (passage)

33. Rose Robin (wintering/altitudinal migrant, passage)

34. Tree Martin (nomadic/passage)

35. Silvereye (passage, nomadic, resident)