Kangaroos make their presence known in various ways, even when you can’t physically see them – often with damage to plants in the garden. This usually happens overnight, in the dark, when you don’t even get the pleasure of watching these beautiful creatures. So it was both surprising and pleasant to see three female Eastern … Continue reading Three Morning Visitors
Month: April 2013
Playing around with Cockatoos
While I much prefer to photograph birds in their natural habitat, providing a little bit of bird seed does offer a fantastic chance to get some close-up shots of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. I wanted to convey the playful nature of Cockatoos, but also show their beauty. To other birds, in this case a couple … Continue reading Playing around with Cockatoos
Immature Golden Whistler? Identify this bird if you can!
On a calm day last week, many small birds were calling from the treetops, and I could identify where they were sitting from the rustling noises they made when they moved. I took many photos of one small bird which was hopping around the trunk of a tree at the point where the bark peeled … Continue reading Immature Golden Whistler? Identify this bird if you can!
The Colour of Long-Billed Corella
Every single day we have a large flock of Long-Billed Corella fly South over our land shortly after Sunrise, and return Northward just before Sunset. We don’t know where they come from, or where they go to each day. It is one of nature’s mysteries. Rarely do they land here. If they do, it is … Continue reading The Colour of Long-Billed Corella
Eastern Froglet
We’ve had more encounters with frogs this week than we have in the entire time we’ve lived here. They must be beginning to emerge after the hot Summer weather. Each time we have a small rain shower, the number of frogs ‘singing’ seems to increase! We found this little fellow in a patch of long … Continue reading Eastern Froglet
A Tiny Native Orchid
We have been trying to identify some of the small birds which hide in the undergrowth and treetops. Among the methods we use is to sit in the bush listening for their calls. Yesterday, while doing this, Richard spotted our first Autumn Native Orchid. So far I have not been able to identify it precisely, … Continue reading A Tiny Native Orchid
Silhouette – Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo
On the still evening I photographed the White=Browed Scrubwren, I also saw the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos for myself. Mostly they were in among the leaves, high in the treetops and hidden from the camera. As I neared the end of my walk, and the sun had almost set, this solitary bird presented me with a … Continue reading Silhouette – Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Pair of Pacific Black Ducks
In mid-February we had a solitary Pacific Black Duck swimming around in the dam. This was the only time we’d sighted one until this morning. When I got up there were two Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, three Crimson Rosellas and two Pacific Black Duck searching for food in the grass near the house. Just after I … Continue reading Pair of Pacific Black Ducks
White-Browed Scrubwren
We’ve recently returned to standard time after being on ‘Daylight Saving’ Summer time, so twilight sets in much earlier. I often go walking twice a day – once in the morning, and once at around 5pm. Over Summer, this meant that it was too early to spot mammals, and many birds were off feeding. It … Continue reading White-Browed Scrubwren
Spotted Grass Frog / Spotted Marsh Frog
We’ve seen these small frogs in our back garden on a number of occasions. The distinctive yellow stripe down their back makes them easily identifiable. This one has a bit of a kink in the stripe, but most have a fairly straight line from nose to tail. As you would expect, we see more of … Continue reading Spotted Grass Frog / Spotted Marsh Frog
What a difference a little rain makes!
We haven’t had a lot of rain, but in the last few weeks, we’ve had scattered showers here and there over a number of days. Measured in millimetres, it wasn’t very much, but measured in newly growing native plants in the bushland, it has been extremely valuable water in our crunchy dry bushland. For a … Continue reading What a difference a little rain makes!
Looking for Kangaroos
People who know me well think it is hilarious that I have bought a book called ‘Scats, Tracks and other Traces’ which teaches readers how to identify the various animals which have been active at night, or when they can’t be seen. As indicated by the title of the book, sometimes this involves looking at … Continue reading Looking for Kangaroos
First Autumn Flower
Over Summer the ground has been so dry that we haven’t had any native flowers blooming. This is the first one I’ve spotted in Autumn. Although I’m sure it is some kind of pink heath, I can’t match it to any of the images in my field guides to Australian flowers. Right now, it doesn’t … Continue reading First Autumn Flower
Breakfast
I find it interesting to watch birds drink from the dam, as this is when they seem to be most vulnerable. They appear to stop and look around before they bend their heads to the water. These cockatoos were drinking just after sunrise. There was much milling around and one bird drank at a time, … Continue reading Breakfast
A Bark Weaving Experiement
Two recent visitors have wondered aloud about weaving bark, and how it might be possible to retain the wet colour of the bark. This also interests me, so I thought I would give it a try while looking after our granddaughter. We collected some bark which was close to the house, soaked it in water … Continue reading A Bark Weaving Experiement
Fifteen Acres 