Sunday 131105 - Minnippi Parklands
6.00am and my turn to drive. Due to an early commitment for my daughter to be at work at 9.30 R and I decide to make it a local birding spot - so we headed for Minnippi Parklands about 10 mins away. Minnippi is a medium sized fresh water pond beside a tidal creek and with a patch of good bush nearby.
We walked in over Bulimba Creek via the bridge, on the way seeing a couple of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Galahs, Rainbow Lorikeets and 2 very nice Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. There were 3 young guys fishing on the bridge - for what? anything they could catch…we suggested eels, maybe Flathead and occasional Bream…they didn’t seem to have any idea.
Dusky Moorhens, 3 Black Swans and an Intermediate Egret were immediately evident - and very relaxed. One Moorhen on it’s nest was attended to by another, presumably it’s mate which seemed to pass food (?) to it while it sat. Two other individuals were also very close and ’supportive’ . Also on the lake - Aust Grebes, Little Black Cormorants, 1 Darter, 1 Hardhead, a few Black Duck, a pair of Willy Wagtails and a singing Clamorous Reed Warbler.
We walked ‘left’ , beside the bike path, seeing Red-backed and Superb Fairy-wrens, Silvereyes, 3 Golden-headed Cisticolas, a couple of Tawny Grassbirds, Lewin and Brown Honeyeaters and a beautifully clean looking Forest Kingfisher. A little way along the path and a pair of Brown Goshawks hunted silently overhead. The weather was a bit ‘heavy’ - not really a pending storm, but a muted, overly quiet sort of feel to it. The activity reflected the atmosphere - quiet and more reserved than normal.
Scanned the lake edges from the boardwalk at the far end of the lake but no Snipe in sight. 4 Magpie Geese flew over but didn’t land. 1 Wood Duck and a couple of Welcome Swallows hung around the boardwalk itself while a Koel called in the distance and an Aust Magpie sang to itself. We tried to avoid waking a sleeping Pelican and R talked to the feral ducks he loves so much! (I can’t stand the things really) 2 Pheasant Coucals called to each other, 1 visible half way up a small tree and more Hardheads, Black Duck, Moorhens and Aust Grebes appeared.
We headed on down the lakeside and spotted 2 Comb-crested Jacanas feeding on the lily pads. Nothing new showed itself close to the water, apart from a couple of Cattle Egrets and high overhead a single White-throated Needletail headed north-west. This was unusual as WTNTs usually move in large numbers. Maybe this guy was a scout, looking for a food source for the flock? We watched him head off into the distance where distant clouds suggested heavier weather brewing.
Into the trees and it was very quiet, no whistlers, robins or honeyeaters. Maybe a lack of food at present? A medium sized bird flew in and landed high in a tree - it looked ‘hawky’ and sure enough on closer inspection we agreed it was a Collared Sparrowhawk, lighter in build, slimmer wings and body that the birds we had seen earlier, when perched long, almost unfeathered, legs, yellow eyering, balanced, ’small’ head. It was promptly harassed by the resident pair of Dollarbirds and departed quickly for a quieter location.
A quieter than normal morning at Minnippi with no really notable discoveries, but a nice way to start a Sunday morning.
