Tag: nature

Begining the Discussion: A Facebook Experiment

As my Fifteen Acres blog grows and changes, I’ve been thinking more about its central themes.  I’ve settled on a couple of rules which shape my posts: Everything I write about happens on our fifteen acres of mostly bushland Through photographs and my thoughts, I’ll try to show you what I found interesting or unusual. … Continue reading Begining the Discussion: A Facebook Experiment

Eastern Rosella

At last we have seen an Eastern Rosella!  The Crimson Rosella is a common species on our property (we see them every day) but it’s surprising that other common species of parrot aren’t more visible.  These birds were extremely shy, taking off at the first sign of movement. We saw them from a distance twice … Continue reading Eastern Rosella

A Solitary Straw-Necked Ibis

We rarely see ibis here.  In the sixteen months we have been here, I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve sighted them.  The last time we had Straw-Necked Ibis here, they arrived at dusk to roost and were gone at first light.  Given this, it was a surprise to find a … Continue reading A Solitary Straw-Necked Ibis

A Gallery of Wet Bark

This post is inspired by Jan in England, who likes to use the Australian bush colours for weaving projects.  We’ve had quite a bit of rain recently, which really brings out the colour of fallen pieces of bark.  The moss, plants and leaf litter add more texture and colour into the mix.  If you’re a … Continue reading A Gallery of Wet Bark

Prickly Starwort (Stellaria pungens)

This post is the beginning of a weekly addition to the A – Z Plant Index showing plant species we have growing on our property.    I’ve started small, based on previously published posts, but I have a large stock of unpublished photographs to identify and add over the coming months.  This list will evolve … Continue reading Prickly Starwort (Stellaria pungens)

Battling a Reflection: Superb Fairy Wrens

This morning I noticed two Superb Fairy Wrens chattering right outside the window between the  deck and the dining room.  Repeatedly they would fly to perch on a gardening tool leaning on the glass to chatter and scold.  At first I thought it was me they were warning away.  Later in the day, with a … Continue reading Battling a Reflection: Superb Fairy Wrens

Testing Their Strength: Young male kangaroos sparring

Something told me to get up early today, and I’m glad I did.  Our kangaroo family were back, with two young male kangaroos tagging along behind.   My guess is  the female kangaroo was in season, as there seemed to be a lot of jostling.  The two young males put on a good show right … Continue reading Testing Their Strength: Young male kangaroos sparring

Is Anyone An Expert on Victorian Bats?

For a while now, we have been noticing squeaks coming from within a boxed in gap in the fascia board surrounding the back deck.  We’ve suspected there may be a few bats living in this gap and over the last two weeks we have been trying to monitor their habits.  Right on the point of … Continue reading Is Anyone An Expert on Victorian Bats?

White-Throated Treecreeper

I’ve been so focused on finding Australian Terrestrial Orchids over Spring that I haven’t really been looking out for new bird species.  Yesterday, I was still hunting for flowers when a bird landed on a nearby tree. Its habit of climbing up and around the tree trunk looking for insects alerted me to the possibility … Continue reading White-Throated Treecreeper

Familiar Faces: Wildlife, Home, and Making Contact

The first thing I do when I get out of bed each day is look out the window to see ‘who’ is there.  We recognise individual birds and animals within a species because they  seem to have made their regular patch of turf the land outside our windows.  It is their home as much as … Continue reading Familiar Faces: Wildlife, Home, and Making Contact

A Privilege to Watch

I couldn’t believe my luck this morning, when our regular Eastern Grey Kangaroo allowed her joey to suckle right in front of the study window.  She just stood there for twenty minutes or so while the joey (otherwise independent)  put her mouth into the pouch for a feed. Unfortunately, a car noise disturbed them, and … Continue reading A Privilege to Watch

Fishing for Yabbies

These two White Faced Herons were fishing in the dam today.  We often wonder what lives beneath the surface of the water.  Not being fisher-person’s, we don’t really know the tell-tale signs, and we don’t own the right equipment to attempt to fish in it.  A photograph of one White-Faced Heron holding a yabby proves … Continue reading Fishing for Yabbies

Light and Shade

The texture and colour of bark continues to fascinate me. Often the colour of the bark on a single tree can change, depending on the time of day, whether it is sunny or shady, and how intense the light is on a particular day.  I love the contrast in colour and texture in this shot, … Continue reading Light and Shade

Independence!

The Eastern Grey Kangaroos were back again this week, after an absence of a month or two.  On the weekend a male and female made a brief appearance en-route to the back of the property, and this morning we had a group of four: two males, a female, and the joey, which is now independent. … Continue reading Independence!

Duck-Orchid

Another intriguing Australian Terrestrial Orchid  was among the many flowers we found on a sunny day last week.  Richard initially saw a plant that seemed to have a differently shaped bud. We noted where it was growing and waited for our expert friend to visit. She identified that it would develop into a Duck-Orchid. Another … Continue reading Duck-Orchid

Cheeky Cockatoos!!

For the last week or so, this is what I have seen through my study window: Update: I just took these two photos, which I am adding to the post – even better than the one I originally used!   Now, back to the original post! Somehow, this Sulphur Crested Cockatoo has figured out that … Continue reading Cheeky Cockatoos!!

Tiger Orchid: Diuris sulphurea

We are lucky enough to have clumps of Tiger Orchids. These beautiful,  often large, flowers really attract attention with their bright yellows, browns and blacks. A ‘cousin’ of the Donkey Orchid, the Tiger Orchid shares the two large upright lobes.   We have Tiger Orchids in all of our main micro-climate zones.  They are growing … Continue reading Tiger Orchid: Diuris sulphurea

Magpie Breeding Season – Hold Onto Your Hat!

For the past six weeks or so, I haven’t been able to step outside the house without a sturdy hat.  Breeding magpies are very defensive, and they will dive-bomb anything they perceive to be a threat, including innocent humans. Unfortunately, their aggressive habits have driven off some of the other breeding birds, such as the … Continue reading Magpie Breeding Season – Hold Onto Your Hat!

Spotted Sun Orchids (Thelymitra ixioides)

Over the last few weeks I have taken a swag of photos of Australian native flowers, including  more Australian Terrestrial Orchids.  Rather than post a gallery of them here, I’ll post them one by one, and build these posts into a plant index.  Today, I’m going to focus on the beautiful  Spotted Sun Orchids. Many … Continue reading Spotted Sun Orchids (Thelymitra ixioides)

Hairy Caterpillar

I found this very hairy caterpillar a week or so ago.  This morning, I thought I might identify the species, but I can’t find an exact match.  My best guess is that it belongs to the ARCTIIDAE family, otherwise known as ‘Woolly Bears’.  In Australia, there are quite a number of ‘Woolly Bears’ so I wasn’t able … Continue reading Hairy Caterpillar

Donkey Orchid (Diuris orientis)

These  Donkey Orchids were a cheerful addition to my daily walk.  We had a patch of around five or six plants in a three meter radius in a transitional position between dry bushland and a grassed area.   While they were not densely packed together, I found it interesting that they were all growing in … Continue reading Donkey Orchid (Diuris orientis)

Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium strictum)

The first of the Chocolate Lilies is in flower!  We had them last year, but that was before I developed an interest in native flowers. So I really didn’t take much notice of them until we were cleaning up the land for the Summer period.  In the process, a few were mown down.  I took … Continue reading Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium strictum)