No luck with Black Bittern this morning for the sixth time of trying. I’m lucky the two spots where there are birds (Sandy Camp Rd Wetlands and Mookin-Bah Reserve) are within 15 minutes of my house. Or maybe I’m unlucky and wouldn’t have bothered trying so hard if they were further away. I walked carefully up and down the creek through Mookin-Bah this morning but no sign of any bitterns, Black or otherwise. The best bird was without doubt a branchling Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo being fed by Red-backed Fairywrens – the first time I’ve seen this happening. Absolutely brilliant, I stood captivated for ages!

There were a couple of Peaceful Doves calling and it made me curious about the distribution of this species; I wonder if it is expanding into smaller suburban bushland patches? Certainly, it appears to be increasing in Brisbane (see below) and I wonder if it might follow Bar-shouldered Dove and start to become adapted to a suburban lifestyle.

The weather is looking good for a seawatch off Moreton Island tomorrow, with the remnants of Cyclone Gita being swung our way as the huge storm tracks towards New Zealand. But there’s absolutely no way I can get across to the island, with a full day at work and the morning and afternoon school run to do. I’ll probably have to be content with a pelagic trip in March and / or April, assuming I can get one organised. Must get on the phone tomorrow to see if there’s anyone that might take us out.

With no year ticks today, my year list remained on 239 species. I spent 1 hour 18 minutes birding, walked 2.589 km and drove 21 km.

Peaceful Dove shows a winter drop in reporting rate, but I wonder if this has more to do with calling behaviour than a real change in distribution?

There appears to be a strong increase in Peaceful Dove records in the last decade – when I next do a data download, I’ll add in 2016 and 2017. I wonder if this species will eventually be a common garden bird in Brisbane?

Peaceful Dove at Mookin-Bah Reserve. Coming to a garden near you?