In the paddocks next to my studio are animal watering troughs - circular, concrete pools, originally for sheep. In the last week, Gang Gang cockatoos have started arriving in numbers to roost in the remnant Eucalypts fringing the paddocks, and to feed locally. Adults with advanced young. The first call this year was in late December. The circular trough is a favourite, and they land and drink and call in constant contact and warning of my presence, if I move into sight. Of all the parrot species that use the local area - seven regularly - these are the most elusive and human-shy.

There are no kingfishers from the north this summer, but that is another story. The mini-corridor of Buddleia that we planted a year ago has been in strong bloom, and clouds of butterflies have been visiting throughout December and January, despite the regular rains and storms. Now, with the first feel of early autumn, they have mostly gone. A sudden, decisive conclusion to a season's 'work'.