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ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ON THESE PAGES ARE © BILL JOLLY UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED

Current happenings - What's About?....

December, 2006
Banded Lapwings in a roadside field on the way home from O'Reilly's on 23 December.


Black-faced Monarch and female and male Figbirds in the garden

Black-shouldered Kite	Dollarbird

This Buff-banded Rail with youngster and the Latham's Snipe were at the same small swamp - on different days
The following five photos are all from another lake, and all on the one day:
click image to enlarge Pink-eared Duck	Purple Swamphen
Red-necked Avocets, Plumed Whistling-ducks and Purple Swamphen
Red-kneed Dotterels

Red-backed Fairywren showing both profiles
These three are in the garden at Abberton:
Rainbow Bee-eater	Little Friarbird - immature
Torresian Crow carefully dissecting a Cane Toad Wedge-tailed Eagles in a dead tree, just up the road
White-throated Treecreeper	Yellow-rumped Thronbill
Singing Bushlark, not in the valley, but about 30km away

November, 2006
click image to enlarge Bush Thick-knees are fairly common in parks around Brisbane. These two are adjacent to a car-park on the University of Queensland campus.
And five more from the garden at Abberton:
Bar-shouldered Dove	Mistletoebird

Rainbow Lorikeet	Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Striped Honeyeater feeding on Grevillea

October, 2006 - Some breeding birds
Brown Quail with young	White-winged Trillers, presently nesting here

October, 2006 - Spring birds
Immature Pallid Cuckoo This young Pallid Cuckoo was feeding from a roadside vantage point. When I stopped to take the photograph, I found an adult Pallid Cuckoo, Rufous Songlark, White-winged Triller and Striated Pardalote all close by.
Channel-billed Cuckoo Channel-bills are very active and noisy at present. Around here, they parasitise Torresian Crows, which are regularly seen flailing in pursuit of them as they criss-cross the sky, looking and sounding positively Jurassic.
click image to enlarge	.
Nankeen Kestrel

Spangled Drongo and Restless Flycatcher in the garden
Two Glossy Ibis and a Royal Spoonbill	Black-winged Stilt and Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Wandering Whistling-duck	Red-kneed Dotterel
click image to enlarge Male Galah Take a close look at Galahs and you will see that the males have brown eyes, and the females pink. They pair for life, and when, for example, ten Galahs fly by they're often clearly discernible as five pairs of birds. When I see two individuals feeding in the garden together, I routinely check out their eye colour and nearly always find that they are male and female. Given that Galahs in the wild have a longevity estimated from 15 years to 40 years, it is fascinating to contemplate that two such birds could easily be an established couple of several decades, travelling through a long life together.
Three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have been here for a few days
We get Red-tailed Black Cockatoos year round, and Glossy Black Cockatoos from time to time, but Yellow-tails are unusual in the valley, though less so on the escarpment. The last time we had them here at Abberton was in 1989.

Just now, a pair of Grey Shrike-thrushes are spending a lot of every day calling to each other on and around the verandahs. It's a joy to hear them every day - I can't think of a more melodious and beautiful bird call.

September, 2006

These Apostlebirds were huddled together on two adjacent branches of the same tree on a windy day. Eight in one row, four in the other - appropriately, twelve in all.

Spectacled Monarch and Rainbow Bee-eater - both spring arrivals at Abberton
A pair of Striated Pardalotes have excavated their nest hole in an earth bank right alongside where I often park my car - so to get this photo, I just wound the window down, and waited!

Regulars year-round, Eastern Whipbird and White-throated Honeyeater
A lone Freckled Duck has been on a local lake for a month or so

The branch in the middle is of course a Tawny Frogmouth - this one isn't far from a nest that is under construction

August, 2006

Eastern Yellow Robin (left) and Jacky Winter (right) - two of our pretty little Australian flycatcher/robins

June, 2006
Ground Cuckoo-shrikes

Whistling Kite (left) and Black Kite (right) - both at Abberton
Our first Red-capped Robin this winter

April, 2006
click image to enlarge This Southern Boobook has taken to roosting close to the house recently
Collared Kingfisher Very blue - but a Collared Kingfisher for all that. I watched this bird hunting in the mangroves for some time, and was amazed at the brilliance of the blue in its wings and tail.
click image to enlarge	.
Striated Heron, Crested Tern and Whimbrel - all close to Brisbane Airport

Rainbow Lorikeet (left) and Musk Lorikeet (right)
Paradise Riflebird

There are a few rainforest locations nearby where Paradise Riflebirds can be found. This male was in a tree immediately adjacent to one of the picnic areas in Bunya Mountains National Park - and a Russet-tailed Thrush (below) was not far away



Two Wedge-tailed Eagles, both with road-kill nearby. The bird on the left is a darker mature adult, that on the right not yet in full adult plumage.

Pied Currawong and Bush Stone-curlew are both more regular uprange, at nearby Toowoomba

Four waterbird spp at the same waterhole - Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Royal Spoonbill, Magpie Goose and Red-necked Avocet
Tawny Frogmouth in the garden after dark

March, 2006
This Brown Goshawk came down to the rock pool outside my window just a few minutes ago.

It is one of two immature Goshawks that have been around for a few weeks now, but it's the first time that one has come down to the rock. Only time to grab the camera, point and press. Didn't dare move the venetian blinds, so photographed through them and through the window pane, just got the one shot before he lifted off - but got him.
Young Black-winged Stilt

Immature Brown Goshawk
Eastern Grey Kangaroo	Eastern Yellow Robin
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	Pink-eared Duck
Red-tailed BlackCockatoo	Spangled Drongo

February, 2006
Barred Cuckoo-shrike	Common Bronzewing
Immature Collared Sparrowhawk

Female Leaden Flycatcher

January, 2006
Black-eared Cuckoo in the garden
Blue Bonnet
I came across two Bluebonnets this-afternoon, 11 January, not far from home. I first saw them in flight, then watched them in a tree for about 40 minutes and got quite a few photos.


Common Koel
Hot January weather makes the birdbaths especially popular
	click image to enlarge
Immature and adult Little Friarbird	Chestnut-breasted Mannikin and Silvereye

Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions !
We are always pleased to answer any queries and to help
you in any way we can to plan your trip to Queensland.

email us at: jollyabberton@bigpond.com

Bill Jolly, Abberton, Helidon, Qld
(27º 34' 21' S; 152º 08' 21' E)