Bushwalk Australia

In the past few weeks we have been privileged to experience Brush and Ringtail possums, Pademelon (not as welcome eating my vegies now fenced off )a Copperhead snake,our resident Blue tongues and other Skinks,Little Wattle Birds, Fairy Wens ,Butcher Birds however tonight the icing on the cake was a mother Barred Bandicoot and her two babies munching on grubs , beautiful gentle small Tasmanian endemic animals
All of this and I live in an Urban area albeit only 100m or so from a fantastic green belt close to the beach, got to love this State.
corvus

Phhhhft. Apart from the usual residents - Swamp Hens, Eastern Rosellas, Noisy Miners, Swallows, Echidnas, Crested Pigeons and far too many ferals - we regularly get all sorts of waterbirds (Black Duck, Wood Duck, Teal, various Ibis, Herons, Egrets, even a Spoonbill from time to time) and Psittacines (mostly Galahs, Corellas & Sulphur Crests). Plus at least a dozen species of frogs, including burrowing things in my tiny patch of garden. Plus Blue Tongues and a number of skinks. Haven't seen a snake yet, but there will be a few out there. Plus Butcherbirds, Fairy Wrens, Mopokes, Tawny Frogmouths and a large white owl that has nearly killed itself on my car at least half a dozen times. Plus the occasional visit from the local pair of Wedgies.
There are Ringtails & Bandicoots in the vicinity, but I've yet to spot one on the property. Don't get any Macropods or Wombats down here, unfortunately.

For the last two weeks, a Straw Necked Ibis has decided it wants to live in my front yard. Carries on like a pork chop every time I go in or out. Can't imagine what's so special about that patch of weed infested ground that it's become so attached to it.

A koel was sheltering from the wind in the back yard this afternoon. Such a beautiful bird
The koel and cicadas are the sounds of summer

A Copperhead Corvus!! I might need 4 gaiters for the doggy down that way

I have a stumpy tail lizard living amongst the succulents outside my front door.

I've got a brush turkey that's free to a good home-any home at all actually.We have a cuckoo visit annually,other occasional visitors have included tawny frogmouths,a large group of kookaburras which became tame enough for the kids to pick up,king parrots,dollar birds and the usual suspects-cockatoos,lorikeets,noisy mynahs,watttlebirds,a group of unidentified finches;black cockatoos do a flyby sometimes.Frogs,geckoes,possums,a cute little mouse-sized critter with a long tail that I haven't been able to get a good look at,blue tongues,and way too many funnel-webs for my taste.Haven't seen a snake in several years but a couple of small red-bellied blacks and a small brown have appeared in the past.

I was awoken by some channel-billed cuckoos flying over my place this morning. I quite like their rawkus "Awwkk Awwk” though. I have a mate who is researching birds in Papua New Guinea and surrounding islands, and he had an interesting story how he was chatting to the local people about various birds and asked them about the channel-bills. They said this is a magical bird that disappears for half a year and no one has ever seen nesting. Their traditional story was something along the lines of the bird lays down by the river for half the year, or something similar. Anyhow, for those who don’t know the species, the channel-bill cuckoos migrate south to Australia to breed in late spring and summer and early autumn, then return to New Guinea for winter. They lay their eggs in the nests of currawongs, magpies, crows and the like. I really like channel-bills (not coz they annoy all maggies, currawongs and crows, but because they are very cool)

Nuts wrote:A Copperhead Corvus!! I might need 4 gaiters for the doggy down that way

Copperheads have been scarce in this area for many years last one I saw was over 30 years ago in the scrub that is now a park that the kids play soccer on just around 60mt from my front yard ,no idea as to why they are back nor why there is a resurgence of other wildlife ?? must just be a nice place to stay with good neighbors and no one out to kill them
corvus

I had been told about the new summer visitor and heard them yesterday but today the dollar bird made an appearance perched above the seacliff in one of the sheoaks. Beautiful bird. The sea eagles, osprey anb braminy kites are enjoying the summer thermals above our house, sharing their airspace with the paragliders.

Rustling among the dried leaves in our garden.........




.....a good o' aussie Blue tongue lizard.

Now I would like one of them.

Wildlife here is quite diverse and highly enjoyable (well within limits).
Over the years have had-
wallabys, echidna, Native Hens, Eagles (there were 2 today suspended above us), several hawks, including a White Goshawk, Rail, Southern Boobook, Fantails, Pardalots, Wrens, Robins, Honey Eaters etc.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo - these are beautiful birds.

Wild Ducks. Breed like mice and unfortunately provide food for the hawks.

This very persistent fella lived here for ages and banged on just about every window of the house.


Bats, frogs, skinks.
Snakes are common, none this year, but last year one bit the bull and paralysed the poor thing.
Eventually recovered and got his interest in the cows back.

But what takes the cake is the local possums!
I decided enough was enough so borrowed a trap! Council wanted it back before a catch.
Next night there was a heck of a scratching in the flue and then silence!
Found this in the firebox.
He was sent off in an environmentally friendly way and I reordered the trap!


Came home tonight and more noises from the firebox.

He's watching me as I type this up.
Might have to patent this thing - works a charm. The 'Kent Possum Trap', comes with 25 year warranty.

Also used to have a corvustasmanica occasionally visit, but he hasn't been seen for a while.

taswegian wrote:He was sent off in an environmentally friendly way ....

Rough puff or shortcrust?

taswegian wrote
Also used to have a corvustasmanica occasionally visit, but he hasn't been seen for a while.

Perhaps that particular one has become "the shy and retiring type"
corvus

This guy is balanced over the side door this morning, nice big rat meal onboard by the look of it. How it got up there I don't know, possibly down from the gutter. Hmmm, about time I washed the eves by the look of it! My daughter wanted to bring it inside where it was warmer, my sons girlfriend freaked out and said kill it, too very different views on the matter. I don't think we'll be seeing the lads' girlfriend for a few days ;D ;D ;D

That's an interesting sight. Can relate to the different views. One of my daughters would want it for a pet, another would freak out plus a few other things.

Found this at weekend when stacking firewood. He must have changed his clothes on the tin covering my firewood.

Plus another possum made his way down the flu!!
Enjoyed 1/4 hour sitting under a wattle tree while 4 Black Cockatoos cracked open the growths on the branches and cooed and screeched back and forth to each other. Incredible experience at such close range.

drikko wrote:This guy is balanced over the side door this morning, nice big rat meal onboard by the look of it.

Had a rat hanging around our compost bin in the backyard recently, until this carpet python ate it. I used to have a fox terrier cross that used to smash them, he was like a land missile even when he was old and he mostly kept any vermin away, but our other dog isn't a ratter at all, more the pretty boy/couldn't be bothered I spotted snakey asleep right near the burrow the rat was using to get into the compost and in the time it took me to go inside to get my camera and return it'd snagged itself some lunch. Top work mate!

Sure beats my wee Copperhead however mine is deadly to me not just rats triffik photograph of a beautiful creature
corvus

Welcome return of Pigmy Possum that is sharing a large Cordyline tree in the backyard with Ring and Brushtails.
corvus

We've got a pair of Wedgetailed eagles that fly over (but don't land) in our backyard almost daily.
We know they are coming by the ruckus put up by the local Magpies and Crows.
I think they've taken up residence in the bushland around a local park. I've been seeing them flying in and out of there for about 3 years now.
They seem to range up and down the Olinda Creek valley from Lilydale Lake up to Mount Dandenong.
There's nothing like watching a Wedgie picking up thermals and soaring around the hills.

Had two magnificent Wedgetails today dining in the paddock in front of my office.
They were huge. When I first looked up I thought it was a heifer that was sitting on its haunches.

I watched them for ages then slid out with the camera.
That was too much and off they flew.
Felt a bit guilty for disturbing them, plus I lost the pleasure of their company.

taswegian ,
You are fortunate to have a pair of Wedgies that frequent your area I have spotted them a couple of times catching the thermals around there , wonder where they nest ?
corvus

The scarlet robins are back.

Bummer about the zoom lens I lost But loving the show.

Note to self to clean the windows...

This silvereye sat on our bedroom window sill for what seemed to be ages a few days ago while I worried about its apparent foot problem but didn't see how I could help. Then it apparently happily flew away

Would love to get those Robins here! We see them, or something similar, out bush but not here in this part of suburbia. We do have clouds of silvereyes using the baths and feeders atm though! They are a delight.

This guy has taken up residence in a potted plant.



And we have these all year 'round.

I recorded these guys in my backyard a couple of days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9eQhHh7Cwg

Have to love this place. Apart from the whatevers that insist on eating my attempted vegie garden, there's been a Butcherbird hanging around the last few days, and now a pair of fledgling Kookaburras on the clothes hoist.
Never a dull moment.

Maybe not a rare find but a native just the same.
When we're gardening we really enjoy the way the magpies casually stand quite close to us waiting to snap up any worm or crawly critter
that is dislodged in the process. Our reward is the occasional warbling serenade, just love the magpies song. (Hate the buggers when they swoop though)
Because we have no dogs or cats and most of our neighbours do we get allsorts of birds, bushy tailed possums (not my best friends ) every day.

Welcome return of Silver Eyes, Thorn bills, Butcher Birds and a nice big Blue Tongue .
Ring tails,Brush tails , (pygmy has moved on)Bandicoots and Wallabies have never left and a couple of Ravens have discovered the wee tit bit I leave out,urban living in Tassie is great
corvus

That Butcherbird appears to be a vegetarian. He drops in just about every morning to eat a dozen or so seeds from the Cordylines in the yard. Just finished off today's brekkie.

Cairns Birdwing and Ulysses butterflies, pythons, inside and out, a tree monitor, 4 varieties of green tree frogs, and a few terrestrial varieties, striped possums, white tail rats, bandicoots, woompoo doves, curlews, cat birds, king parrots, rhinocerous beetles, fireflies, and most of the usual suspects.