The exception to this appears to be parrots and lorikeets. Over the past few months I have been watching an Eastern Rosella working on a hole in a tree, preparing it for nesting.

Right now now they have 4 eggs and the female sitting.

Aty another location we have both Grass Parrots and Rainbow Lorikeets nesting.

The small Grass Parrots always seem to nest early. I hear that on the Central Coast there are reports of Rainbow Lorikeets with chicks in attendance.

This all looks good, but we certainly require some rain.

The lovely little Grass Parrot feeds mostly on the ground and nests in small holes in trees.

The female incubates the eggs sitting on them so tightly regardless of danger that she can sometimes be lifted from the hollow still guarding the eggs. The male meanwhile will feed her almost every hour throughout the day.

Their preferred food source is seeds and leaves of grasses, but they will feed on seeds, fruits and flowers in trees. They often feed with other parrots, including Eastern Rosellas and Galahs.

The Rainbow Lorikeet is one of the most brilliantly plumaged of all Australian parrots, and one of the easiest to approach. They are usually seen in pairs or flocks, flying overhead, or feeding among the outermost branches of flowering trees.

Rainbow Lorikeets are very noisy birds and attract attention by their screeching and chattering.

They sometimes have a habit of entering holes in trees during windy conditions and spending long periods there, giving the impression that they are nesting. This can be very misleading.

They use their brush-tipped tongue to get the pollen. The tip of the tongue has hairy projections (called papillae) that soak up nectar and catch pollen. These birds spend most of the day feeding.

In the meantime let’s hope for some rain and, with a bit of luck, maybe we will see some of our smaller birds becoming more active.