A memorable day – whipbirds, swallowtails, doves and beetles

Whoa, 12 months since the last post! Anyway, the events of yesterday are worth recording.

First, a call distinctly like a whipbird, though likely just seriously good mimicry by a Golden Whistler, came to my attention mid-morning. After all, there are no wet gullies around here and the nearest resident Eastern Whipbirds are some kilometers away. But on second listening I was seriously considering the possibility, then this …

A blur of wings, but unmistakable – an Eastern Whipbird.

In the shadow of the grapevine

Unmistakable silhouette

It’s the second ever record of an Eastern Whipbird in our Boho South garden. The first was in the wet Summer of 2010 – a coincidence?

A little later, passing an orange tree, I noticed the unmistakable  black-red-white combination of a Dainty Swallowtail. They’ve been only occasional visitors up here in recent years. Not since the wet Summer of 2010 have they been regular in the garden.

Unmistakable flashes of colour.

Alighting to ly eggs.

Exquisite detail.

The biggest surprise of all … a dove in the garden! Not the usual suspects, bronzewing and Wonga Pigeon, but a small dove. Most surprisingly, when I watched through binoculars expecting to see a Peaceful Dove, I saw instead a Diamond Dove! The literature shows only the occasional record in the vicinity of the Strathbogies – this appears to be the first confirmed record on the Strathbogie Tableland. Diamond Doves are popular aviary birds and it’s possible this one might have been an escapee. But neighbours are thin on the ground up here and I checked with quite a few locals – don’t know of anyone in our vicinity that has/had caged doves.

Sitting calmly in the Loquat Tree.e

The beautiful Diamond Dove – such a rare visitor to forests and mountains.

Red dot and arrow pin-point this record. Base-map from ALA.

And to top it off, we had the first big beetle night of the season – a massive Blackheaded Pasture  Cockchaffer (Aphodius tasmaniae) emergence and frenzied mating. Even a few Bess Beetles showed up. Quite a spectacle to finish a memorable day.

Blackheaded pasture Cockchafers …

… on every surface.

Some Bess Beetles (?Aulacocyclus edentulus) came along for the ride.