Biodiversity this Spring

Ms Woko & I have been thrilled with the apparent biodiversity increase at our place so far this spring. All of the occasional migrant bird species & a few species which we suspect are trying to establish themselves more permanently have turned up.

On the migrant side: White-winged trillers, white-browed woodswallows, rufous songlarks, rainbow bee eaters, red-browed finches, white-naped honeyeaters & cockatiels have all put in an appearance.

Birds which we anticipate will become or nearly are more permanent residents have also turned up: diamond firetails, kookaburras, elegant parrots, spotted pardalotes, owlet-nightjars, yellow-tailed black cockatoos & spiny-cheeked honeyeaters.

Then there are the butterflies & moths: small grass yellows, Australian admirals, Australian painted ladies, wanderers, lesser wanderers, wood whites, saltbush blues, common browns, grape vine moths & heliotrope moths. Plus many small moths present in the small areas of grassland.

On the reptilian side of things I haven't seen any snakes yet but New Holland honeyeater alarm calls have alerted us three times to the possible presence of, probably, the common brown snake. I've also seen shingle-backed lizards, a tawny dragon & striped skinks.

So it's all happening folks. Why? Probably three reasons: good rainfall in winter, a relatively warm September & the maturing of our ecological restoration project.