NOVEMBER '19

EARLY NOVEMBER

 A Tawny Frogmouth sitting on the chick on the nest.

The young Magpies recently left the nest and are looked after by their parents in the open areas of the reserve.

The Australian Reed Warbler visits the reserve during spring migration, spotted in the thick vegetation along the creek.

Pied Currawong

A male Common Cicadabird

There are five active Brushturkey nests that I know of in the reserve,  it shouldn't be long before we see the chicks considering they started working on them since about August.

Sacred Kingfisher

Here is a small collection of photos of the Pale-vented Bush-hens from the first ten days of November, it's always a pleasure to see them early in the morning along the creek.

A Keelback snake swimming along the creek on a rainy day.

Evening Brown - Melanitis leda

After the recent rains (early November), the creek vegetation is green, lush and beautiful. 

And, after the rain, the dry weather is back, just after the start of the recent terrible bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland, one very dry morning, dawn was red, the air became hazy and the light wind smelled of smoke.

An immature and an almost adult Fantail Cuckoo above and below.

The Satin Flycatcher, an uncommon migrant for Brisbane, is back, travelling through the reserve, more than one in one day, at least two males (above) and two females (below).

A female Common Cicadabird.

A male Variegated Fairywren.

What a surprise one morning to find this White-throated Nightjar roosting on a Casuarina in the heart of the reserve, seen on two consecutive days and just after flushing another bird from the ground not far from the one roosting. The best view I have ever had.

The Tawny Frogmouth chick is quite large now, this is the last time I saw it on the nest since on my following visit, the nest was empty.

The Noisy Friarbirds are enjoying the flowering Black Bean trees...

...as are many other birds including this immature Blue-faced Honeyeater and Rainbow Lorikeets.

I was very happy to see Red-browed Firetails again after more than one year. They were feeding on the grass seeds along the creek. Hopefully they will enjoy the food and stay.

White-throated Needletails have arrived from the northern hemisphere, a herald of summer.

Pale-headed Rosella

It was sad to find this skin of a Squirrel Glider. I remember seeing one alive about a year ago, high on a gumtree.

White Caper butterflies (Belenois java), another herald of summer, are all over the reserve.

Feather of a Tawny Frogmouth

MID NOVEMBER

 Carpet Pyhton

 The plumage of this immature Magpie is transitioning to adult, visible on the black patches.

Straw-necked Ibis.

 A Barred Cuckooshrike, an uncommon migrant, showed up one morning, high on a Fig-tree above Enoggera Creek.

 Keelback Snake

Rufous Fantail

 This year the influx of Satin Flycatchers has been rather generous at Banks Street Reserve and in Brisbane in general from what I have heard. I found particularly interesting this bird, a young male, whose plumage is almost like the one of an adult except for a small patch of orange feathers on the chin and chest and for the retained dark-brown primary feathers of the wings. I wonder what is its age? Is it ready to reproduce if not completely adult? Why migrating in case it is not going to reproduce?

Waining Gibbous moon on 16.11.19

Striated Pardalote

Spangled Drongo

Australian Reed Warbler 

 One of the deepest pools left on Breakfast Creek, where the Great Egret, Royal Spoonbill and White-faced Heron are fishing.

 White-faced Heron with prey.

 Royal Spoonbill

I saw three Barred Cuckooshrikes, at first flying along the creek, then feeding and calling high on the fruiting fig tree. One bird showed some display behaviour moving its head up and down facing another bird and flicking its wings while softly calling.

 This fruiting tree, an Umbrella Cheese Tree - Glochidion sumatranum - is very popular at the moment with the birds, a male Cicadabird above and a young Olive-backed Oriole below. Other birds using the tree are: Pale-headed Rosella, Figbirds, Spangled Drongos, Golden Whistlers, Willy Wagtails, Currawongs.

A continuous stream of about sixty White-throated Needletails flew above the Reserve north to south on the 20th. They are coming from Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan to spend the northern winter in Australia.

LATE NOVEMBER

 I am not sure what happened this spring to the Satin Flycatchers, these birds are uncommon to rare migrants for Brisbane, yet they showed up here at Banks St Reserve regularly since October 19, surely different birds as I noticed different feather patterns.

 Olive-backed Oriole

Red-backed Fairywren

Crested Pigeon

 A young Eastern Whipbird searching for food in the undergrowth with an adult.

Pale-headed Rosella feasting on Umbrella Cheese Tree fruits.

 Red-browed Firetails have arrived and stayed for the last 15 days. Today 24.11 they were carrying nesting material and noticed a behaviour never seen before: three birds on a branch, one in the middle holding a grass twig, standing up tall and moving the head up and down softly calling. I hope it means they have approved Banks Street Reserve as a suitable breeding habitat!

A consistent Caper White migration has been happening for a few weeks now.

 This young Kookaburra recently left the nest, like many other birds, before being able to fly, it is being looked after by the parents and the other siblings are still in the hollow. 

Finally I was able to take a photo of the Emerald Dove, a shy bird and an immature here feeding on the ground in the heart of the reserve. I have also seen an adult not long ago but too shy and fast to photograph.

 And, another bird I had long wished I could take a photo of, the Eastern Koel, a female, feeding on the fruits of the Umbrella Cheese Tree, a tree that is feeding so many birds at the moment. Also called 'storm-birds', they come to Australia from New Guinea and Indonesia to breed parasitising the nests of other birds.

 Torresian Crow

 Barred Cuckooshrike

 This Royal Spoonbill is feeding in the deepest part of what is left of Enoggera Creek, quickly drying out. 

 Little Black Cormorant

A Kookaburra was nesting in this hollow until the Brushtail Possum took over.

 A female Shining Bronze-cuckoo tried to approach the nest of the Drongos and was promptly chased away.

 On the last day of the month I was finally able to to see and photograph the Pacific Heron, a bird I still hadn't seen here.

During this amazing month I visited Banks Street Reserve 14 times, seen a total of 89 species of birds! Top record ever. On average 53 birds per outing. It has been an amazing month of migrations and great sightings. Here is the complete list of combined species seen in November by all visiting birders.