Still No Pinging

Touch wood, still no bellbirds yet around home.

Whilst walking down Monbulk Rd. in Emerald last Friday I heard some, but not here at home. I was surprised to hear them in Emerald. I went to my writing class at the community centre, keen to see my old classmates and maybe a new bod or two, only to find the new term doesn't start till next Friday. I'd sent Gordy on to the farm in the van with instruction to come back and pick me up at 3 o'clock, so I relished the opportunity to walk.

I love to walk. You hear and see so much more than travelling in a car. It's all happening in birdland. On the weekend I saw a family of small birds in our street, thornbills I suspect, busily twittering and working through a messmate tree, feeding on tiny insects on the leaves. These are the insects that the bellbirds 'farm', in order to feed on the sweet sticky secretions. They aggressively chase away all the small birds, the natural predators of these insects, which in turn leads to a population increase of insects which can be to the point of causing tree ill health and death.

I also saw a tree creeper on our place, working up and down the trunk after insects/grubs, which I've not seen here before. I suspect it has moved in the absence of bellbirds.

Mr Whippy is back. I saw him when attracted by his scritchy cackling the other day and since then have heard both he and his partner calling. They must be getting ready to start a new family. I saw a crow fly high overhead with a stick in its mouth into the top of a tall pine tree in Quinn Rd. last week. There's been plenty of galahs around, looking relaxed, and some black cockies. Both these tend to move in and out. There's also lots of currawongs, magpies, and peewees, along with the the rosellas, spinebills, doves, blackbirds, minas and white cockies. On my walk I noticed many times bits of bay leaves on the pavement near the bus stop outside the pub and wondered what was eating them, until I saw a group of immature crimson rosellas chewing the flower buds and breaking bits off the tree as they did. Every day I watch and listen for the return of the bellbirds but so far so good.

It was sunny this morning and dry underfoot after a couple of windy days. Following the good rain of a week or two back, another 50 ml plus, Melbourne's reservoirs finally started to rise instead of fall. One day they went up 2000 megalitres in a 24hr period, and for the next week they've continued to rise although the daily increase has now dwindled to about 200 meg. a day. We need more rain in the catchments to keep the flows up.