Up in the treetops: Mitchell outback Qld

This morning, as I was pegging washing on the clothes line in our backyard, my attention was drawn away from sheets and towels towards the top of the silky oak (Grevillea robusta) growing nearby.

Golden blossoms glowed in brilliant sunshine. Oozing nectar, the flowers have attracted friar birds and blue-faced honey-eaters to feast and squabble over the choicest blooms. In addition, there are bees and beetles in their thousands -- and then, as dusk falls softly over the land, flying foxes arrive to feast too.

Throughout the month of October, this magnificent silky oak is a magnet to blossom nomads -- and delight to us, the observers.

Blossom nomads descend on Mitchell, outback Qld

With red-flowering callistemons and silky oaks in full bloom, friar birds, honey-eaters and flying foxes have arrived in Mitchell -- to feast on nectar and assist in pollination.

The silky oak growing in our garden is a tall tree, and at this time of the year -- when dripping with golden blooms -- is a magnificent sight. In its top-most branches, friar birds and honey-eaters squabble over the sweetest nectar and then chatter noisily about the joys of spring.

These blossom nomads stay in Mitchell for the duration of the blossoms, and then move further south, chasing nectar. Flying foxes are blossom nomads too; however, they usually stay around to harvest the later flowering river red gums growing alongside the Maranoa River.

With birds nesting, plants flowering and butterflies fluttering, spring is a busy and exciting time in and around Mitchell.

You can even see a beetle on one of the silky oak blooms!