With nothing obvious to target, and being a bit tired of repeatedly dipping Black Bittern, I decided to try for Scaly-breasted Munia. It’s always been a rather scarce introduced species in Brisbane, but records have really dried up in the past few years since a peak in 2008-2012, and it’s a species that I reckon is definitely missable in my Brisbane Big Year. There have been no records yet this year in Brisbane. I decided to try Granard Wetlands, which is a small area of wetland restoration just south of Oxley Creek Common. There have been several records of multiple birds in the last two years.

I set my alarm for 0430, and arrived in the area a little before dawn. I had a quick look in at Oxley Creek Common to see if I could magic up a Barn Owl or Grass Owl, but no such luck! Arriving at Granard Wetlands at 0540, I could see why the munias were here – plenty of nice grasses, albeit with most not yet setting seed. Try as I might, I couldn’t find any munias in an 80 minute search, which entailed covering the entire site about three times, so small it was. A flyover Peregrine was nice. I resolved to try again later in the year, perhaps also exploring the surrounding area a bit more thoroughly, as it does look like a good spot for Scaly-breasted Munia.

I weighed up whether to try for Powerful Owl at JC Slaughter Falls, or head to Priors Pocket to look for birds more generally. After some indecision, I opted for the latter course of action, and rolled up to the farm dam at Priors Pocket half an hour later. I couldn’t find anything amazing, but enjoyed watching the comical Pink-eared Ducks, and had four flyover Long-billed Corellas. I drove further down the road to the horse paddocks, when Ged Tranter phoned to say that Stephen Murray had just found a male Shining Flycatcher at Tinchi Tamba and it was still showing right now!!!

Fuelled by an adrenalin buzz, I jumped in car and drove across the city “promptly”, shall we say. It was a tense 50-minute drive. For once I was actually thankful for the network of extremely expensive toll tunnels that now criss-cross the city, as time was more much important than dollars. I arrived at Tinchi about 0915, parked up behind Ged’s car, and puffed my way to the bird hide. I could hear the Shining Flycatcher calling before I even saw it. And WHAT A BIRD it was!!! I mean, I’ve seen quite a few before further north in Australia, but this bird was showy and pumped; simply captivating. Well, I got a year tick after it looked like the morning wasn’t going to produce anything.

And it was great to finally catch up with Ged – he’s clearly got the big year in his sights now as well. And although I’ve got the advantage of a few good birds seen early in the year, he’s also seen some crackers, he’s a better birder than me, and he puts in many more hours than I do in the field. Currently he’s on 236, with about half a dozen easy species still to get. I reckon he’s in with a good chance of winning this year, and it’s certainly going to spice up the race and keep me motivated to press on, which has to be a good thing…

With a nice shiny year tick today, my year list edged up to 252 species. I spent 2 hours 13 minutes birding, walked 2.196 km and drove 156.2 km.

Male Shining Flycatcher at Tinchi Tamba – very hard to see in Brisbane, one of its most southerly outposts in Australia, without traipsing long distances through mangroves, or kayaking. And such a showy, singing individual – just amazing!

Scaly-breasted Munia records peaked between 2008 and 2012, and they have again become extremely rare in more recent years.