As the temperatures soared again today in South-East Queensland, we decided to take a morning walk through Highfields Falls - sure that there would be plenty of little birds heading for a drink on this hot morning. The birds were at their usual drinking spot above the falls darting in and out of the water. The honeyeaters ruled the area this morning with the White Naped Honeyeater in abundance. There were quite a few Brown Honeyeaters and we also saw a "new" bird for our newbie list - a few very vibrant Yellow Tufted Honeyeaters coming for a drink amongst overhanging plants at the waters edge - what a magnificent bird they are. Hope you are cooling down somewhere on this hot day - as I type this we have well and truly passed the 40 degree mark at home. B & J.
 |
| Screenshot of the weather from an app on my phone just after 11am in the morning... it felt hotter though! |
 |
| Yellow-tufted Honeyeater going for a drink on a very hot day at Highfields Falls 04/01/14 |
 |
| Yellow-tufted Honeyater |
 |
| Yellow-tufted Honeyeater |
 |
| Brown Honeyeater having a drink at Highfields Falls 04/01/14 |
 |
| White-naped Honeyeater's drinking from a tiny puddle on the edge of the falls. |
 |
| The poor little juvenille White-Naped Honeyeaters were so hot, their little beaks were open most of the time trying to cool down. |
 |
| Red-browed Finch at Highfields Falls 04/01/14 |
 |
| Lewin's Honeyeater at Highfields Falls |
 |
| Dollarbird |
 |
| White-browed Scrubwren at Highfields Falls,. |
 |
| The "top" of the main part of Highfields Falls. |
 |
| KS with the "Honeyeater" Pond in the background at Highfields Falls. |
BIRD LIST FOR HIGHFIELDS FALLS 04/01/14
Brown Cuckoo-Dove
|
Macropygia phasianella
|
Peaceful Dove
|
Geopelia placida
|
Sacred Kingfisher
|
Todiramphus sanctus
|
Dollarbird
|
Eurystomus orientalis
|
Variegated Fairywren
|
Malurus lamberti
|
Lewin's Honeyeater
|
Meliphaga lewinii
|
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
|
Lichenostomus chrysops
|
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
|
Lichenostomus melanops
|
Brown Honeyeater
|
Lichmera indistincta
|
White-naped Honeyeater
|
Melithreptus lunatus
|
White-browed Scrubwren
|
Sericornis frontalis
|
Pied Currawong
|
Strepera graculina
|
Olive-backed Oriole
|
Oriolus sagittatus
|
Spangled Drongo
|
Dicrurus bracteatus
|
Grey Fantail
|
Rhipidura albiscapa
|
Black-faced Monarch
|
Monarcha melanopsis
|
Eastern Yellow Robin
|
Eopsaltria australis
|
Red-browed Finch
|
Neochmia temporalis
|
 |
| The main part of Highfields Falls 04/01/14 |
I'm so envious of your Dollarbird and Spangled Drongo sightings (and the great photos) - but you can keep those extreme temperatures!! Although I'm sure we'll have a turn at them before summer is over ... Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteThankyou! The Dollarbirds have been a regular sighting around our property and in the local area in the last few months. They are such noisy characters in the morning but very beautiful. We did take photos of the Spangled Drongo but they weren't the clearest so I didn't upload them to this post. It is a while since we have seen them also. Previously we have seen them nesting and watched the awkward babies grow up not far from our property. The temperatures have dropped thank-goodness since this day. We had a top of 48 degrees that afternoon at home!!
DeleteIt would have been nice to see those birds at the falls but I had to stay in my cave. I feel sorry for all the living things dealing with the heat. You got some excellent pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Russell, I don't blame you for staying indoors! I must admit, we were all pleased when we made it back to the car after the walk through the falls in the heat. Yes the poor things were so very hot, luckily the water, always is fresh and trickling through for them at the falls, it was a very busy spot!
Delete