Stone Curlews

Over the last few weeks I have observed a pair of Stone Curlews (Burhinus grallarius) on my morning walk to work. The pair have been occupying a rocky area beneath some palm trees about 100 metres from the lake shore at the university I work at. I observed one of the pair sitting on the ground and thought it may have been sitting on an egg. However I observed both birds standing the next day which led me to think that they weren’t looking after an egg.

A few months back I had observed a pair of Stone Curlews a number of times in garden bed about 400m from the current observation point. Not long after large scale construction work began near the site. One morning I noticed the curlews standing behind the newly constructed fence. The birds must have been displaced. Given this,  I’m hoping the pair I’ve observed recently is the same pair and they have somewhere to settle.  

However, a day or two after writing the draft of this post. The pair had moved on from the lakeside location. Hopefully they have found somewhere else to settle.

    
    
 

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Moorhen Chicks

Moorhen chicks and their parents foraging near the lake edge at my work (a large state university in Queensland, Australia)   

    
 

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Moorhen Chicks

Over the last few weeks I have had the wonderful opportunity to observe three Moorhen (genus Gallinula) chicks as they have grown. When I first saw the three chicks they were very small and downy, with small underdeveloped wings. Almost everyday as I had my lunch break by the lake, I could hear the chicks squawking and observe them progress through not being able to feed themselves to feeding themselves, timidly approaching and getting into the water, and recently feeding alongside their parents on the grassy lake bank. The chicks have grown so much and seem to be comfortable with people around them. Hopefully over the coming weeks I can observe them grow further and develop their adult plumage.



















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Fungi & Wildlife Spotting – 13 March 2015

While taking a break from work I took in some wildlife and fungi spotting. Accidental really, but it’s a given as there is so much wildlife and vegetation on campus. I observed a maturing Plover/Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) chick with its parents keeping a watchful eye on it as people walked past. The parents called to the chick as I approached. Perhaps they were warning it to be cautious? I was quiet pleased (and surprised) to spot some specimens of a stinkhorn fungi – the Crinoline Fungus (Phallus multicolor) nestled amongst some grass in a flower bed. This is another species I hadn’t had the opportunity to observe before. 











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Guinea Fowl

A photo of a group of three Guinea Fowl who roam the grounds of the large state university I work for.

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Lunchtime Wildlife Spotting

A family of ducks and a Brisbane River turtle spotted on my lunch break on 16th February 2015.

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Wildlife Spotting – 22 January 2015

Spotting on my morning walk to work –

A family of Swamp Hens making a nest on a lake bank, foraging for food and feeding a young chick whose wings were still very small

An Australian Water Dragon basking in a flower bed near a lake bank

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Ducklings

Seven ducklings and their parents observed by the lake today.

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Oriental Darter Observed – September 2013

I observed an Oriental Darter two mornings in a row in late September.

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Wildlife Spotting at Lunch – 20th August 2013

During my lunch break I decided to again sit by the lake and eat my lunch and then head off for a walk around the lake. Today I also spotted a variety of wildlife, including four water dragons (two large dragons and two small, including one lying on a branch near the water’s edge), swamp hens, moorhens, pelicans and a Little Pied Cormorant

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