Our dry season is in full swing now. It's been a long time since we received decent heavy ground-soaking rain. January saw some heavy rain fall from the skies above, but that was pretty much the end of our wet season. It's supposed to last for around three months. It didn't, and so the dry is far more pronounced this year.
We've had next to no rain fall since the end of April, and the last couple of months has seen a constant flow of winged visitors coming to the garden in search of water, nectar and seeds. I've tried to capture as many of these visitors as possible since the beginning of our wintertime, which is mid-dry season for us.
I've seen loads of the honeyeater family of birds dropping by for a quick drink in our pond.
The Honeyeaters have also been enjoying the nectar of some of their favourite flowers, when they can find them.
The native Sterculia quadrifida, commonly known as the Peanut Tree, has been covered in seed pods and many birds are coming in to feast on the seeds inside.
The Figbirds have also been feasting on the fig fruit of our native Sandpaper Fig Tree,
but I've only managed to capture a shot of the Great Bower Bird feasting on the fig tree fruit.
The two Cadaghi Gum trees have been in bloom and attracting lots of birds including,
Right now though, blooms are light on thanks to the marauding mob of wallabies that have made our place their favourite restaurant in the last few weeks. (For more on this, pop over to my other blog to see the latest post) I'm seeing less and less of our visitors as it seems they've moved on in search of better pickings.
Even the regulars, such as the Kookaburras which are usually seen, and heard, on a daily basis are suddenly few and far between. This fellow, seen after taking a quick shower under the sprinkler, is the only Kookaburra I've seen around here for ages. The usual deafening din of the ealry morning Kookaburra wake-up call has become rather quiet of late, as it seems the large family has moved on for a while.
What a wonderful variety of feathered friends visiting your gardens.
ReplyDeleteGood to see a post from you ~ FlowerLady
You're so right Lorraine, I do get to see a great variety of birdlife here and they've certainly been livening up the place this dry season. I so enjoy seeing these visitors.
DeleteSo many beautiful birds! I'm envious. Although I don't envy your water shortage, that makes gardening so difficult, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes Pauline we do have the most amazing variety of birdlife flying around here, and it's definitely one of the advantages of living here. We're used to our cycles of short wet seasons and long dry seasons, but when the wet fails, then it becomes difficult getting through the long, long dry. Gardening is indeed very difficult when water is scarce. Thankfully there are some hardy, dry / drought tolerant plants that just keep on keeping on!
DeleteWhile we live in the driest part of the UK it must seem positively damp to your conditions! I always thought the Kookaburras were extremely noisy birds that lived together in small flocks. Is it normal to just see one around then? Unfortunately the only honeyeaters in the UK live in zoos but these look like really lovely birds!
ReplyDeleteIf climate change accelerates, as predicted, then the UK could start to have much dryer summers so we will need to look for plants that are much better adapted to drier conditions like you experience.
Yes I have to admit David that when people gardening in certain parts of the globe talk about 'dry', I chuckle a little. Their 'dry' usually means they haven't seen rain for a couple of weeks. Here it's vastly different. Our dry lasts for months and months, and this year has been one of the worst for many years now. It is all part of the cycle of wet/dry seasons for us and eventually the rain will come. I do grow mostly dry / drought tolerant plants anyway, but even they showing signs of distress this year. The wallabies aren't helping either as they're slowly working their way through most of the smaller plants.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous variety of birds, Bernie! I love those White-throated Honeyeaters and the Sunbirds are stunning!
ReplyDeleteThe Honeyeater family are indeed stunning little birds. We do see a lot of that family here, along with a whole raft of other birdlife. That's one of the things I love most about living here.
DeletePretty visitors all of them! Many of your birds are very colourful.
ReplyDeleteBernie thanks to your post, I now have names to the birds that visit my garden and drink from my bird bath! Oh dear, it is so awfully dry isn't it.... will it ever rain again? I haven't had the sunbird here though.... your garden looks fabulous - dry or not!
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