Friday 31 May 2019

MAY '19





Female Variegated Fairy-wren.



Above is a White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, a new record for Banks Street Reserve, seen on 5.5.19.
Cooler weather and shorter days are bringing in winter birds to Banks Street Reserve: Scarlet Honeyeaters, Spotted Pardalotes, Brown Gerygone, more Golden Whistlers, Grey Fantails and Rose Robins.


Willie-wagtail above.


A beautiful male Golden Whistler hunting in the mid-canopy.


Masked Lapwing


Male Australasian Darter fishing in the deeper pool.


Immature Dusky Moorhen






Pacific Black Ducks


MID MAY



Another addition to the winter birds list, one of the two Yellow-faced Honeyeaters I saw today (12.5.19), the first ones for the season, they visit Banks Street Reserve during the cooler months, today they quietly fed in the mid-high canopy.
























A male Golden Whistler above.
























Grey Fantail







An Olive-backed Oriole feeding on the figs.


















White-browed Scrubwren, males started singing maybe to re-establish their territories?










Male Rufous Whistler
















It looks like the Brown Gerygone is finding a good habitat at the reserve as it's still around feeding and calling after three weeks.














 Larkdaisy (Centratherum punctatum), an introduced weed that will be removed next time.


















And another invasive plant that is flowering now, the Tree Marigold Tithonia diversifolia.























A wintering female Rose Robin.


A Water-rat also known as Rakali.


Australian King-parrot, male.


A Grey Fantail on an overcast and dark morning.


 A male Variegated Fairy-wren.


Spotted Pardalotes were everywhere on 19.5.19, calling, singing and feeding. A male above and a female below.


 Rufous Fantail



A Carpet Python found for me by the Noisy Miners.


LATE MAY


An Evening  Brown showing the first signs of the winter pattern under the wings.



















I saw this Bar-shouldered Dove in the reserve for the first time on 25.5.19, it was calling and preening.



Little-pied Cormorant


 The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are still at Banks Street Reserve, on 26.5.19 they were quite vocal and came down on some very low branches to feed.


 The Eastern Spinebill arrived from higher altitudes on 26.5 allowing me only a few glimpses in the high canopy.





A female Australian Wood Duck.


 White-faced Heron


A Kookaburra surrounded by Blue-faced Honeyeaters.
















On the last day of May, an Eastern Spinebill (with no tail!) fed on the first flowering gumtree.

In May I visited Bank Street Reserve ten times, I saw a total of 65 species of birds, on average 42 species per outing. Here is the eBird list for this month.