September Wildlife Report

Signs of Spring

Slender Hovea (Hovea lorata), Bellbowrie

Though it may be introducing itself to us gently this year, spring has definitely arrived in Brisbane! Temperatures have been slightly cooler than average, but decent rains from some robust storms have allowed the landscape to enter the new season with vigour. 

Rainbow Bee-eater, Ormiston

Beauty abounds at this time of year, whether it's in the form of native flowers or gorgeous birds. On a recent walk along Hilliards Creek in the Redlands, I was delighted to see migratory Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus), Leaden Flycatchers (Myiagra rubecula) and Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus) returning to their summer territories after spending the cooler months up north. Vying for my attention in the same location were the snow-white flowers of the Wild May (Leptospermum polygalifolium) bushes. In forest gullies elsewhere, my beloved Hovea (Hovea species) shrubs are turning the understorey bright purple, another sure sign of spring's arrival. You may remember my first encounter with these attractive plants at Lake Samsonvale in August last year.

Purple Swamphen, Southport

Right now, the breeding season is in full swing for many birds. Grey Butcherbirds (Cracticus torquatus) are nesting in parks and gardens throughout Brisbane's suburbs, and I have intimate knowledge of this because I was attacked by one as I walked to work last week. The cheeky bird actually made contact with my forehead as it swooped, giving me two small wounds a few centimetres above my right eyebrow. Council workers have been landscaping the bike path running beneath its nesting tree, so this frenzied human activity within its breeding territory has made the bird somewhat paranoid and aggressive. Nesting Purple Swamphens (Porphyrio porphyrio) along Southport's Broadwater Parklands offered much more peaceful encounters by comparison. Their fluffy little chicks are so cute that I am sharing this entry with The Bird D'Pot, a collection of bird blogs from around the world.

A strange sight confronted me in Purga Nature Reserve earlier this month. In the dry swamp woodland there, I found a terrestrial termite mound playing host to a Termite Powderpuff (Podaxis beringamensis). This peculiar organism is a large fungi that has evolved to live inside termite mounds around northern Australia. For most of its life, the fungi lives inside the mound feeding off termite waste. When it is time for it to reproduce however, it rises up and bursts through the hard mound exterior, releasing spores into the air that will settle near other termite colonies. Thank you to the Facebook group 'SEQ Fungi' for identifying this species and teaching me about it! 

Termite Powderpuff, Purga

One last sign of spring I've noticed is that on warm days, the cicadas have begun singing again. At a little highway stop off on the way to the Gold Coast a few weeks ago, a charming little Black Tree Ticker (Birrima varians) landed on me and posed for a portrait. This species is easy to recognise because it is the only local cicada that commonly sings in flight, so if you see it zig-zagging and 'zitting' through the air, you can now greet it by name. Wild Brisbane is a friendly little place! 

Black Tree Ticker, Ashmore