Although I understand that New Holland Honeyeaters can breed most of the year here on the s.e. slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges in SA, at least, it's unusual for them to breed at this time of the year. So I was surprised to see a pair of newly fledged New Holland Honeyeaters near our bird bath a couple of days ago. Apart from 40 mm on 1st February there's been no other rain to speak of which might have encouraged the breeding. However, for the last several weeks there have been many small beige moths in the grassland on our place. The presence of these moths may have been the breeding trigger.
What the moths have to do with the presence of 3 young Red-browed Finches at one of our bird bowls I have no idea but I have noted that the rain on 1st February stimulated the growth of native grasses which began producing seed a couple of weeks ago.
Once again, native grasses have shown the ability to provide a green flush after summer rain which again perplexes me as to why local government authorities, fire fighting authorities & farmers aren't encouraging native grasses along roadside as a bushfire prevention measure.
