OCTOBER '19

 A male King Parrot

 Some Magpies are renovating an old nest, others, already have a newly fledged young.

 Grey Butcherbirds are busy feeding their young too, I could count three on this nest.

Leaden Flycatchers, female and male. 

 Black-faced Monarch

Sacred Kingfisher

 Large flocks of Silvereyes have been visiting the Reserve recently, about 40-50 birds, feeding mostly on the flowering Silky Oaks, maybe pushed from inland by the drought. Below is a Silvereye of the lateralis subspecies from Tasmania, note the darker brown side of the belly.

 A male Scarlet Honeyeater

 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Little Friarbird

 Dollarbird

       

 This Currawong placed that large grub in the fork of the twig and started pulling it apart using the twig to hold it.

 A Currawong mobbing an immature Brown Goshawk. The dark bars and marks across the neck and belly suggest it's a young bird, probably born last spring/summer. I wonder if it might be one of the offspring of the resident pair visiting its old native territory, or a young bird looking for a suitable place for its own.

 Damselfly

 Pale-vented Bush-hens

 Royal Spoonbill

Great Egret 

 One morning I saw a Pallid Cuckoo which I had never seen in the Reserve, I didn't have time to take a photo so I made a sketch to fix the main identifying features.

 A night walk revealed some Tawny Frogmouths, a Southern Boobook, Bush Thick-knees (or Bush Stone-curlews), many Masked Lapwings enjoying the open and deserted areas, a Blue-tongue lizard, Brush-tail Possums and a Northern Brown Bandicoot (below). Not to mention spiders, micro and macro bats.

Pale-headed Rosella 

A nesting Tawny Frogmouth

 A visiting Brush Cuckoo

                                                The Grey Butcherbirds are growing fast.

                                                                    MID OCTOBER

A male King Parrot 

 Olive-backed Orioles are quite abundant in the reserve, the enjoy feeding on the flowering Silky Oaks. The feathers at the base of the bill of the bird below are dirty with pollen.

A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo flying at sunrise, reflecting the beautiful warm light of the sun. 

 A Koala.

 A shy Southern Boobook, probably hoping I wouldn't get any closer.

 A young Magpie singing her heart out.

 Pied Currawongs are displaying courtship behaviours by raising their tail and lowering and shaking their wings.

Tawny Frogmouth at the nest. 

                                                                       Spotted Dove

 Wonderful to see this male Satin Flycatcher visiting again on his way south, the blue iridescence is something beautiful to look at.

 

 At this stage there are four active nests that I know of, one male is attending two nearby ones.

And Banks Street Reserve is quickly turning into a nursery again. Magpie-lark above.

Sacred Kingfishers are busy finding the best nesting locations and defending them.

 I was very glad to be able to take some photos of the Little Lorikeets - Glossopsitta pusilla, Australia's smallest lorikeet and among the least abundant. They don't visit the Reserve often and most of the times they just cross the sky like bullets, calling and soon disappearing. Now that the gumtrees are blooming generously they are enjoying feeding on the nectar together with many Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, some Rainbow Lorikeets and heaps of Scarlet Honeyeaters.

 Galah

Variegated Fairywrens caught just a second before the male offered a food item to the female.

LATE OCTOBER

Pink Planthopper - Colgar sp.

 Black-faced Monarch

Variegated Fairywrens

A visiting female Cicadabird.

 Scarlet Honeyeaters are very abundant now that the gumtrees are still flowering.

 Blue-faced Honeyeater

The Tawny Frogmouth chick can now be seen at the nest, with one parent by its side and the other parent not far on a branch.

 Rainbow Lorikeets are enjoying the nectar provided by a multitude of flowers.

Busy male Brushturkey attending his nest, just seconds before being chased away by an off-leash dog.

 A newly-built nest of the Spangled Drongos.

This October I visited Banks Street Reserve fifteen times, I saw/heard a total of 86 species of birds, on average 47 species per outing. Here is the list of all the birds recorded by all birdwatchers in October.