Just a 5-min stationary count in my back yard this morning, I’ve been using the early mornings for some prime work time, since I’m doing school & daycare drop off and pick ups on Mondays and Wednesdays. As soon I can, I’ll revert back to using the early dawns of summer to go birding, because once winter comes I won’t be able to get out at all before the kids wake up. Winter mornings are working mornings, summer mornings should be for birding!

Mat Gilfedder and Jo Culican had a Swamp Harrier at Oxley Creek Common the day before yesterday, a good bird and another one of those enigmatic raptors that never appears to be reliable in any particular place. It’s probably the bird on Mat’s list I’m most worried about clawing back (we’re having a friendly competition for the 2018 Brisbane LGA year list). Although I chose not to chase it on the day they saw it, I should try to make sure I do chase one down whenever there are future sightings. It’s the sort of bird you just come across when generally birding and don’t think much about until trying to build a year list and you wonder exactly how to track down each species.

With no year ticks today, my year list remained on 230 species. I spent 5 minutes birding, walked 0 km and drove 0 km.