Latest news
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 |
Member's Miscellany
(October 2009) Mike West says that Bowman Park is causing avian interest after the recent surfeit of Musk Lorikeets. The resident pair of Bush Stone-curlews has hatched a chick. Hopefully they will raise it to adulthood despite being in an area where there are many dogs off leads and one resident fox. Although these birds are relatively common around Brisbane they have become endangered in NSW and Victoria. Being long lived birds a declining population is delayed and may not be noticeable until the situation is critical. Pressure on Councils to control unleashed dogs may help. Passing through Inskip Point on 8th October a Black-breasted Button-quail (BBBQ) sprinted across the road in front of our car, it then continued its typically Inskip unfussed stroll through the campground very near to our regular February camp. Our one non birdo passenger commented that it reminded him of that black Italian marble, a very apt description. Plenty of migratory Terns have been observed on the (soon to be closed?) south east ocean beach on Fraser Island. Commons, Littles and some others in between, possibly White-winged Blacks, Black-naped were seen and a few Gull-billed, as well as the local Cresteds. Sanderlings and a few Stints with a spattering of one or two migratory waders still returning in dribs and drabs instead of following the Great Sandy Strait. Three Wandering Tattlers were also seen on Poyungan Rocks. Burnie Starkey recently sited new "Valley Babes" lurking around a car park in Fortitude Valley; fresh new delights to the CBD populous. They were two very young Bush Stone Curlew chicks who scurried close to their parents in a small concrete car park behind a local church. With four lanes of traffic rushing along Wickham Street let's hope the car park provides enough shelter for these vulnerable and endangered birds. As the adult birds have often been seen here, insects gathering around the street lighting must offer enough food to encourage breeding. The question remains: if the chicks survive where will they find a new territory in our urban jungle? Many thanks to Mike and Burney, and it's your turn now to send us your newsy notes!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 |
