Tag: Wildlife

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

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

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

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

Arhodia lasiocamparia

I’m starting to look more closely at leaves, bark and buds in an attempt to work out the precise mix of tree species on our land.  Often it is clear that something has been munching on the leaves and if so, I am beginning to look for caterpillars and larvae.  There are still so many … Continue reading Arhodia lasiocamparia

Four Spotted Cup Moth Caterpillar (Doratifera quadriguttata)

It has been very humid here for the last few days.  This means we get some rain later in the day, but not much. Just enough to make it hot and moist the next morning.  So it came to be that I was walking more slowly than usual, and taking a look at some of … Continue reading Four Spotted Cup Moth Caterpillar (Doratifera quadriguttata)

A pair of Eastern Grey Kangaroos

I know I have posted a few photos of kangaroos and wallabies lately, but we seem to have them for regular visitors this month.  They are looking for green grass and fresh leafy fodder in the very dry Summer we are having over here. Today we saw our first male/female pair of kangaroos.  Usually we … Continue reading A pair of Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Southern Brown Tree Frog (Litoria ewingi)

We had a roll of old carpet outside near the shed.  Its intended use is as weed matting beneath the raised garden beds that will be set up in the greenhouse.  Preparing for this, we unrolled the carpet to cut it to size, only to find a few frogs had made it their home. I’ve … Continue reading Southern Brown Tree Frog (Litoria ewingi)

A Better Look at our Swamp Wallaby

The rich green grass growing over the septic tank outlet seems to be quite a drawcard for macropods at the moment. Today we were out most of the day, and very surprised to find a Swamp Wallaby feeding outside the house during the daytime.  They are usually nocturnal creatures.   From the way it was eating … Continue reading A Better Look at our Swamp Wallaby

Pacific Black Duck

Mid afternoon we noticed a different species of duck in the dam.  It turned out to be a Pacific Black Duck – actually brown in colour.  This species is pretty common around most of Australia, but as far as we know it is the first time it has visited us. We were pleased to see … Continue reading Pacific Black Duck

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Yesterday in Waiting for the End of Summer  I lamented that nothing much was happening around here.  This morning I woke earlier than usual and found an Eastern Grey Kangaroo feeding on the long green grass growing over the septic tank outlet pipe.  The Australian Wood Ducks like this spot too.  It’s certainly lush, and … Continue reading Eastern Grey Kangaroo