Please do drop by and visit my other blog: My Dry Tropics Garden ... it provides a more informative look at what's going on in my garden out in the bush.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Wildlife on Wednesday ... My Dry Season Visitors
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.
White-throated Honeyeater
Brown-backed Honeyeater
The Honeyeaters have also been enjoying the nectar of some of their favourite flowers, when they can find them.
Male Sunbird
Female Sunbird
Female Sunbird
Another female Sunbird
Yellow Honeyeater
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.
male Figbird
female Figbird
Male and female looking for the best seeds.
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,
Helmeted Friarbirds
and Rainbow Lorikeets.
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.
Monday, August 31, 2015
What's On Show This Weekend ... August 29-30, 2015 ... end of Winter.
Our wintertime is well and truly ended. It's been one of the warmest winters I can recall for quite some time, and given that tropical winters are usually very, very mild anyway, you could be forgiven for thinking we hadn't had a winter at all. Officially the last day of winter is tomorrow, August 31st, but the high-20C temps. over the last few weeks has meant it was over ages ago.
The long period of very warm winter temps., added to the failure of the wet season at the beginning of the year, has meant a seemingly intensified dry season. My place is quite simply bone dry! I've been working hard at keeping the new garden beds going and I've had to resort to using the sprinkler at least every second day. Right now there are watering restrictions in place across our city council zone, so I will only be able to use the sprinkler twice a week from now on.
There are little bursts of colour here and there around our place that provide a break from the dryness as you wander around. Thankfully, many of the potted plants sitting out in the courtyard are in bloom right now.
Crossandra, Plectranthus and Spathoglottis.
Spathiphyllum, Azalea and Impatiens.
Gazanias.
Salvia splendens.
Begonia semperflorens.
Double Petunias.
Eucharis
Down the driveway, my Tabebuia impetignosa has been covered in blooms and the cheery purple flowers greet me as I arrive home after work every day. It's a delight to spot them as I get closer to home.
Tabebuia impetiginosa.
There's also white and purple Bauhinia flowers to be spotted as I travel down the long driveway in the afternoons.
The few blooms, seeds and berries around the place have been attracting quite a bit of birdlife as they seize upon any available source of food.
Male sunbird feasting on Hibiscus nectar.
Female Sunbird drinking the nectar from the Duranta flowers.
Male Sunbird enjoying the nectar of Russelia.
Spring officially begins tomorrow
Sunday, July 19, 2015
What's On Show This Weekend ... July 18-19, 2015 ... mid-Winter.
Well, old man Winter arrived in the tropics this past week. He bought some seriously cold nights and early mornings, and some gorgeous sunrises.
Mid-week it was down to between 7 and 9 deg C (44 - 48 F). That is COLD for the tropics. With very low humidity levels and dewpoints below 0, it was really, really, really cold. Usually, our overnight winter temps don't get below 10 C. The electric blanket had a workout, and the winter PJs and dressing gown and woolly socks all came out of the closet. I even wore a jumper to work three mornings last week!!!! Of course, it was off by mid-morning as the mercury rose to a more comfortable 22 - 24 C (71 - 75 C).
Aside for the change in temps., the conditions have remained the same. It's dry season and the skies are usually bright blue and fairly clear. I spend quite a bit of time watering garden beds and potted plants these days.
This weekend as I strolled around moving sprinklers or watering with the hose, I spotted ...
Streptocarpus
Dragonwing Begonia
Impatiens walleriana
and this Anthurium in bloom out in my shadehouse garden.
Out on the courtyard garden there was
Eucharis
Azalea
Schlumbergera
and Torenia on show.
In my new garden beds near the carshed,
Pelargoniums in pots are finally blooming.
Justicia brandegeana in the tiered garden beds is covered in bracts and blooms at the moment. For some reason, the wallabies have not feasted on this shrub in ages and ages. Hence all the blooms. It's wonderful to see!
Elsewhere, there are flowerheads on ...
the Bougainvillea,
the white Penta,
and the Polygala.
You definitely know winter has arrived in my tropical garden when you see flowers appearing on my white Bauhinia. There are now quite a few buds all over the tree, so there will be lots of stark white blooms popping open for weeks to come.
I usually spot quite a few birds as I wander around the garden and this weekend has been no different.
This male Sunbird was enjoying the nectar of the newly opened Bauhinia blooms.
The Forest Kingfisher is always a delightful sight.
I spotted another Spangled Drongo with its fierce looking red eye.
This pair of Pied Currawongs were just lazily flitting around from tree to tree, looking for something to eat I suspect.
I spent quite a while watching this little Willy Wagtail doing a jig around the yard this morning. Such a mesmorizing performance!
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