Category: Mammals

A Resilient Echidna

Last year I photographed this Echidna hiding under a log. It was dug firmly into the ground and I had no intentions of disturbing it.  As you can see, the spines on its back are badly damaged, as is the fur.  We have had bushfires in our area, so perhaps it survived a fire, or … Continue reading A Resilient Echidna

The Latest Joey – 3 photos

At long last the newest Eastern Grey joey left the safety of its mother’s pouch in a spot close enough to photograph.  It was only momentary, and to our eyes, it looked like the joey might have fallen out while trying to hang too far out to eat grass.   This one is very active inside … Continue reading The Latest Joey – 3 photos

Intermittent Return of the Eastern Grey Kangaroos

While I would love to be able to show you photos of last year’s joey out of the pouch and being independent, I can’t.  After living on our place for just over two years, the female Eastern Grey Kangaroo and her joey disappeared in August 2015, and as far as I have been able to … Continue reading Intermittent Return of the Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Kangaroo Courtship

Over the last three years, I’ve been fortunate to observe some of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo courtship behaviour.   In Winter, a new tiny joey peeks out of its mother’s pouch and the dominant male returns to the mob for a while.   This year, the new tiny pink face appeared toward the end of June. … Continue reading Kangaroo Courtship

Colour Variation in Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Recently, we’ve had four Eastern Grey Kangaroos grazing near the house – our usual female and her joey, a young male and a new female.  All four have slightly differently coloured fur. The new female is especially pale.  I haven’t seen another Eastern Grey this  pale, so I thought it would be interesting to introduce her … Continue reading Colour Variation in Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Out of the pouch, but still suckling

Female kangaroos can have one joey in the pouch and an older, almost independent joey out of the pouch but  still suckling, while an embryo waits, suspended, until the pouch is once again free.  I never tire of seeing the females tending their young.  They are so patient and attentive. Joeys usually vacate the pouch … Continue reading Out of the pouch, but still suckling

Rain and Kangaroos: Is there a link?

Just as the rain has been sparse, so have the kangaroos.  Since Christmas, I think I can count on one hand the number of kangaroos I’ve seen here.  Those that visit just seem to spend one night, and then disappear for weeks.  It has been very dry, which means most of the grass is brown … Continue reading Rain and Kangaroos: Is there a link?

Hot Bats

On Wednesday, we had a fairly warm day which must have heated the space behind the fascia board on the deck, where there is a small bat colony.  All of the bats were clambering over each other to get out of their den and into a place where they could cool down. Some bats chose … Continue reading Hot Bats

Gallery: Young Joey Practices Wrestling with Mum

A short time ago I posted photographs of a young joey jumping all over its mother.  Well, this time the kangaroos were right in front of the house and the joey was quite aggressive – kicking the female kangaroo in the head and torso, as well as apparently drawing blood.  I guess this is what … Continue reading Gallery: Young Joey Practices Wrestling with Mum

Rambling Around: An Echidna Encounter

I know we have Echidnas on our property, for I often find holes they have dug around ants nests or tasty plant roots.  Usually, it’s easy to tell if an Echidna has dug the hole because of the tell-tale impressions their pointy noses leave at the bottom of the hole.  I’ve come across these fascinating … Continue reading Rambling Around: An Echidna Encounter

Three Young Males: Coming home?

As if in answer to my question ‘What happened to Junior’,  three young male Eastern Grey Kangaroos wandered through the property two nights ago.  Comparing photographs, I think one of them was ‘Junior’ the elder of the two joeys our resident female kangaroo raised here.  While I can’t be 100% sure it’s him, the light … Continue reading Three Young Males: Coming home?

Marsupial Spring

I was so focused on the ducks this morning that I wasn’t even looking for marsupials –  kangaroos or wallabies.  Then something fast-moving and small caught my attention.  The camera was already out and active taking photographs of ducklings, so for once I was prepared for a spontaneous joey run!  Yes, for those who have … Continue reading Marsupial Spring

Eastern Grey Kangaroo Joey: Jumping on Mum

As promised in my previous kangaroo post, here are the photographs of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey – delayed slightly while I was hunting for Sun Orchids. This young joey still spends most of the day in its mother’s pouch.  So, when the joey climbs out for five minutes of exercise, it is still experiencing the … Continue reading Eastern Grey Kangaroo Joey: Jumping on Mum

“Who’s Who” in the New Kangaroo Mob

Recently, I wrote about a new mob of six Eastern Grey Kangaroos which seem to have displaced our usual mob of three.   Unlike the previous mob, they are not on our land all of the time. Kangaroo Diary If I see kangaroos of a morning or evening,  I do take at least a couple of photographs to … Continue reading “Who’s Who” in the New Kangaroo Mob

A New Mob: Ructions in the Ranks

I’m not sure what is happening in the Kangaroo world, but we’ve had quite a bit of change lately, with a new mob showing up on occasion.  For more than a year, we have had a fairly stable population of Eastern Grey Kangaroos, with rarely more than three here at a time.  Mostly, this has … Continue reading A New Mob: Ructions in the Ranks

A Swamp Wallaby Sighting

Since the sad February drowning of the female Swamp Wallaby, I haven’t seen any Wallabies around – until this morning!  This one came up and over the wall of the dam, which it skirted, and then up to the house to feed on a patch of cape weed leaves.  However, it didn’t hang around for … Continue reading A Swamp Wallaby Sighting

Our Eastern Grey Kangaroos are Back

My last post on the Kangaroos was in June, when it looked like the young joey was going to emerge from the pouch for the first time.  However, from that moment, the kangaroos kept their distance from the house.  Then, late in July they left the property.  One morning, a different mob of five kangaroos arrived, … Continue reading Our Eastern Grey Kangaroos are Back

A Tragic Summer Drowning

On hot Summer days, it gave me great pleasure to see the Swamp Wallabies cooling off in the dam.  They would move slowly through the water, parallel to the shore in the shallows. As they moved their hind legs, the rounded shape of their knees rising and lowering at surface level suggested the motion of a … Continue reading A Tragic Summer Drowning

Common Brushtail Possum

I can’t believe it has taken me almost two years to photograph a Brushtail Possum!  In urban areas, possums can be a pest, often living in the roof space of houses and feeding on prized garden plants.  Here, we never see them because they have their natural habitat and don’t really need to come near … Continue reading Common Brushtail Possum

Two Joeys: An Update

Almost one month ago, I posted a photograph of a new pink joey’s face peeking out of an Eastern Grey Kangaroo pouch, with the promise of better  photographs to come.  Then the kangaroos disappeared for three and a bit weeks.  My guess is that the female sought out a more protected location for the first few … Continue reading Two Joeys: An Update

A Very Tiny New Face

The Eastern Grey Kangaroos were absent over the drier parts of Summer and early Autumn. Now that it has rained and fresh green grass shoots are growing, they are back.  Last year’s joey is growing fast, and now he is almost up to his mother’s shoulder when they both stand up. We knew the female was carrying … Continue reading A Very Tiny New Face

Oops! It’s a boy!

Using adult Eastern Grey Kangaroo sex identification markers, I seized on the joey’s white chest fur to boldly proclaim that it was a female in an earlier post.  As the joey grows and matures, the white fur is turning brown and it is becoming increasingly obvious that I was wrong. He’s all boy! Most mornings … Continue reading Oops! It’s a boy!

Swamp Wallaby Drinking

Last Summer on a stinking hot day I photographed a Swamp Wallaby drinking out of the dam in the afternoon.  Usually, being nocturnal, we  only see them at dusk or dawn. Well, another stinking hot day, and another Swamp Wallaby drinking out of the dam in the daylight.  These photographs were taken at around 3:30 … Continue reading Swamp Wallaby Drinking