August Nature Notes at Millpost
Rainfall and Temperatures: El Nino setting in?
This August was uncharacteristically warm, in spite of a cold start. We
measured -4 degrees C under the verandah in the first week of the month, which
equates to -6 C in the paddocks. That was followed by a run of frosty nights
which discouraged grass growth and dried out the soil.
Then came the wonderful rain, followed by more rain, and warm temperatures.
We measured 74mm of rainfall for the month, while the long-term average for
Bungendore for August is 53.3mm. And we started experiencing warmer than
normal temperatures: for example, a minimum of 8.5 degrees C on the 26th, and
a maximum of 18C for the 30th .
Therefore prospects for early spring of 2026 are good; but that depends on
rainfall keeping up with the expected higher than normal temperatures,
otherwise we will lose that good soil moisture quickly.
Later spring and summer could be much more challenging, according to the
BOM long-term forecast which centres around a severe El Nino producing very
high temperatures across the continent.
Birds
The warmer temperatures are bringing the migratory birds back, some a little
early I reckon. Here are some of the birds we've been seeing and hearing during
August (some of whom are migratory and some sedentary),
“In Order of Appearance”:
Maggies and Crows - they stay here through weather fair and foul!
Fairy Wrens and Scrub Wrens
Rosellas (Crimson and Eastern),
White Cockies and Galahs..... they stay put through winter, the parrots surviving first on acorns and pine cones and later on spilt grain when we give our pregnant ewes extra tucker
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos
Welcome Swallows
Butcherbirds
Satin Bowerbirds
Choughs
King Parrots (although we have no intentional practice of feeding wild birds
here, our grandson fed one out of his hand; they are a very tame species!)
Grey Currawongs (much rarer than the Pied Currawong)
Olive-backed Oriole
Peregrine Falcon !!! (only a hundred metres from our house)
Honeyeaters galore
Thornbills (mainly Yellow-rumped, Yellow and Striated)
Red-browed Finches
Frogmouths
Blackbirds (not natives but not invasive; their numbers have hardly changed in
30 or more years)
Shags - Filling dams have attracted a bigger variety of water birds back and we expect
to see a lot more in the near future.
Reptiles
I spotted a Painted Dragon yesterday. No snakes seen yet.
There was an Eastern Long-necked Turtle basking in the sun on a floating log in
the dam close to our house a few days ago. In summer there will be dozens of
them sunning on the logs and loudly plopping into the water if they hear us
approach.
Plants
Our homestead garden – not a native garden as our farm is our native garden -
is a mass of colour from bulbs and flowering fruit trees and also the Lesser
Celandine, which has colonised our garden but flowers in the depths of winter
so a welcome addition.
The Clematis aristata that we planted to climb over a fence at our back entrance
gate is covered in its star-like blossoms, while the local Clematis (C.
leptophylla) is starting to re-appear in our bushland as a result of years of
regenerative farming. Hardenbergia violacea has also benefitted from low
stocking rates; it's starting to flower now.
Some spring wattles are in full glory,
especially Acacia dealbata which can flower any time between June and
September here. Acacia boormanii (Snowy River Wattle) is one of the loveliest
at this time of year; it's not endemic to this area but loves the conditions here.
What to look for in September
Out in the paddocks and woodlands in September we should see the start of a
good wildflower season:
Early Nancy (Wurmbea dioica), Glycines, Hoveas, Billy Buttons (Craspedia
sp), Murnongs (Yam Daisy), Austral Indigo, Daphne Heath (Br[achyloma
daphnoides) and Peach Heath (Lissanthe strigosa), the Common Buttercup
(Ranunculus lappaceus), a range of terrestrial orchids.....and many more!
I'm straining my ears already to hear the musical Rufous Whistlers, the
ubiquitous Grey Fantails, and so many other familiar species which should
return in spring. We can only hope that the twin threats of El Nino and bird flu
do not create a “perfect storm” that threatens the wonderful bird population that
calls Millpost home.
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