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A real hotspot for birding
(November 2011) David Niland recently visited the Beryl Roberts Park at Coopers Plains mentioned in the July 2011 Newsletter UBD Map Ref 200 E13. He found a lot of flowering trees there and the Lorikeets were going mad - estimated to be about 500 in large and small flocks. Also, there were lots of birds looking for nest sites in the big Red Gums in the forest. He heard and saw a Little Wattlebird - very rare in suburban Brisbane, and heard a Buff-banded Rail and a Bush-hen in the swamp. The site may be a challenge for photographers but it has an amazing variety of birds for such an isolated patch of bush. He also saw Nutmeg Mannikins there on a previous visit, the first around Brisbane for a few years. .There is a birdlist for his visit on Eremaea (http://www.eremaea.com/Lists.aspx?List=100874 )The Bribie Emu
(March 2010) Many birders will have heard that there is, or was, an Emu on Bribie Island. At last there are images to prove it! BQ member Maggie Overend has sent images of the Emu, l ocally know as Eric, sitting outside the Golf Club. There were rumours of two birds, but only one seems to have been seen recently. He appears to be well-known by people who live near the Golf Club, and Maggie says he seems to find food, perhaps palm fruit, near there.
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| Bribie's Emu © Maggie Overend | Bribie's Emu © Maggie Overend |
Snakes!
(October 2009) Birders tend to walk about looking up and out - searching the trees and sky for birds. Snakes are very active at this time of year, so perhaps we need to look down a little more. We will certainly be doing this in future. We were at Samsonvale Cemetery at the beginning of October, and saw two large, perhaps 2.5 m, Eastern Brown Snakes not down in the long grass, as you might imagine, but locked in combat among the graves! The Queensland Museum, who identified the snakes for us, said male snakes are actively moving about seeking females at this time of year, and wrestle to establish a dominance hierarchy. The aim, apparently, is to get your head above that of your opponent. This involved lots of sinuous movement, as they twisted their bodies tightly together, and reared their heads at least 80cm high, with lots of thrashing and striking. A little later, we saw a Common Tree Snake about 1.5 m long disappear into the drain hole in one of the graves. A few weeks ago, we saw a large Red-bellied Black Snake crossing the lawn towards us, between the cemetery and the lake.
Eastern brown snake. Photo: I&J Brown |
Eastern brown snake.Photo: I&J Brown |
Common tree snake.Photo: I&J Brown |
