An Autumnal tour of the Plain

Feeling like getting out a bit today I fired up El Camion and went for a rumble round the Hoskinstown Plain to see what birds could be seen.  Not a great number was the answer.  There were quite a few Flame Robins around but none of the breeding plumage males were cooperative.  This 'brown bird' posed nicely however.

The basic problem seems to be lack of water.  Not only has the grass gone dry and brown before ant really serious frost, but the water level in this dam is about 1m below what it was this time last year.

My guess is the small brown beast would have been almost totally under water in March 2012!

Getting the livestock together these Alpacas probably think they are back on the altiplano!

 A very obvious vegetation form on the Plain is the hawthorn bushes lining the road (and where the land owners aren't vigilant, invading the paddocks).

While they are clearly weeds, and thus a bad thing  have noticed them providing cover and nest sites for small birds and roosts for Brown Falcons and Eastern Barn Owls.  At this time of year the berries ...

.. can attract flocks of Gang gang Cockatoos, but they were not evident this afternoon.  The only birds hanging out in the hawthorns that I could see were a few Common Starlings (boo, hiss).

More Autumn colour was added by this magnificent row of elms near the Briars property.

 Further russet colour was added by this fox.  He was lying facing the road in some longish grass but I stopped and raised the camera he bolted.  Hopefully to deal with some rabbits!