Here's hoping for some shots as birds soon get ready to depart nest. But, how soon? And when . . . ?
But nearby neighbouring Sacred Kingfisher shows off probable Asian House Gecko, though perhaps the missing tail became part of a magpie's dried diet.
So, ignored gusts battering at me and tottered along Townsville breakwater the other morning. No great reward for the experience but OK pictures of Darter and Reef Heron.
Yesterday, snuck up on Black-necked Stork pair in Rowes Bay Sustainability Centre Wetlands and luckily wound back frantically to catch female turning in flight towards me. Missed male capture of fish but got wee part of his water-dance sequence.
And Straw-necked Ibis near crash gate 8 in the Town Common allowed me to wander in close enough about a week ago to capture some of its glorious colour.
Pretty, and pretty good for a lens that didn't come close to breaking the bank, I reckon.
Home's where the heart is, close to home's where many of my birds are. Benefit of buying into retirement village surrounded by conservation parks and other wildlife and marine areas. Some sightings lately:
Brahminy Kite, one of pair often seen on local dead trees.
Brolga foraging and flying close to the kites' lookouts.
Australasian Figbird about 100 metres from Brolga's reed patch.
Pheasant Coucal close-up and close to Figbird's perch.
Scaly-breasted Munia (was Spice Finch, then Chestnut-breasted Mannikin) by coastal walkway.
Not quite all in one day's walk, but part of my recent days' walks.
There are signs of things coming together in search of increases in BTFS numbers. They include:
An 11-hectare trial area in the Ross Dam catchment to undergo reshaping, weed removal (some carbon capture), selected grass and tree planting.
Funding on offer for selective flora control and grass and tree planting, contingent on a 500-hectare offset in the catchment.
Enthusiasm for greater BTFS coordination between Queensland Parks and Wildlife and Townsville City Council being expressed at several levels.
Expansion of an existing offset with noteworthy BTFS activity reported privately.
On a smaller scale, encouraging reports of good numbers of BTFSs in outlying spots dotted about the Bohle Plains.
And some encouraging positivity for my pet grass, Chionachne cyathapoda, which I argue is a corner stone for successful revegetation and consequent species increase, of paramount importance for not just BTFSs but for other birds, including the Purple-crowned Fairywren in the Northern Territory.
Elsewhere, miner Bravus earlier this year reported 449 BTFSs banded by its eco consultancy in the other major stronghold of the species, the Galilee Basin.
Am I slighting those in PhD land? Nope, they've done the hard yards. Cheers to the Black-throated Finch Recovery Team and all the willing volunteers out there this weekend. You're counting the birds and they're counting on all of us!
No knowing how long leucistic (later edit: or hybrid of some sort; maybe heron/egret) White-faced Heron will hang around Pandanus viewing area in the Town Common Conservation Park after it popped up late last week so here's five looks at the lightly coloured bird (usually darkish grey apart from white face), which has drawn no negative response from other herons and egrets in the large seasonal wetland.
Hollow logs for at risk birdies? Nature's nest boxes if you please Oh, such a clever wheeze So gather in twos and threes? Hundreds you w...
