I’ve grown up calling these birds Mudlarks, and have always had them around my home. When I was a child, we rescued an almost fledged chick, which managed to tumble from a nest at the top of an electricity pole. There was no hope of getting it back up there, so we kept in inside … Continue reading Mudlark or Magpie Lark
Tag: Wildlife
Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
Strolling around with my camera mid-afternoon on a hot January day, I saw this fellow sitting high in a tree: a Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike. These are the times when I wish I had a telephoto lens. The bird was just sitting there, relaxed and I had the opportunity to take several shots before it moved to … Continue reading Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
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!
Learning to Carol
Two young Magpies have taken to using the bird feeder as a convenient platform while learning how to carol. At the moment they produce a mix of squeaky or rasping twiddles and trills that are often grating to the ear, but over time they are developing some melodic notes. I know when they mature their … Continue reading Learning to Carol
Spotted Jezebel (Delias aganippe)
The four days of intense heat have played havoc with the butterfly population. We saw many around the perimeter of the house, seeking a cooler spot. Some of them perished in the process. When I took the first of these two photographs, this Spotted Jezebel butterfly was alive. Unfortunately, we found it dead the next day. … Continue reading Spotted Jezebel (Delias aganippe)
An Injured Red Wattlebird
Today the light was eerie (click here for photos of the sky). I took the camera out to capture the colour of the sky, and wandered onto the jetty without looking. A fluttering sound caught my attention, and I turned to see what I thought was a fledgling Red Wattlebird running up and down the … Continue reading An Injured Red Wattlebird
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
Spurwinged Plover or Masked Lapwing
I’ve always know this species as the Spurwinged Plover, but my field guide to birds tells me that they have been renamed as the Masked Lapwing. The name ‘Spurwing’ refers to the bony ‘spurs’ which the birds have on their shoulder, and which they can use for defence. Appearing approximately eight months ago, the Plovers … Continue reading Spurwinged Plover or Masked Lapwing
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
Iridescent Feathers – the Straw Necked Ibis Returns
The Straw-Necked Ibis must have thought the food worth a return visit, for it was back again this morning. Still solitary, it was sharing the bounty with two ducks, two Corellas, a kookaburra and a flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. My best guess is that there is some kind of burrowing larvae hatching at this … Continue reading Iridescent Feathers – the Straw Necked Ibis Returns
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
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?
Dragons in the Garden
Gardening in the hot Summer weather can spring a few surprises on those who are not paying attention… like the odd reptile sheltering in the weeds. Luckily for me, it wasn’t a snake. Also, fortunately, I had come across two Jacky Dragon’s previously – thanks to the cats – so I had already researched them, … Continue reading Dragons in the Garden
An Echidna Sighting at Last!
For more than a year I have been finding holes dug by Echidnas – usually around ant nests and plant roots – without having even the smallest glimpse of an Echidna. There was a moment, about a month ago, where someone thought they saw one. By the time I got my camera out and we … Continue reading An Echidna Sighting at Last!
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
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!
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!!
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!
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
Fifteen Acres 