After an extremely dry almost 3 months leading up to October, 6 inches of rain in October & a couple since, way above average, has shocked our flora into vivid activity.

My 150 Metres of Cadagi gum wind brake around the south & west side of the house looks like it has snowed, so covered with white eucalyptus flowers is it. Many others nearby are the same. Then add the Jacaranda, silky oaks, [grevillea Robusta], the callistemon & bougainvillea, & the whole area is a riot of flowers. I have not seen the like in 27 years.

Eat your heart out Brisbane, our hundreds of metres of river bank in orange gold fire of silky oaks in flower leaves your "River fire" fireworks for dead.

All this has brought the honey eaters in droves. I never realised Lorikeets liked bread crumbs, but today they found the bread crumbs I spread on the front lawn for the top knot pigeons, & a few others. There were at least a hundred, but it could have been even 3 times that squabbling with each other & the rest this afternoon. There were at least 5 sub species, with colourings I have not seen before. My regular topknot pigeons sat in the hibiscus looking on bewildered.

They jump around far to quickly to count, but what a display. We are now watching the TV news, but hearing it is impossible, with so much din of Lorikeets.

Like you, Hasbeen, I enjoy the wildlife.

Australia is a very beautiful, but cruel environment though, mostly semi-desert at best, where fauna and flora are opportunist, but die in millions when the dry returns, which it does and for years.

Dear Hassie,

Your place sounds beautiful.

My brother lives in Byron Bay next to a Nature Reserve
and he's been describing the amazing bird-life near
his home. He's known as the "bird-man" in his area
because apparently the birds love him.

Living near a large park in Melbourne we too get
a wide variety of birds from cockatoos, parrots,
kookaburras. wattle-birds, of course magpies, and
quite a few others whose names I don't know. It's
good for the soul to be able to walk to parks, or
drive to the nearby Dandenong Ranges or to the
Yarra Valley or Warrandyte bushland and enjoy mother
nature.

We are blessed with so much in this country.

We've lost our verandah because Willy Wagtail is back for the 3rd year with a nest in the same spot and snips us if we walk there. The peewit keeps banging on 1 window even through wire-netting and king parrots eyeball us and demand food, now , despite the wagtails. Walking around is a worry with roos lying about and risk of tripping over them. There's a red line and they've been warned.

nicknamenick,

For interest, where might you hail from that you refer to the Magpie-lark as a 'peewit'? SA? Oz colloquial, peewee is common maybe?

Have you noticed a variation in the colour pattern around Oz?

Willie Wagtail - anyone listened to their moon songs? It is not the only songster at night and the night songs are different.

Under 3mins and worth a listen,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y

leoj
My bro Peter was 'peewee' so 'peewit' is a shift away and near enough. Similar black and white and piping calls.

nicknamenick,

The affectionate nick of Peewee brings back memories of primary school days. Thank you for your reply.

I have a couple of Peewees, which are reasonably shy. Unfortunately they are very aggressive in protecting their territory from other peewees.

One used to attack a window in the granny flat that must have given a strong reflection of him. I used to tape newspaper over it in breeding season. The current male has a thing about the male hiding in the rear view mirrors of the old Toyota Cressida now used for paddock duties. He will spend hours attacking that male. As I need the mirrors, so can't cover them. I tie shopping bags over both of them so he can't see himself when I park. In the sun & wind those bags last only a week or so.

We had a couple of Plovers that nested half way between the house & the shed for years. They were a real pain. You could drive past them, but not walk. I was not sorry when the replacement pair moved down the paddock.

I fly remote control planes from a strip down the paddock, sometimes with a few friends. We have a resident pair of Wedgetails that occasionally join the high flying gliders, & soar with us. Galahs, Cockatoos & some very large pigeons will sometimes join a flight, but the Magpies & Crows only come round to attack.

A shaving mirror on the window makes peewee avoid the threat of a large beak . Maybe a big concave mirror is needed to finish him off.

In North West Tasmania , here , we have a Wedgetail that hovers just above our House that's built on a 100 metre high 'Hill'. It taught its' youngster to do the same last year , he was spectacular.. about 2 metres above the roof of the garage

Incidentally , do any of you lot need any Starlings.. plenty available in our Roof at present....also large Bush Possums ( Big Buggers.. no midgets here ) who wear Gum Boots are also available .. I can post those to you......!

So the garage gives a smooth , reliable uplift from the valley ? neat. Surfing the everlasting wave.

Neighbour has bought 2 peahens and 2 peacocks which visited at dawn today . Under the window , with foghorn hoots , the cocks did their tail-dancing routine like an unreal movie scene.

Well I tell you HASBEEN, I much prefer the company of native fauna 'n flora over many of these so called human beings I've had to deal with. Save for our two dogs, a pure bred (F) Kelpie, and a rescue dog (M) with many lines of enquiry yet to be made, before his exact linage can be established?

To say this little fella was mistreated and then dumped, as was many of his litter when just small pups, we have no doubt. If I could find those responsible of that cruelty...well lets just say a quiet counselling session wouldn't be part of the plan? Anyway he replaced our dear Labrador of 15 years, almost twelve months ago today. And it hurts no less now, than it did the day he was put to sleep? There's a lot of 'human beings' I'd like to have in the sights of my M.60 GPMG, believe me HASBEEN. I like all Birds, whether considered pestilence or or not.