We have cormorants drop in to fish in the dam every now and again. Mostly, they come on their own, but sometimes they bring a friend or two. In the months leading up to Christmas, I was much more drawn to the herons, ducks, and more exotic species of bird, paying little attention to the … Continue reading An Assortment of Cormorants
Category: Native Species List
This is a photographic record of native wildlife and plant species we have found on our property.
White-Eared Honeyeater
Yesterday, you caught a glimpse of the White-Eared Honeyeater in My Morning Walk and I promised you more photos today. Here they are! We’ve been catching glimpses of this species ever since we moved in, but they are fast, and tend to spend their time in denser trees. This makes them hard to photograph. On … Continue reading White-Eared Honeyeater
October Wildflowers: Part 2
I’m discovering that identifying wildflowers is very time-consuming. Our two field guides cover wildflowers from all over Australia, with multiple variations on most species. Looking at the small illustrations or photographs in the field guides, often nothing looks exactly the same as the wildflowers I have found. However, by looking at locations they are found, … Continue reading October Wildflowers: Part 2
Spotted Pardalote
Our cats were running up and down the back yard today, in the cat enclosure, making enthusiastic noises about something fluttering just under the netting. It turned out to be this beautiful Spotted Pardalote, which had found its way into the cat enclosure through the holes in the lattice fence. Don’t worry, no damage was … Continue reading Spotted Pardalote
October Wildflowers – Part 1
Colourful flowers, including some Native Orchids caught my uneducated eye in October, as I began to investigate the bushland a bit more closely. Wax-lip Orchid (Orcidaceae Glossodia Major) The beautiful colour and form of the Wax-lip Orchid made them highly visible against the greens, yellows and whites of almost everything surrounding them. Dillwynia Many different … Continue reading October Wildflowers – Part 1
September Wildflowers – A Beginning
Helen commented on A Family of Four, reflecting on the way kangaroos were affecting the number of wild flowers in South Australia. This has inspired me to go back and keep a month by month record of the native flowers I have photographed since we moved in. This will build into an index of flowers … Continue reading September Wildflowers – A Beginning
Family of Four
At the risk of overloading you with photographs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos, here is an update. Three female kangaroos have been coming past the house to graze a couple of times each week. As noted in my previous post Three Morning Visitors, it appears to be a mature female with two female offspring from her … Continue reading Family of Four
Breeding Australasian Grebes?
In my last post about the Australasian Grebes, I left you trying to spot two white fluffy bottoms hidden among the reeds. This time, I managed to get better photos – as it turns out, inadvertently. I was actually trying to photograph the small birds in the eucalypts and acacias surrounding the dam. As soon … Continue reading Breeding Australasian Grebes?
One Magpie v. More than Twenty Ducks
This is a sight I have often seen, but never before with camera in hand! Finally, I have captured it to share with you. A pair of magpies lives in a tree near the house, spending much of the day on the lawn leading down to the dam. One of these magpies is particularly territorial, … Continue reading One Magpie v. More than Twenty Ducks
Return of the Australian Wood Duck!
After what seems like a long absence, we are beginning to see Australian Wood Duck again. The family of thirteen has not returned as a group – maybe because the ducklings are making their own way in the world. Or perhaps (horrendous thought) because of duck season. Maybe some of the ducks have found new … Continue reading Return of the Australian Wood Duck!
Australasian Grebe
One morning, a fast-moving ripple on the dam attracted my attention. Getting out the binoculars, I could see a small water bird madly swimming back and forth, as though its life depended on racing from one spot to another. Every now and again it would dive beneath the surface, then swim madly off in another … Continue reading Australasian Grebe
Three Morning Visitors
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
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
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
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
Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos
We’ve known for a while that we should get Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos in our area, but until this week, we haven’t seen any. Earlier in the week, on one of my walks I had spotted some black birds which seemed to be making ‘hyena-style’ laughing noises, but I couldn’t get close enough to see what … Continue reading Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos
Curious Frogs
Tonight while we were watching TV, we wondered what the cats were looking at outside the window. Investigating further, we saw two small Southern Brown Tree Frogs clinging onto the wire door. Maybe they were attracted to the lights, or maybe they were after the insects which were attracted to the lights. Either way, we … Continue reading Curious Frogs
Fifteen Acres 