Breakfast with the Gipsy Point Natives

AUSTRALIAN KING PARROT

CRIMSON ROSELLA

Yello-rumped Thornbill

Willie Wagtail Hatchlings DAY 3

Willie Wagtail Hatchlings

Yesterday, when I went up to the shed, I checked a Willie Wagtail’s nest that I came across in May (bottom photo) and, lo and behold, there were two tiny eggs in it. I went back this morning to take a photo only to discover the eggs had hatched. Magic.

Improvidence by Christine Arnott

Improvidence: lacking foresight, wasteful and incautious. For more information see Plug the Pipe.

Eastern Spinebill

Bull Ant

Australia is home to around 1,300 species of ant, including 90 species of bull ant.  Bull by name and bull by nature, these large ants will attack intruders of any size that venture too close to their nest. Ouch!

Nowhere Else Road, South Australia

And yes, this is for real.

I believe there is also a Nowhere Else Road in Tasmania.

Full Moon over Yea

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Australian Wood Ducks

These ducks are unusual in that they nest in trees and not on the ground.

They mate for life and stay together year round. The male is the one with the darker head.

Grey Shrike-thrush

The calm-demeanoured Grey Shrike-thrush is one of my favourite birds. I could listen to its melodious song and clean high notes all day.

Did you know Grey Shrike-thrush pairs mate for life and maintain breeding territories of up to ten hectares?

Backyard Dusk Chorus

Now for something completely different:

Music performed by frogs, birds and insects (1.27MB)

Recorded 6:30 PM last night from our veranda.

Enjoy!

Red-rumped Parrot

We really are blessed in Australia to have so many beautiful birds. Amazingly, these brightly-coloured parrots blend in so well with their environment that you’re often almost on top of them before you realise they’re there.

Only the male has the red rump.

Friday Smile

Not a brilliant photo as far as photos go, but it made me smile. :)

“IF I’VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I’VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES…”

Mother Wombat Without a Burrow

With the Yea River in flood, some wombats are temporarily without a home, their burrows full of water.

This particular wombat is much fairer in colour than others I’ve seen around here. If you look carefully, you’ll see a baby shielding behind her. Did you know that a female wombat’s pouch opens towards her back legs, so that it doesn’t fill with soil when she’s digging? The baby wombat, called a joey, remains in the pouch for 4 to 10 months suckling a teat. Once out of the pouch, the joey will begin to eat solid foods and will be fully weaned anywhere from 11 to 15 months.

Photo courtesy of Jan Beer.