Hot, Hot, Hot

The alarm woke us at 5a.m, every other morning we've been awake. The sun was well up and the day still relatively cool. We drove up Mount Nebo via The Gap, the roads already busy with many power walkers doing their thing on the pavements. A lovely hot air balloon rose lazily, needing a quick boost to clear the wires. Our first stop with birds was Jolly's Lookout which rarely lets us down. Not much to-day though apart from a Pied Butcherbird and fly past Pale-headed Rosellas, two of which paused for a short while.

The car park entrance to Maiala rainforest is excellent, small waves of birds flying through. Pairs of both Regent and Satin Bowerbirds, Black- headed Monarch and Eastern Yellow Robin to name a few.

Green Catbirds are some of my favourites, large, green-backed with spotted fronts - and they mew loudly. I'm still trying to take a decent photo. We ate our breakfast roll at 7.00, early enough to enjoy raisin toast at the Maiala cafe at 9.30. Our favourite seat was taken so we didn't have such good views of the bird feeders where three King Parrots vied for a good position, this female won.

Next stop Kobble Creek and Samsonvale cemetery, again many fewer birds to-day apart from the usual water birds. A roadside Dollarbird was a bonus, photography at this distance does not do justice to the georgeous colours.

Photographing Fairy-wrens is compulsive and very frustrating, they're small and active, usually in small shrubs. This is a male Red-backed Fairy-wren.

By now, the temperature was 32C in the shade and we were relieved to retire to the car's aircon. Until we got to North Pine Dam when we had to walk a bit. We met two birders here - from the UK!! An enormously paunchy local rushed from his car to tell us of a Wedge-tailed Eagle's nest on The Promentory. Very good of him......it was a Whistling Kite.

We ate lunch in the shade of a canopied picnic table overlooking the lake, a welcome breeze helping considerably. Amongst the Pelicans, Cormorants (4 varieties) and Pied Stilts (they look just like ours, apart from having white heads and, don't count as a tick), Pam spotted a very small wader, which became two adults and a minute chick Red-kneed Dotterel.

We were now very weary, of the heat and getting up so early. We were in at 3.15 and Sara arrived home soon afterwards for her two week break.
The boys had been back to the shopping mall and exchanged 3 games they don't play + 15 dollars for Wii Sport Resort which they've been playing ever since. We're looking after them to-morrow whilst S and M go Christmas shopping.