Down the Mount for a dive on the long weekend and managed to creep away for a few hours birding.
First afternoon saw my first Southern Emu Wren and was over the moon to say the least.
Hard to get a decent shot but saw a male and female so will be returning for another look.
Then noticed a couple of very fast flying birds which turned out to be White-throated Needletail, a real speedster.
Next afternoon spied a flock of Blue-winged parrots and managed to snap one, then on the way home caught my first Australasian Gannet off the coast at Robe.
A few other bits and pieces to round out a very productive weekend. Sorry to make the post a bit photo heavy 
another good weekend for you and good pics for us
those Needletails must have been relatively low
Peter
I've never heard of Needltails but you have captured them nicely. Apart from the Silvereye they would all be firsts for me.
Edit...Just looked up White-Throated Needletail to discover it's a Swift and I think I saw some of these last time I was at O'Reilly's at the Lamington National Park but they were very high up.
Wow!.."One of the world's fastest birds".
Gets even more interesting..."Needletails have been observed from aircraft at up to 2000m above sea level over Aust Alps. Air speed when overtaken was at c.120-125km/h".
Breeds in Siberia and Japan... That's a seriously good find Rick and the fact that you have photographed the fastest bird in the world in flight. Congratulations.
Samford Valley Qld.
Rick - Mike Tarburton (tarburton.m@optusnet.com.au) researches Swifts and Needletail, I suggest that you consider reporting your sighting.
Peter
Thanks Peter, Reflex.
Peter, will follow that up.
Went back the next day to have a look for the Wren and Needletails but neither were around.
Well done Rick, nice photos.
Same as Reflex all bar the Silvereye would be firsts for me.
I'm having trouble getting any new birds to find in Brisbane now.
Kind have exhausted all the regulars.
Trying to set up for night photos so that will at least open up a whole other avenue and I'm guessing another a whole lot of frustration as I learn the ropes.
Well you gotto start somewhere, right...
Very nice photos Rick! You found some awesome birds.The parrot and Emu Wren would have been new for me.
Great shots Rick.
I bet you were pumped about the Emu Wrens, i know i was with my first.
I have only really bad pics of Needletails, you did really well with those.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
Thanks all, was agreat wekend.
Devster, I thought I had done the same then found that there were some really cool birds around, that I had completely overlooked, close to home. Just took a different mindset and for me to slow down a bit. Took some doing
Shorty, Was just as you describe, and for an older fellow in my dotage was nice to feel the heart pumping, and all over a cute little orange and blue blob
Gold!
Devster - if you send me your bird list I might be able to help with suggestions on other species and sites; my email address is on this page http://www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlife-southern-queensland/publications-sq; Birds Qld has good brochures on birding sites http://birdsqueensland.org.au/bird_places.php
Peter
Thanks so much Peter I will email it to you tonight.
Mind you I'm like Reflex, I have to get an identifiable shot of the bird before I mark it off my list.
For me it's not just about the list, but with each new bird I lean about new species what they look like, what their habitat is and so forth.
Doing that along with reading forums like this as well as bird books helps me to remember not just a name of a bird but a bit about their character as well. If that makes sense?
Thanks for that information, Peter.
I wasn't aware of the Sherwood Arboretum and will be checking that out for sure.
http://birdsqueensland.org.au/downloads/bird-places-Sherwood.pdf
Samford Valley Qld.
Yes, I also get a pic of the species, well except for some rather elusive birds like Carpentarian Grasswren
I also keep a sub-species (ssp) list
Peter
It all starts with a few elusive birds and next thing you know your a full time twitcher
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
Lol if I were a full time twitcher I would have headed down to see that powerful Owl Choosy Pics has photos of.
Lots of great photos as always Rick - congratulations on the emu wren!
What a beautiful bunch of photos Rick. Well done!
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane