Helmeted Friarbird tips foes through the tulips

Helmeted Friarbird takes break from chasing other birds from African Tulip Tree beside Mundy (or Mundi) Creek, Townsville, yesterday.

Other birds included jumpy juvenile White-eared Monarch.

And Little Friarbird, with liberal coating of pollen from the attractive flowers.

Pity that the tree is yet another of Australia's pest species. Far too prolific in the Wet Tropics for native trees struggling to compete with its vast seed production and superior growth rates.

Young Friarbird chooses to get a hand-up

Hard to thumb a lift if you've no fingers, but no youngster should be left standing in the middle of the road through Townsville Common.

Surprise this afternoon though when very young Helmeted Friarbird chose to leap aboard for hand-up.

No thanks from parents, but they did stop swooping after safe place found for junior.

Zorry! Zose Zittings zey izn't zere

Longish walk for bung knee today in quest of info from the field after hearing of purported Zitting Cisticola sightings in the Town Common. Four kilometres, four hours and 54 Cisticolas (yep, 54!) later and nothing but Golden-headeds. Zip Zittings. Zilch Zittings. Zero Zittings. Okay?

Not much room along the bund between Freshwater and Bald Rock given the hordes of Cisticolas, but Little Pied Cormorant spied chance to drop in on two pals.

Also crowded with action, paperbarks and eucalypts at walk's outward end (for me), with both Helmeted (above) and Little Friarbirds prominent, though neither species calling, unlike plenty of honeyeaters and others.

Bit of luck too, catching the only Australasian Grebe seen, coming up with green frog. Probably regular enough part of the diet, but I can't recall any similar sighting. Sorry about image; long way off.

Hands and knees see success with Thick-knees

Bit of hands and knees work got me seeing eye to eye with Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius) at Lucinda today.

And sprawl in the sand drew attention of resident Beach Thick-knee (Esacus magnirostris), with sugar jetty as background.

Also at home on the sandspit today, but pictured a while back, leucistic Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), with more typical brown bird of species.

Another sandspit specialist also previously photographed and singing cheerily as always today, Varied Honeyeater (Lichenostomus versicolor).

Not so commonly found amid the arc of low mangroves 200 metres from  the shoreline, Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides), one of several today in the honeyeaters' domain. Flight picture minor consolation making up for odd lack of usual resident Collared Kingfishers, unsighted in three recent sandspit walks.

They're a well-red lot in the wild

Went for some flight reading at Lucinda today.

Paged the Ospreys but only J Livingstone Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) showed up.

More low-brow than high, Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) makes a show falling on seeders.

Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton) sits in at Tyto as a scarlet letter, in spite of lacking hawthorn.

Though surely Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides) could only come from a forester's African Tulip Queen?