I have started this thread because I always seem to be chatting on about one form of wildlife or an other.

I have been meaning to post about our personal Blue Banded Bee. This little bee ( I’m assuming it is the same bee all the time) visits our verandah chairs. One chair in particular in fact. It likes the front edge of the seat and it lands and dips it’s rear end onto the fabric cover and stays in that positiin for several seconds. To me it looks as though it’s laying eggs but there is never anything to see after it’s visited.

I have seen it do this on many occasions but am at a loss as to why it’s doing it. Anyone have any ideas?

Baby Crested Pigeons are flying from the archway to the teev antenna with Mum. They are so cute and clean and perfect. They are one bird that returns to the nest even after they can fly. Lots of birds don’t do that.

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

With your permission?

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

cool :)

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

With your permission?

yeah, the chief editor dude emailed me…

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

With your permission?

yeah, the chief editor dude emailed me…

Then it’s a great honour. Kudos as you would say.

bluegreen said:

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

cool :)

So do we call you JD now rather than PM?

roughbarked said:

bluegreen said:

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

cool :)

So do we call you JD now rather than PM?

PM would be best thanks Roughy.

painmaster said:

roughbarked said:

bluegreen said:

cool :)

So do we call you JD now rather than PM?

PM would be best thanks Roughy.

Kewl.. I’m a PM .. by the way ;)

roughbarked said:

painmaster said:

roughbarked said:

So do we call you JD now rather than PM?

PM would be best thanks Roughy.

Kewl.. I’m a PM .. by the way ;)

no worries… just that there are three different photographers on that link… I wouldn’t want to get call JD by mistake???

although enough of youse here know me too well by now… ;P

roughbarked said:

bluegreen said:

painmaster said:

oh yeah… that rare and endangered bird I took photos of in PNG, and a website wanted to use the image, well so did some other photographers and here is the link for youse.

ARKive

cool :)

So do we call you JD now rather than PM?

Perhaps JC even. LOL.

Our latest discovery is a bevy of quail behind the fernery. A bit of a shock to find them so close to the house. I knew they were down around the dam but now much closer to home. There isn’t very much foliage cover there either but I suppose it’s a bit better than normal because of all the rain we’ve had this season.

Crested Pigeons are well gone from the nest now but we are still watching the white Headed Pigeons. No movement in the nest so she must still be sitting on eggs. Won’t be much longer till they hatch.

With our present rainy days we are getting lots of frogs hanging around the windows/doors at night to catch moths. When we go outside we have to be so careful where we put our feet. Some of these little blokes are hardly 2cm long.

Have a new bird to ID. Probably one of the birds I thought were quails a week or so ago. Wrong! It’s brown speckled and flicks it’s tail like the Swamp Hen. Only a small bird but it may be a chick. I just don’t know yet.

The Whipbird has visited me twice already this morning. While on the wildlife subject, the Blue Banded Bee is still working on the outdoor chairs.

pomolo said:

Have a new bird to ID. Probably one of the birds I thought were quails a week or so ago. Wrong! It’s brown speckled and flicks it’s tail like the Swamp Hen. Only a small bird but it may be a chick. I just don’t know yet.

The Whipbird has visited me twice already this morning. While on the wildlife subject, the Blue Banded Bee is still working on the outdoor chairs.

Grrr to your Whipbird!

Your other bird might be a Rail or a Crake? Maybe a Buff Breasted Rail like this?

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Have a new bird to ID. Probably one of the birds I thought were quails a week or so ago. Wrong! It’s brown speckled and flicks it’s tail like the Swamp Hen. Only a small bird but it may be a chick. I just don’t know yet.

The Whipbird has visited me twice already this morning. While on the wildlife subject, the Blue Banded Bee is still working on the outdoor chairs.

Grrr to your Whipbird!

Your other bird might be a Rail or a Crake? Maybe a Buff Breasted Rail like this?

If it was the Buff Breasted Rail then it was a baby not showing any adult colour other than brown with white flecks. Or was that black flecks? I can’t remember now because it was such a fleeting glimpse. No doubt it will return and I will take more notice when it does.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Have a new bird to ID. Probably one of the birds I thought were quails a week or so ago. Wrong! It’s brown speckled and flicks it’s tail like the Swamp Hen. Only a small bird but it may be a chick. I just don’t know yet.

The Whipbird has visited me twice already this morning. While on the wildlife subject, the Blue Banded Bee is still working on the outdoor chairs.

Grrr to your Whipbird!

Your other bird might be a Rail or a Crake? Maybe a Buff Breasted Rail like this?

If it was the Buff Breasted Rail then it was a baby not showing any adult colour other than brown with white flecks. Or was that black flecks? I can’t remember now because it was such a fleeting glimpse. No doubt it will return and I will take more notice when it does.

it is unlikely to be a buff breasted eh, more like a crake or a rail of another type.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

Grrr to your Whipbird!

Your other bird might be a Rail or a Crake? Maybe a Buff Breasted Rail like this?

If it was the Buff Breasted Rail then it was a baby not showing any adult colour other than brown with white flecks. Or was that black flecks? I can’t remember now because it was such a fleeting glimpse. No doubt it will return and I will take more notice when it does.

it is unlikely to be a buff breasted eh, more like a crake or a rail of another type.

:)

I have resurrected the old Backyard Wildlife thread because it looks as though we are going to be grandparents to the Kookaburras again. They started caving out the termites nest again for this years nesting. We were only talking about them over our glass of red last eve and this morning they are into it. He digs and chips and she watches from a nearby branch. That’s the way it should be. lol.
D thinks he has psychic powers now because he brought up the subject about whether they would be nesting in the same tree this year. Sometimes it’s hard to keep my mouth closed, so I didn’t. I told him it’s only worked with Kookaburras so he better not think about going on that new show on teev. Junk that it is. IMHO.

The baby wallaby that D rescued and took to the vets has been euthanased. Apparently it had a broken spine. Bery, bery sad. :( So it would seem that it was hit by a car and nothing to do with the local dogs. A win for the dogs anyway.

There is a small battle going on over the termite nest that the Kookas were chipping away at. We noticed 2 Pale Headed Rosellas checking it out throughly this morning. I’m not sure if they nest in hollows but it looked as though they were doing an inspection for a residence.

pomolo said:

The baby wallaby that D rescued and took to the vets has been euthanased. Apparently it had a broken spine. Bery, bery sad. :( So it would seem that it was hit by a car and nothing to do with the local dogs. A win for the dogs anyway.

There is a small battle going on over the termite nest that the Kookas were chipping away at. We noticed 2 Pale Headed Rosellas checking it out throughly this morning. I’m not sure if they nest in hollows but it looked as though they were doing an inspection for a residence.

Booked my car in for a service and dropped it off early morn.. said to the head mechanic.. “how long they been doing that?”

he replied,“about a week”

We were referring to a pair of mallee ring-necked parots attempting to enlarge the hole in a concrete power pole.

pomolo said:

The baby wallaby that D rescued and took to the vets has been euthanased. Apparently it had a broken spine. Bery, bery sad. :( So it would seem that it was hit by a car and nothing to do with the local dogs. A win for the dogs anyway.

There is a small battle going on over the termite nest that the Kookas were chipping away at. We noticed 2 Pale Headed Rosellas checking it out throughly this morning. I’m not sure if they nest in hollows but it looked as though they were doing an inspection for a residence.

Tey do indeed nest in hollows.

Morcombe suggests that Pale Headed Rosellas will nest Aug-Jan after rain in drier areas, often high up in a tree in a small hollow. The female will do the incubation on her own, and the male will help her out by feeding her.

painmaster said:

Morcombe suggests that Pale Headed Rosellas will nest Aug-Jan after rain in drier areas, often high up in a tree in a small hollow. The female will do the incubation on her own, and the male will help her out by feeding her.

They do and will nest in hollow logs on the ground too but prefer a hollow high in a tree.

Chidna is in the bad books again. He got into the raised garden and has ripped out all the newly planted leeks. D isn’t happy. We will redo all the wire fencing around the bed, today How does this critter climb the cement blocks when he gets past the fence anyhow???????????

pomolo said:

Chidna is in the bad books again. He got into the raised garden and has ripped out all the newly planted leeks. D isn’t happy. We will redo all the wire fencing around the bed, today How does this critter climb the cement blocks when he gets past the fence anyhow???????????

Echidna are very adept amongst rocks and stuff.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Chidna is in the bad books again. He got into the raised garden and has ripped out all the newly planted leeks. D isn’t happy. We will redo all the wire fencing around the bed, today How does this critter climb the cement blocks when he gets past the fence anyhow???????????

Echidna are very adept amongst rocks and stuff.

I agree but these are cement blocks laid on top of each other. Maybe it can get enough of a foothold (clawhold) between each layer. Pesky varmit! But I still love him.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Chidna is in the bad books again. He got into the raised garden and has ripped out all the newly planted leeks. D isn’t happy. We will redo all the wire fencing around the bed, today How does this critter climb the cement blocks when he gets past the fence anyhow???????????

Echidna are very adept amongst rocks and stuff.

I agree but these are cement blocks laid on top of each other. Maybe it can get enough of a foothold (clawhold) between each layer. Pesky varmit! But I still love him.

oh they can climb oright

Happy Potter said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

Echidna are very adept amongst rocks and stuff.

I agree but these are cement blocks laid on top of each other. Maybe it can get enough of a foothold (clawhold) between each layer. Pesky varmit! But I still love him.

oh they can climb oright

How come you tell me this now?

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

pomolo said:

I agree but these are cement blocks laid on top of each other. Maybe it can get enough of a foothold (clawhold) between each layer. Pesky varmit! But I still love him.

oh they can climb oright

How come you tell me this now?

‘cause we didn’t know it was an echidna!

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Chidna is in the bad books again. He got into the raised garden and has ripped out all the newly planted leeks. D isn’t happy. We will redo all the wire fencing around the bed, today How does this critter climb the cement blocks when he gets past the fence anyhow???????????

Echidna are very adept amongst rocks and stuff.

I have seen them amongst the fort at Bowen, and that is as rocky an escarpment as you will find.

We were sitting on the verandah having early coffee this morning and were visited by two male King Parrots. Delightful birds. They are so curious about us and not scared to sit really close. They were on the railing about a metre from us and they were making soft throaty noises. I was talking in low tones to them and it seemed as though we all knew what was being said so we continued our conversation.

I just wish I knew if they really wanted something because I would try to provide it.

When something like this happens you know that it’s going to be a good day.

pomolo said:

We were sitting on the verandah having early coffee this morning and were visited by two male King Parrots. Delightful birds. They are so curious about us and not scared to sit really close. They were on the railing about a metre from us and they were making soft throaty noises. I was talking in low tones to them and it seemed as though we all knew what was being said so we continued our conversation.

I just wish I knew if they really wanted something because I would try to provide it.

When something like this happens you know that it’s going to be a good day.

:)

pomolo said:

We were sitting on the verandah having early coffee this morning and were visited by two male King Parrots. Delightful birds. They are so curious about us and not scared to sit really close. They were on the railing about a metre from us and they were making soft throaty noises. I was talking in low tones to them and it seemed as though we all knew what was being said so we continued our conversation.

I just wish I knew if they really wanted something because I would try to provide it.

When something like this happens you know that it’s going to be a good day.

Lovely!

pomolo said:

We were sitting on the verandah having early coffee this morning and were visited by two male King Parrots. Delightful birds. They are so curious about us and not scared to sit really close. They were on the railing about a metre from us and they were making soft throaty noises. I was talking in low tones to them and it seemed as though we all knew what was being said so we continued our conversation.

I just wish I knew if they really wanted something because I would try to provide it.

When something like this happens you know that it’s going to be a good day.

every day above ground is a good day. But lovely story and I’m a little bit envious!

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

We were sitting on the verandah having early coffee this morning and were visited by two male King Parrots. Delightful birds. They are so curious about us and not scared to sit really close. They were on the railing about a metre from us and they were making soft throaty noises. I was talking in low tones to them and it seemed as though we all knew what was being said so we continued our conversation.

I just wish I knew if they really wanted something because I would try to provide it.

When something like this happens you know that it’s going to be a good day.

every day above ground is a good day. But lovely story and I’m a little bit envious!

Your turn will come soon enough. Time now allows us to observe things that were always there but we were too busy to notice.

Had my walk around accompanied by the whipbird. He’s back. Hasn’t been around for a while. Not that I’ve heard anyway. It was so nice to have him near again. I’m sure he follows us around when we are wandering. Their call always sounds as though it’s coming from in the deep rain forrest but in fact, it’s all pretty open around our place.

Also had a visit from a scrub turkey yesterday. I only hope it was a fleeting visit and he moves on soon because we all know what they can do when the mood takes them.

I have a couple of new honey eaters visiting now that the calistemon is in flower.

pomolo said:

Had my walk around accompanied by the whipbird. He’s back. Hasn’t been around for a while. Not that I’ve heard anyway. It was so nice to have him near again. I’m sure he follows us around when we are wandering. Their call always sounds as though it’s coming from in the deep rain forrest but in fact, it’s all pretty open around our place.

Also had a visit from a scrub turkey yesterday. I only hope it was a fleeting visit and he moves on soon because we all know what they can do when the mood takes them.

There was a pair lurking around the neigbourhood here but I haven’t spotted them for a couple weeks though so maybe they’ve moved on.

They really are incredibly dumb birds. One was in a yard across the road. This yard has a very high front fence but normal height sides and back. The turkey was running up and down the inside of the front fence, obviously wanting out, when all it had to do was jump the side or back fence. It’s not like it’s a huge yard either. Not much scope for getting lost. LOL

pomolo said:

Also had a visit from a scrub turkey yesterday. I only hope it was a fleeting visit and he moves on soon because we all know what they can do when the mood takes them.

Had a brush turkey land on my head the other week.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Also had a visit from a scrub turkey yesterday. I only hope it was a fleeting visit and he moves on soon because we all know what they can do when the mood takes them.

Had a brush turkey land on my head the other week.

Bet you are glad it didn’t feel hungry.

My adopted maggie is sitting on the verandah railing eyeing me off through the window.

He’s already had his worms for the day but he singing in the hopes of charming some more out of me.

The cat’s on the windowsill inside eyeing him off right back ,through the fly screen. He’d like a munch of maggie.

bubba louie said:

My adopted maggie is sitting on the verandah railing eyeing me off through the window.

He’s already had his worms for the day but he singing in the hopes of charming some more out of me.

The cat’s on the windowsill inside eyeing him off right back ,through the fly screen. He’d like a munch of maggie.

I never feed them but they walk across my feet unconcerned. My walnut trees(and garden) attract them.

roughbarked said:

bubba louie said:

My adopted maggie is sitting on the verandah railing eyeing me off through the window.

He’s already had his worms for the day but he singing in the hopes of charming some more out of me.

The cat’s on the windowsill inside eyeing him off right back ,through the fly screen. He’d like a munch of maggie.

I never feed them but they walk across my feet unconcerned. My walnut trees(and garden) attract them.

This guy has a deformed foot and I suspect he’s been profiting by it around the local houses.

bluegreen said:

I have a couple of new honey eaters visiting now that the calistemon is in flower.

We don’t get honey eaters. Too many enemies round here.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Also had a visit from a scrub turkey yesterday. I only hope it was a fleeting visit and he moves on soon because we all know what they can do when the mood takes them.

Had a brush turkey land on my head the other week.

Well there’s a lot of brush around there isn’t there? :)

bubba louie said:

My adopted maggie is sitting on the verandah railing eyeing me off through the window.

He’s already had his worms for the day but he singing in the hopes of charming some more out of me.

The cat’s on the windowsill inside eyeing him off right back ,through the fly screen. He’d like a munch of maggie.

A sworn enemy on the premises. That will never do.

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

No I haven’t, but it sounds like I should.

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

I know what you are suggesting but I am doubtful of ever finding it. There is one in an old tree stump where I volunteer on Tuesdays. I’ve checked it out and the entrance to their home is miniscule. You can’t see the actual hive at all.

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

Buggerdammit!!

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Just for interest’s sake.. and there are a myriad of reasonings for that. I’d be trying to photograph them.. but each to their own.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Just for interest’s sake.. and there are a myriad of reasonings for that. I’d be trying to photograph them.. but each to their own.

There’s a hive at my sister’s place, in a crack in the concrete foundations of their garage/shed.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Just for interest’s sake.. and there are a myriad of reasonings for that. I’d be trying to photograph them.. but each to their own.

Although I would like to be able to do just that I don’t have the equipment that would make it worthwhile.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Just for interest’s sake.. and there are a myriad of reasonings for that. I’d be trying to photograph them.. but each to their own.

Although I would like to be able to do just that I don’t have the equipment that would make it worthwhile.

I had a few hives in Moresby. Tried photographing them on more then one occasion to no success.

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Bubba. I hope you have grown some pink/red bedding begonias. I mentioned before that native bees can’t leave ours alone. I know yours might be different bees but I have been fascinated how these only go to the red flowering ones.

We have 4 pots of them hanging on the verandah. 2 white and 2 red. The bees by pass the white every time and head straight for the red. Each very black bee has teeny weenie pollen sacks on it’s sides. I would love to know where the hive is but there is no chance of tracking them. Too small and flighty.

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

They can fly up to 4miles might even be more.

pomolo said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

Buggerdammit!!

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Isn’t the best idea pom.

Veg gardener said:

pomolo said:

pomolo said:

Buggerdammit!!

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

Isn’t the best idea pom.

They’re talking about native stingless bees veg.

Veg gardener said:

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

their hives are small but noticeable…. try small gaps in the house or even in trees!!!!

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

They can fly up to 4miles might even be more.

4 miles is more than enough. I doubt they can fly further.

roughbarked said:

Veg gardener said:

roughbarked said:

The term; bee line, is equidistant in Australian English, as regards native bees.

They never fly far. it is always within walking distance, in a straight line.

They can fly up to 4miles might even be more.

4 miles is more than enough. I doubt they can fly further.

there would want to be some basil planted along that journey… jeez the blue banded bees love basil as a food source.

pain master said:

roughbarked said:

Veg gardener said:

They can fly up to 4miles might even be more.

4 miles is more than enough. I doubt they can fly further.

there would want to be some basil planted along that journey… jeez the blue banded bees love basil as a food source.

Yes they do at that. :)

pain master said:

roughbarked said:

Veg gardener said:

They can fly up to 4miles might even be more.

4 miles is more than enough. I doubt they can fly further.

there would want to be some basil planted along that journey… jeez the blue banded bees love basil as a food source.

Do they? I hope they find mine. Wub the blue banded.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

roughbarked said:

4 miles is more than enough. I doubt they can fly further.

there would want to be some basil planted along that journey… jeez the blue banded bees love basil as a food source.

Do they? I hope they find mine. Wub the blue banded.

it is just a matter of flowering Basil coinciding with the arrival of the blue banded bees.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

there would want to be some basil planted along that journey… jeez the blue banded bees love basil as a food source.

Do they? I hope they find mine. Wub the blue banded.

it is just a matter of flowering Basil coinciding with the arrival of the blue banded bees.

Well mine isn’t flowering yet. A good thing really.

Bubba Louie said:

Veg gardener said:

pomolo said:

Buggerdammit!!

Gotcha RB. I’ll keep that in mind. Any thoughts on why I should want to find the hive? I’ve no intention of robbing or anything.

still wouldnt muck around with them.

Isn’t the best idea pom.

They’re talking about native stingless bees veg.

The birds are dominating outside today. There was a storm bird calling…calling…..calling, all night. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for but I hope he doesn’t try it again tonight. Some of us need our sleep.

The whip bird is back to whipping all over the place. Saw a white headed pigeon as well. Probably ready to nest again because last time was so successful. The kookaburras are feeding young in a never ending frenzy. I don’t know how many babies they have in that nest but it’s keeping mum and dad and any available relatives on the run. Mum and Dad have little arguments on the way to and fro as well.

pomolo said:

The birds are dominating outside today. There was a storm bird calling…calling…..calling, all night. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for but I hope he doesn’t try it again tonight. Some of us need our sleep.

The whip bird is back to whipping all over the place. Saw a white headed pigeon as well. Probably ready to nest again because last time was so successful. The kookaburras are feeding young in a never ending frenzy. I don’t know how many babies they have in that nest but it’s keeping mum and dad and any available relatives on the run. Mum and Dad have little arguments on the way to and fro as well.

normally 3-6eggs in each brood and often two broods in a season.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

The birds are dominating outside today. There was a storm bird calling…calling…..calling, all night. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for but I hope he doesn’t try it again tonight. Some of us need our sleep.

The whip bird is back to whipping all over the place. Saw a white headed pigeon as well. Probably ready to nest again because last time was so successful. The kookaburras are feeding young in a never ending frenzy. I don’t know how many babies they have in that nest but it’s keeping mum and dad and any available relatives on the run. Mum and Dad have little arguments on the way to and fro as well.

normally 3-6eggs in each brood and often two broods in a season.

There couldn’t possibly be 6 chicks in there!! Could there? They would be packed in like sardines. Although the termite nest is fairly big. The outside walls must be inches thick. I am only gauging that by looking at the opening they use.
We’ll know soon enough I suppose.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

The birds are dominating outside today. There was a storm bird calling…calling…..calling, all night. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for but I hope he doesn’t try it again tonight. Some of us need our sleep.

The whip bird is back to whipping all over the place. Saw a white headed pigeon as well. Probably ready to nest again because last time was so successful. The kookaburras are feeding young in a never ending frenzy. I don’t know how many babies they have in that nest but it’s keeping mum and dad and any available relatives on the run. Mum and Dad have little arguments on the way to and fro as well.

normally 3-6eggs in each brood and often two broods in a season.

There couldn’t possibly be 6 chicks in there!! Could there? They would be packed in like sardines. Although the termite nest is fairly big. The outside walls must be inches thick. I am only gauging that by looking at the opening they use.
We’ll know soon enough I suppose.

it would be unusual for all 6 eggs to be fertile and survive. But you may have 3 or 4 in there!

During one of recent rainy nights there were 7 bubbie green frogs on the window of the puter room. Sooooo cute.

Tonight and last night must be hatching time for the brown Christmas beetle. They are all over the verandah. Something terribly wrong with their aerodynamics. They fly straight into the glass doors. Fall to the ground and lie on their backs scratching the air. I sweep them on to the ground tomorrow. Like to see some of the pretty Chrissy beetles though.

I’ve been out weeding the driveway with the thought that the present weeds will seed before I get home again if I don’t stop them in their tracks.

The point is that I had the company of Mother and joey wallaby as company. It was lovely for about 20 minutes. They just kept grazing and I kept weeding. I’ve noticed on other occasions that if they think you are grazing too then they will hang around. They don’t seem to mind if you get into their territory so long as you look as though you’re feeding.

I was a bit chuffed with the whole event.

It’s gonna be a good day now.

pomolo said:

I’ve been out weeding the driveway with the thought that the present weeds will seed before I get home again if I don’t stop them in their tracks.

The point is that I had the company of Mother and joey wallaby as company. It was lovely for about 20 minutes. They just kept grazing and I kept weeding. I’ve noticed on other occasions that if they think you are grazing too then they will hang around. They don’t seem to mind if you get into their territory so long as you look as though you’re feeding.

I was a bit chuffed with the whole event.

It’s gonna be a good day now.

Lovely :D

pomolo said:

I’ve been out weeding the driveway with the thought that the present weeds will seed before I get home again if I don’t stop them in their tracks.

The point is that I had the company of Mother and joey wallaby as company. It was lovely for about 20 minutes. They just kept grazing and I kept weeding. I’ve noticed on other occasions that if they think you are grazing too then they will hang around. They don’t seem to mind if you get into their territory so long as you look as though you’re feeding.

I was a bit chuffed with the whole event.

It’s gonna be a good day now.

lovely :)

Now the downside. Anybody want any cicadas? We have a few million by the sound of it. Would love to share with you. A good time to take the hearing aids out. LOL.

pomolo said:

Now the downside. Anybody want any cicadas? We have a few million by the sound of it. Would love to share with you. A good time to take the hearing aids out. LOL.

ahh. the irrepressible sound of cicadas, and the sweet sticky “rain”. I remember them well.

pomolo said:

I’ve been out weeding the driveway with the thought that the present weeds will seed before I get home again if I don’t stop them in their tracks.

The point is that I had the company of Mother and joey wallaby as company. It was lovely for about 20 minutes. They just kept grazing and I kept weeding. I’ve noticed on other occasions that if they think you are grazing too then they will hang around. They don’t seem to mind if you get into their territory so long as you look as though you’re feeding.

I was a bit chuffed with the whole event.

It’s gonna be a good day now.

that is sweet.

pomolo said:

Now the downside. Anybody want any cicadas? We have a few million by the sound of it. Would love to share with you. A good time to take the hearing aids out. LOL.

they just started here for the evening!

At least they are louder then the Corellas and Bowerbirds.

We still have baby Kookas but now they sit at the opening of the nest and make gurgly, squeeky noises all day long. Mum and Dad are feeding them comstantly. The 2 of them are looking a bit worse for wear atm. Raising kids has it’s own pressure no matter what animal kind you are.

We also have a big fat green moth that is stuck (I think it’s stuck) in the fly screen wire of the sliding door. It’s only the second time I’ve ever seen one of these and I still can’t id it. I’m not sure how it can even fly because it has a huge, fat body but doesn’t seem to have feathery feelers like a lot of moths do and it’s wings are folded like a moths so I’m assuming it’s a moth. Going to try to put up a photo or two later this evening in the hope that PM or RB can help with identification. If we had a facility like a museum I would even take it there for ID.

If it turns out that it’s stuck in the wire and I have to prise it off, anyone have any ideas of how I could keep it in fair condition even if it’s dead? I know what my Dad used to do with the ones he bred or caught but I don’t have access to that stuff these days.

pomolo said:

We still have baby Kookas but now they sit at the opening of the nest and make gurgly, squeeky noises all day long. Mum and Dad are feeding them comstantly. The 2 of them are looking a bit worse for wear atm. Raising kids has it’s own pressure no matter what animal kind you are.

We also have a big fat green moth that is stuck (I think it’s stuck) in the fly screen wire of the sliding door. It’s only the second time I’ve ever seen one of these and I still can’t id it. I’m not sure how it can even fly because it has a huge, fat body but doesn’t seem to have feathery feelers like a lot of moths do and it’s wings are folded like a moths so I’m assuming it’s a moth. Going to try to put up a photo or two later this evening in the hope that PM or RB can help with identification. If we had a facility like a museum I would even take it there for ID.

If it turns out that it’s stuck in the wire and I have to prise it off, anyone have any ideas of how I could keep it in fair condition even if it’s dead? I know what my Dad used to do with the ones he bred or caught but I don’t have access to that stuff these days.

well oxygen is your worst enemy with a dead animal. Perhaps place in a small tupperware container and in the fridge?

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/bugete045.jpg

This is the underside of the moth in question. You can imagine it’s size by the size of my hand.

I have a couple more but I have to do them in separate posts because I don’t know how to upload more than one at a time.

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/bugete043.jpg

This one shows the wings etc. I do pologise for the terrible quality of the pics.

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/badboy003.jpg

Guess who this is?

pomolo said:

Let see if this works…

pomolo said:

and this one.

pomolo said:

One more try

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

One more try

Echidna fella!

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

and this one.

Is it a Cicada?

try this website:

What Bug Is That

painmaster said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

and this one.

Is it a Cicada?

try this website:

What Bug Is That

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you PM. I now know that it is a Bladder Cicada. Your clue did it. The images I looked at don’t seem to be nearly as huge as the one we have here but I’m convinced. It’s still hanging off the fly screen so assuming it’s alive I will return it to the trees tomorrow morning.

Tonight I retire a happy woman.

It’s a type of cicada.

pomolo said:

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/bugete045.jpg

This is the underside of the moth in question. You can imagine it’s size by the size of my hand.

I have a couple more but I have to do them in separate posts because I don’t know how to upload more than one at a time.

Oh, we get them here too.

The cicada has left the building very much alive. It even made noises when I handled it. When I got close to the trees it flew off. My conception of aerodynamics has been destroyed forever.

pomolo said:

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/bugete045.jpg

This is the underside of the moth in question. You can imagine it’s size by the size of my hand.

I have a couple more but I have to do them in separate posts because I don’t know how to upload more than one at a time.

pity you ided it – i was thinking ‘pomolo’s pill bug’

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

painmaster said:

and this one.

Is it a Cicada?

try this website:

What Bug Is That

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you PM. I now know that it is a Bladder Cicada. Your clue did it. The images I looked at don’t seem to be nearly as huge as the one we have here but I’m convinced. It’s still hanging off the fly screen so assuming it’s alive I will return it to the trees tomorrow morning.

Tonight I retire a happy woman.

Glad I could help.

Did you know that a Kookaburra can give out a long and loud laughing call with a beak full of worm or a frog? They don’t have to open their beak at all to call it seems. Mum and Dad were sitting on the teev aerial with their beaks full and they decided to give out their call. I’m sure it was to summon the babies to the nest opening.

Just an observation.

pomolo said:

Did you know that a Kookaburra can give out a long and loud laughing call with a beak full of worm or a frog? They don’t have to open their beak at all to call it seems. Mum and Dad were sitting on the teev aerial with their beaks full and they decided to give out their call. I’m sure it was to summon the babies to the nest opening.

Just an observation.

a fine obs too!

First Kooka baby has left the nest. I only missed it by seconds. There seem to still be 2 left in the nest. I have no idea how they all fitted in there. The miner birds are on edge because miner babies are food for kookas. Wait till the other two take flight as well. Then we’ll see some commotion.

pomolo said:

First Kooka baby has left the nest. I only missed it by seconds. There seem to still be 2 left in the nest. I have no idea how they all fitted in there. The miner birds are on edge because miner babies are food for kookas. Wait till the other two take flight as well. Then we’ll see some commotion.

No2 has emerged and D saw it. Buggerdammit. One to go.

pomolo said:

pomolo said:

First Kooka baby has left the nest. I only missed it by seconds. There seem to still be 2 left in the nest. I have no idea how they all fitted in there. The miner birds are on edge because miner babies are food for kookas. Wait till the other two take flight as well. Then we’ll see some commotion.

No2 has emerged and D saw it. Buggerdammit. One to go.

your place is pretty wild !! wait until all those resident kookas start laughting together on sunset.

justin said:

pomolo said:

pomolo said:

First Kooka baby has left the nest. I only missed it by seconds. There seem to still be 2 left in the nest. I have no idea how they all fitted in there. The miner birds are on edge because miner babies are food for kookas. Wait till the other two take flight as well. Then we’ll see some commotion.

No2 has emerged and D saw it. Buggerdammit. One to go.

your place is pretty wild !! wait until all those resident kookas start laughting together on sunset.

They’re cool but there are some birds that can grate on your nerves.

3. Kooka has left the nest. D saw it take off….again. It’s kinda quiet now. There isn’t any raspy squarking happening constantly either.

Now we’ll move onto something else. 2 corellas popped in for a look see yesterday. A male and a female king parrot landed on the verandah yest. evening. They are lovely curious birds and seem to have an affinity with humans.

pomolo said:

3. Kooka has left the nest. D saw it take off….again. It’s kinda quiet now. There isn’t any raspy squarking happening constantly either.

Now we’ll move onto something else. 2 corellas popped in for a look see yesterday. A male and a female king parrot landed on the verandah yest. evening. They are lovely curious birds and seem to have an affinity with humans.

Not with any of the King Parrots I have met…

pain master said:

pomolo said:

3. Kooka has left the nest. D saw it take off….again. It’s kinda quiet now. There isn’t any raspy squarking happening constantly either.

Now we’ll move onto something else. 2 corellas popped in for a look see yesterday. A male and a female king parrot landed on the verandah yest. evening. They are lovely curious birds and seem to have an affinity with humans.

Not with any of the King Parrots I have met…

Well ours are better educated than yours. Ours don’t mind being close to us in the yard. In fact they come closer.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

3. Kooka has left the nest. D saw it take off….again. It’s kinda quiet now. There isn’t any raspy squarking happening constantly either.

Now we’ll move onto something else. 2 corellas popped in for a look see yesterday. A male and a female king parrot landed on the verandah yest. evening. They are lovely curious birds and seem to have an affinity with humans.

Not with any of the King Parrots I have met…

Well ours are better educated than yours. Ours don’t mind being close to us in the yard. In fact they come closer.

Would love to meet your King pair then one day.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

Not with any of the King Parrots I have met…

Well ours are better educated than yours. Ours don’t mind being close to us in the yard. In fact they come closer.

Would love to meet your King pair then one day.

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/002-2.jpg

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Well ours are better educated than yours. Ours don’t mind being close to us in the yard. In fact they come closer.

Would love to meet your King pair then one day.

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/002-2.jpg

Have to try that again.

pomolo said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

Would love to meet your King pair then one day.

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/pomolo_bucket/002-2.jpg

Have to try that again.

Sorry PM. I was trying to put up a pic of one of the males(King Parrot) on the verandah but it won’t work for me. Might try again at a later date.

We have a dilemma. One of the local wallabys is going through the throws of dying and agonising death. It has laid down just outside our house fence and other than jerky uncontrolable body movements it hasn’t moved since yest evening.

We noticed it two days ago, just moving a few hops from us when we were near it. We wondered if maybe it wasn’t well but now it tearing at the heart strings. Doesn’t seem to have blood or obvious injuries. This is the second one that has happened like this. The last one we got to the vet but they had to put it down because it had spinal injuries. It was a young one. This is mature male.

I’m not sure what to do. It’s too big to lift and put into the car and they (vet) warned us last time that it can be a dangerous thing to do anyway. If they revive while being transported it can cause chaos while you’re driving. It probably needs to be put out of it’s misery but we don’t have the equipment to do it. I can’t afford to have a vet come and do it. So we just leave it there and watch it slowly die I suppose. I’m a hopeless when it comes to animals in trouble.

On second thoughts, we are going to ring the vet and try to get the number of a WIRES volunteer. I’ll let you know what happens from there.

pomolo said:

We have a dilemma. One of the local wallabys is going through the throws of dying and agonising death. It has laid down just outside our house fence and other than jerky uncontrolable body movements it hasn’t moved since yest evening.

We noticed it two days ago, just moving a few hops from us when we were near it. We wondered if maybe it wasn’t well but now it tearing at the heart strings. Doesn’t seem to have blood or obvious injuries. This is the second one that has happened like this. The last one we got to the vet but they had to put it down because it had spinal injuries. It was a young one. This is mature male.

I’m not sure what to do. It’s too big to lift and put into the car and they (vet) warned us last time that it can be a dangerous thing to do anyway. If they revive while being transported it can cause chaos while you’re driving. It probably needs to be put out of it’s misery but we don’t have the equipment to do it. I can’t afford to have a vet come and do it. So we just leave it there and watch it slowly die I suppose. I’m a hopeless when it comes to animals in trouble.

On second thoughts, we are going to ring the vet and try to get the number of a WIRES volunteer. I’ll let you know what happens from there.

Got onto a wildlife carer and they are going to come out and assess what needs to be done. They have to feed and care for their house full of needy animals before they can leave.

Pom the roo carer on scribbly has said in the past that police will shoot an injured animal if needed.

pomolo said:

On second thoughts, we are going to ring the vet and try to get the number of a WIRES volunteer. I’ll let you know what happens from there.

that’s what I would do. or perhaps the council can send someone out to euthanise it.

Bubba Louie said:

Pom the roo carer on scribbly has said in the past that police will shoot an injured animal if needed.

That is handy to know if there is ever a next time. The carers came and put our wallaby to sleep. They said the most likely cause would be trauma from some local pet dogs. If it was dingoes then the wallaby would have been dead but pet dogs traumatise roos and they can’t get over the it. Apparently there was heaps of fluid built up around the w’bys heart which is a fair indication to those in the know. Wallaby is now burried in one of our vegie gardens and it will always be a reminder to us.

bluegreen said:

pomolo said:

On second thoughts, we are going to ring the vet and try to get the number of a WIRES volunteer. I’ll let you know what happens from there.

that’s what I would do. or perhaps the council can send someone out to euthanise it.

It’s finding a volunteer around here that is a problem. The ones we eventually got on to had to come from another town.

Stress induced cardiomyopathy.

People don’t realize that letting dogs chase Roos can kill them, even if the dog doesn’t actually harm them.

Bubba Louie said:

Stress induced cardiomyopathy.

People don’t realize that letting dogs chase Roos can kill them, even if the dog doesn’t actually harm them.

I had a backyard crisis today. A Rosella crashed into our window and didn’t break its neck as birds frequently do. It was obviously injured and stunned and I expected it to keel over any minute. Half an hour later it had moved from the decking onto the hot driveway. I didn’t want to see it suffer but going near it would have traumatised it further. So I rang Victoria wildlife rescue. They said to either catch it and place it in the bushes or leave it alone. I went out with a towel to throw over it but at the last minute it flew up into our willow and was hanging on a hanging branch. It has disappeared now. I hope it recovered, they chap I spoke to said it can take them 2 hours to get over the shock.

pomolo said:

On second thoughts, we are going to ring the vet and try to get the number of a WIRES volunteer. I’ll let you know what happens from there.

The absolute best course of action in your circumstances Pom. Hope they are able to help you.

orchid40 said:

Bubba Louie said:

Stress induced cardiomyopathy.

People don’t realize that letting dogs chase Roos can kill them, even if the dog doesn’t actually harm them.

I had a backyard crisis today. A Rosella crashed into our window and didn’t break its neck as birds frequently do. It was obviously injured and stunned and I expected it to keel over any minute. Half an hour later it had moved from the decking onto the hot driveway. I didn’t want to see it suffer but going near it would have traumatised it further. So I rang Victoria wildlife rescue. They said to either catch it and place it in the bushes or leave it alone. I went out with a towel to throw over it but at the last minute it flew up into our willow and was hanging on a hanging branch. It has disappeared now. I hope it recovered, they chap I spoke to said it can take them 2 hours to get over the shock.

I’ve had all sorts of people pooh pooh this but it has always worked for me. If you hear the bird hit the window.. take a couple of drops of rescue remedy in a glass of water and the eye dropper outside pick up the stunned bird in your bare hands and keep it warm(first step) then cajole the bird to lick a drop or two of the water rescue mix.. then as soon as the bird shows any sign of alertness.. place it on a low branch of a tree or shrub. All my injured birds have survived and constantly show me their gratitude by coming back and avoiding my windows. Dirty windows don’t get hit.

orchid40 said:

Bubba Louie said:

Stress induced cardiomyopathy.

People don’t realize that letting dogs chase Roos can kill them, even if the dog doesn’t actually harm them.

I had a backyard crisis today. A Rosella crashed into our window and didn’t break its neck as birds frequently do. It was obviously injured and stunned and I expected it to keel over any minute. Half an hour later it had moved from the decking onto the hot driveway. I didn’t want to see it suffer but going near it would have traumatised it further. So I rang Victoria wildlife rescue. They said to either catch it and place it in the bushes or leave it alone. I went out with a towel to throw over it but at the last minute it flew up into our willow and was hanging on a hanging branch. It has disappeared now. I hope it recovered, they chap I spoke to said it can take them 2 hours to get over the shock.

When these things happen right in front of you, you feel compelled to fix it agagin don’t you? Thank heavens we can’t see what is happening elsewhere.

roughbarked said:

orchid40 said:

Bubba Louie said:

Stress induced cardiomyopathy.

People don’t realize that letting dogs chase Roos can kill them, even if the dog doesn’t actually harm them.

I had a backyard crisis today. A Rosella crashed into our window and didn’t break its neck as birds frequently do. It was obviously injured and stunned and I expected it to keel over any minute. Half an hour later it had moved from the decking onto the hot driveway. I didn’t want to see it suffer but going near it would have traumatised it further. So I rang Victoria wildlife rescue. They said to either catch it and place it in the bushes or leave it alone. I went out with a towel to throw over it but at the last minute it flew up into our willow and was hanging on a hanging branch. It has disappeared now. I hope it recovered, they chap I spoke to said it can take them 2 hours to get over the shock.

I’ve had all sorts of people pooh pooh this but it has always worked for me. If you hear the bird hit the window.. take a couple of drops of rescue remedy in a glass of water and the eye dropper outside pick up the stunned bird in your bare hands and keep it warm(first step) then cajole the bird to lick a drop or two of the water rescue mix.. then as soon as the bird shows any sign of alertness.. place it on a low branch of a tree or shrub. All my injured birds have survived and constantly show me their gratitude by coming back and avoiding my windows. Dirty windows don’t get hit.

Dirty windows don’t get hit.
—————-
Now that I like. What a brilliant excuse for allowing your windows to stay dirty. We haven’t ever had a bird crash into our windows since we installed venetian blinds. The blinds are another excuse to allow you to have dirty windows.

roughbarked said:

Dirty windows don’t get hit.

My philosophy also :)

We had a larf today when one of the young Kookas was sitting on the clothes hoist watching for any critter movement in the lawn below. They like to use the hoist because it’s a good vantage point. ZeeZee saw it and started to stalk if from the ground. She was slinking along almost on her belly like a cat until she got closer to the hoist then she lunged towards where the Kookas was perched. Right at that moment the kookaburra decided to do a woopsie and guess who got it in the middle of her back. D and I had good laugh.

The birds of the area torment ZeeZee something shocking but she doesn’t seem to wise up. There is no hope that she would ever catch one. They know it but she doesn’t.

The blue faced honeyeaters are trying to move in on our local territory. They have tried many times before but the noisy miners would always outnumber them and win the battle and the honeyeaters would leave. This time they are making headway.

Like I mentioned before the crows have been keeping the numbers of miners down so the battle is more evenly ballanced. Mind you, I’m not so sure that the honeyeaters will be any better than what we had because there call is very monotonous and I can see it getting on my goat after a while.

Go the blue faced honeyeaters.

The king parrots are hanging around all day atm. The cherry guavas are in fruit and they are the attraction. Love these birds because they are so friendly towards humans. Here they are anyway.

The only problem is that with the guavas we get the bats at night too. They are such a messy animal. Yuk!

pomolo said:

The king parrots are hanging around all day atm. The cherry guavas are in fruit and they are the attraction. Love these birds because they are so friendly towards humans. Here they are anyway.

The only problem is that with the guavas we get the bats at night too. They are such a messy animal. Yuk!

Oh lovely birds! We had 4 Kookaburras sit in our Ironbark singing yesterday afternoon… Very cool. And thanks to the rain yesterday, the frogs were going nuts last night!

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

pomolo said:

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

Not a sign o fthem this morning so the crisis never happened.

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

that sounds a bit drastic.

bluegreen said:

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

That makes me sad. :(
Parrots are very intelligent. He/she would have been very distressed. What if his/her mate was in the flock?

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

We have had 2 early mornings alive with around 30-40 sulpha crested Cockatoos shreiking and squarking over our property. I know these birds are a problem in other places around here so I’m not too sure we want them to settle in our trees. Both days they have flown off to feeding grounds elsewhere so we seem to only be a stop over so far. They are fun to watch but they are very, very noisy. I hope they go off with a bad impression of our trees and grounds.

Tomorrow I will be waiting and watching. How do you scare off a flock of Cockatoos? ZeeZee isn’t big enough.

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

Not that I don’t feel for the farmer, but.. that poor bird =/

hortfurball said:

bluegreen said:

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

That makes me sad. :(
Parrots are very intelligent. He/she would have been very distressed. What if his/her mate was in the flock?

that occurred to me too. but then again if he had shot them then there would be even more trauma.

bluegreen said:

hortfurball said:

bluegreen said:

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

That makes me sad. :(
Parrots are very intelligent. He/she would have been very distressed. What if his/her mate was in the flock?

that occurred to me too. but then again if he had shot them then there would be even more trauma.

Surely shooting them isn’t the only other option. Couldn’t he have tried to scare them off in some other way? A scarecrow? Or shot blanks at them to try to scare them. Or protected his crop some way? I don’t know, I just know I found that story really upsetting.

bon008 said:

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

With a shot gun and bang bang flares.

I’m probably lucky in that I’m more prone to get a pair of Major Mitchells and/or a few mallee ring-necks. Look, whatever parrot is your problem.. talk to them, anticipate their needs, give them that. They’ll love you for it.

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

Not that I don’t feel for the farmer, but.. that poor bird =/

yair

how would you feel with sump oil on your tail feathers. bang bang flares by the way are a type of shotgun cartidge that shoots a sky rocket flare. scares the shyte out of me so it also does the same to birds. Used by almond orchardists to make them feel like they are shooting the birds

hortfurball said:

bluegreen said:

hortfurball said:

That makes me sad. :(
Parrots are very intelligent. He/she would have been very distressed. What if his/her mate was in the flock?

that occurred to me too. but then again if he had shot them then there would be even more trauma.

Surely shooting them isn’t the only other option. Couldn’t he have tried to scare them off in some other way? A scarecrow? Or shot blanks at them to try to scare them. Or protected his crop some way? I don’t know, I just know I found that story really upsetting.

My understanding was that he was getting desperate. I don’t know all the details, it was just a story I was told!

roughbarked said:

bon008 said:

bluegreen said:

my mechanic told me a tale of a farmer he knew who was losing crops to some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. He managed to trap one and painted its feathers black with something then released it. The now black bird set off as fast as it could to catch up to its flock but when they saw him coming they mistook him for a hawk or something and took off to escape him. The harder the bird tried to catch up the faster they flew off. They never came back.

Not that I don’t feel for the farmer, but.. that poor bird =/

yair

how would you feel with sump oil on your tail feathers. bang bang flares by the way are a type of shotgun cartidge that shoots a sky rocket flare. scares the shyte out of me so it also does the same to birds. Used by almond orchardists to make them feel like they are shooting the birds

I wonder if it would work on bats? If it’s legal that is.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

bon008 said:

Not that I don’t feel for the farmer, but.. that poor bird =/

yair

how would you feel with sump oil on your tail feathers. bang bang flares by the way are a type of shotgun cartidge that shoots a sky rocket flare. scares the shyte out of me so it also does the same to birds. Used by almond orchardists to make them feel like they are shooting the birds

I wonder if it would work on bats? If it’s legal that is.

no riesling why not. They are only bird scaring cartridges. The only problems would be the proximity of neighbours with ears.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

yair

how would you feel with sump oil on your tail feathers. bang bang flares by the way are a type of shotgun cartidge that shoots a sky rocket flare. scares the shyte out of me so it also does the same to birds. Used by almond orchardists to make them feel like they are shooting the birds

I wonder if it would work on bats? If it’s legal that is.

no riesling why not. They are only bird scaring cartridges. The only problems would be the proximity of neighbours with ears.

Neighbours are not all that close but they could hear any loud shot type noise. The bats aren’t a serious problem. they just come for the cherry guavas each year. It’s their droppings around our property and on our roof that’s off putting. We use tank water too so that’s where we find it a problem. They don’t live around here permanently. If they get too much we will have to get rid of the cherry guavas. Those trees form our front fence. A casual type of hedge. Would be a shame to have to get rid of them. Thanks for the info though RB.

Since summer we have been getting a continual flow of cetain insects, according to their hatching times. Most of them I have only noticed because they gather around the glass doors for the light at night. The dragonflies were abundant. Mainly the red and black one but plenty of them. They were almost in plague proportions this year but mostly seen durining the day Then we had the praying mantis. They loved the light of the glass doors. Lots of tucker there. Then there were the katydids. Peculiar little green things.

Then, the moths. All sorts from plain brown/grey to beautiful colours and lacey wings. Right now there are apple green ones with brown lacey marking on the edges of their wings. The most common is one with a bright red body. By morning they are dead on the verandah floor or stuck in the fly screen wire. Beautiful looking moths but just too many of them

Then we have the frogs. They obviously know where to get a good feed. We have them from big ‘Fat Frog’ who has gone into hibernation now, to teenie weenie little 2cm scrawny legged ones. The overnight rain bought out lots of baby frogs. Probably trying to feed up before the winter chill sets in.

Mind you, all this activity makes an awful mess of the glass. Guess who has to clean it?

nice range of insects there pomolo.

the other night I had a HUGE moth bashing itself against a window. It was amazing how loud the thump was.

bluegreen said:

nice range of insects there pomolo.

the other night I had a HUGE moth bashing itself against a window. It was amazing how loud the thump was.

It’s surprising that we don’t get many of the large moths here. Certainly the odd one. Had one a few nights ago. I know it because I remember the type from Dad’s collection. This particular one was very old and I had the feeling he wasn’t long for this world. Next morning I found him under the verandah…dead. His body had already been consumed by some kind of critter. Nothing wasted in the wildlife world.

pomolo said:

Since summer we have been getting a continual flow of cetain insects, according to their hatching times. Most of them I have only noticed because they gather around the glass doors for the light at night. The dragonflies were abundant. Mainly the red and black one but plenty of them. They were almost in plague proportions this year but mostly seen durining the day Then we had the praying mantis. They loved the light of the glass doors. Lots of tucker there. Then there were the katydids. Peculiar little green things.

Then, the moths. All sorts from plain brown/grey to beautiful colours and lacey wings. Right now there are apple green ones with brown lacey marking on the edges of their wings. The most common is one with a bright red body. By morning they are dead on the verandah floor or stuck in the fly screen wire. Beautiful looking moths but just too many of them

Then we have the frogs. They obviously know where to get a good feed. We have them from big ‘Fat Frog’ who has gone into hibernation now, to teenie weenie little 2cm scrawny legged ones. The overnight rain bought out lots of baby frogs. Probably trying to feed up before the winter chill sets in.

Mind you, all this activity makes an awful mess of the glass. Guess who has to clean it?

Mr Pom?

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Since summer we have been getting a continual flow of cetain insects, according to their hatching times. Most of them I have only noticed because they gather around the glass doors for the light at night. The dragonflies were abundant. Mainly the red and black one but plenty of them. They were almost in plague proportions this year but mostly seen durining the day Then we had the praying mantis. They loved the light of the glass doors. Lots of tucker there. Then there were the katydids. Peculiar little green things.

Then, the moths. All sorts from plain brown/grey to beautiful colours and lacey wings. Right now there are apple green ones with brown lacey marking on the edges of their wings. The most common is one with a bright red body. By morning they are dead on the verandah floor or stuck in the fly screen wire. Beautiful looking moths but just too many of them

Then we have the frogs. They obviously know where to get a good feed. We have them from big ‘Fat Frog’ who has gone into hibernation now, to teenie weenie little 2cm scrawny legged ones. The overnight rain bought out lots of baby frogs. Probably trying to feed up before the winter chill sets in.

Mind you, all this activity makes an awful mess of the glass. Guess who has to clean it?

Mr Pom?

Oh yeah! In what lifetime? He’s good but not that good.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

Since summer we have been getting a continual flow of cetain insects, according to their hatching times. Most of them I have only noticed because they gather around the glass doors for the light at night. The dragonflies were abundant. Mainly the red and black one but plenty of them. They were almost in plague proportions this year but mostly seen durining the day Then we had the praying mantis. They loved the light of the glass doors. Lots of tucker there. Then there were the katydids. Peculiar little green things.

Then, the moths. All sorts from plain brown/grey to beautiful colours and lacey wings. Right now there are apple green ones with brown lacey marking on the edges of their wings. The most common is one with a bright red body. By morning they are dead on the verandah floor or stuck in the fly screen wire. Beautiful looking moths but just too many of them

Then we have the frogs. They obviously know where to get a good feed. We have them from big ‘Fat Frog’ who has gone into hibernation now, to teenie weenie little 2cm scrawny legged ones. The overnight rain bought out lots of baby frogs. Probably trying to feed up before the winter chill sets in.

Mind you, all this activity makes an awful mess of the glass. Guess who has to clean it?

Mr Pom?

Oh yeah! In what lifetime? He’s good but not that good.

i was joking joyce!

pain master said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

Mr Pom?

Oh yeah! In what lifetime? He’s good but not that good.

i was joking joyce!

I knew that Matt!

We saw 2 Tawny frog mouths in the paper bark. They seem to like it around here. I love the way they stick their beaks in the air and don’t move a muscle. They are convinced we can’t see them.

pomolo said:

We saw 2 Tawny frog mouths in the paper bark. They seem to like it around here. I love the way they stick their beaks in the air and don’t move a muscle. They are convinced we can’t see them.

super jelly here.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

We saw 2 Tawny frog mouths in the paper bark. They seem to like it around here. I love the way they stick their beaks in the air and don’t move a muscle. They are convinced we can’t see them.

super jelly here.

You and your cryptic posts!!!

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

We saw 2 Tawny frog mouths in the paper bark. They seem to like it around here. I love the way they stick their beaks in the air and don’t move a muscle. They are convinced we can’t see them.

super jelly here.

You and your cryptic posts!!!

Its how kids today say that they are envious.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

super jelly here.

You and your cryptic posts!!!

Its how kids today say that they are envious.

I must remember that one.

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

You and your cryptic posts!!!

Its how kids today say that they are envious.

I must remember that one.

I’m not, the word is envious and I taught my children how to speak properly as well.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

Its how kids today say that they are envious.

I must remember that one.

I’m not, the word is envious and I taught my children how to speak properly as well.

Just a sign of the times RB. My kids used to use the word ‘filthy’ for something they liked. We use to say ‘groovy’ or maybe ‘cool’. Same sort of thing. It will pass and another word will fill the bill.

There are 3 tawnies in a tree today.

How’s that for super jelly? lol.

pomolo said:

There are 3 tawnies in a tree today.

How’s that for super jelly? lol.

oh that is sooo cool. Now are you sure they are Tawnies and not Marbled Frogmouths?

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

I must remember that one.

I’m not, the word is envious and I taught my children how to speak properly as well.

Just a sign of the times RB. My kids used to use the word ‘filthy’ for something they liked. We use to say ‘groovy’ or maybe ‘cool’. Same sort of thing. It will pass and another word will fill the bill.

yeah yeah.. I know but to my mind it is best to be able to know what is being shortened.. for brevity.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

There are 3 tawnies in a tree today.

How’s that for super jelly? lol.

oh that is sooo cool. Now are you sure they are Tawnies and not Marbled Frogmouths?

The latter would be about location?

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

I’m not, the word is envious and I taught my children how to speak properly as well.

Just a sign of the times RB. My kids used to use the word ‘filthy’ for something they liked. We use to say ‘groovy’ or maybe ‘cool’. Same sort of thing. It will pass and another word will fill the bill.

yeah yeah.. I know but to my mind it is best to be able to know what is being shortened.. for brevity.

jelly from jealous?

roughbarked said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

There are 3 tawnies in a tree today.

How’s that for super jelly? lol.

oh that is sooo cool. Now are you sure they are Tawnies and not Marbled Frogmouths?

The latter would be about location?

Not really, both Marbled and Tawny should be found down Pomolo’s way, more the eye colour, body size and beak. But definitely the eye colour is the distinguishing feature.

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Just a sign of the times RB. My kids used to use the word ‘filthy’ for something they liked. We use to say ‘groovy’ or maybe ‘cool’. Same sort of thing. It will pass and another word will fill the bill.

yeah yeah.. I know but to my mind it is best to be able to know what is being shortened.. for brevity.

jelly from jealous?

apparently.

painmaster said:

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

yeah yeah.. I know but to my mind it is best to be able to know what is being shortened.. for brevity.

jelly from jealous?

apparently.

It doesn’t gel yet here.. I do grok green with envy.. so it may just be a matter of time.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

There are 3 tawnies in a tree today.

How’s that for super jelly? lol.

oh that is sooo cool. Now are you sure they are Tawnies and not Marbled Frogmouths?

I didn’t know I had a choice. I really have no idea but I did notice that these looked more flecky grey and white than tan and brown. I thought that was because they were in some sort of camouflage against the white paper bark of the tree.

painmaster said:

roughbarked said:

painmaster said:

oh that is sooo cool. Now are you sure they are Tawnies and not Marbled Frogmouths?

The latter would be about location?

Not really, both Marbled and Tawny should be found down Pomolo’s way, more the eye colour, body size and beak. But definitely the eye colour is the distinguishing feature.

I didn’t see into their eyes and they weren’t about to let me look either. Which colour belongs to which anyway?

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

roughbarked said:

The latter would be about location?

Not really, both Marbled and Tawny should be found down Pomolo’s way, more the eye colour, body size and beak. But definitely the eye colour is the distinguishing feature.

I didn’t see into their eyes and they weren’t about to let me look either. Which colour belongs to which anyway?

the Marbled should be an orange colour and the Tawny will have yellow eyes. The Papuan up my way has red eyes.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

Not really, both Marbled and Tawny should be found down Pomolo’s way, more the eye colour, body size and beak. But definitely the eye colour is the distinguishing feature.

I didn’t see into their eyes and they weren’t about to let me look either. Which colour belongs to which anyway?

the Marbled should be an orange colour and the Tawny will have yellow eyes. The Papuan up my way has red eyes.

I checked them out on Images and made a mental note.

Sorry I took a while answering. Been out to check out the source of a lot of smoke. Thought it was possibly someones wood fire getting ready for another cold night but it is someone burning off over the road. Smoke and fire scares me during our dry season.

roughbarked said:

painmaster said:

bluegreen said:

jelly from jealous?

apparently.

It doesn’t gel yet here.. I do grok green with envy.. so it may just be a matter of time.

‘Jelly belly’ has long been used as a term for a jealous person. The word ‘grok’ makes me cringe, and I STILL don’t get what it means. Many years ago someone said “We just don’t grok” meaning ‘get on with each other’ I think, and yet here RB uses it in a different context. Ugly word anyway.

Two baby magpies have taken to the air. Well, a bit on the down side that is. They aim for a certain branch and totally miss it and land with a thud on the ground. It’s quite windy here today so perhap learning aeronautics is going to be a testy subject for them. They make me laugh.

The dragon flys are out and about again. Darting here and there. You’re just not aware of them until they fly. I’m not even mentioning the slithery things. They don’t exist.

pomolo said:

Two baby magpies have taken to the air. Well, a bit on the down side that is. They aim for a certain branch and totally miss it and land with a thud on the ground. It’s quite windy here today so perhap learning aeronautics is going to be a testy subject for them. They make me laugh.

The dragon flys are out and about again. Darting here and there. You’re just not aware of them until they fly. I’m not even mentioning the slithery things. They don’t exist.

we have a heron eating taddies in the pool – yes i got lazy and the pool has gone black again

and …….. a fat pigeon who is a relunctant flyer (not crested or diamond backed)

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

There’s something about a bird’s whole-hearted enjoyment of a bird-bath…

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

I’ve got a sprinkler going under the frangipanni, seeing as the wrens/finches enjoyed it so much yesterday. Also watering a bit at a time gives the chookens somewhere cool to dustbathe…

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

What! Drinking from my bird bath?

pomolo said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

What! Drinking from my bird bath?

No, I’ll be in the actual Queen St itself… but I will fly over your birdbath on route.

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

is queen street in brissy?

justin said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

is queen street in brissy?

Main drag thereof…

Dinetta said:

justin said:

painmaster said:

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

is queen street in brissy?

Main drag thereof…

ta – i have been there in my twenties. i seem to recall a few slopes and streets built over and down across hills. it was a weatherboard town when i was there.

justin said:

Dinetta said:

justin said:

is queen street in brissy?

Main drag thereof…

ta – i have been there in my twenties. i seem to recall a few slopes and streets built over and down across hills. it was a weatherboard town when i was there.

Ooo if you were there on a Satdee morning, (before Queen St was “malled”…or is that “mauled”?) you would have seen George (?) in his FJ Holden complete with those plastic streamers on his aerial..

justin said:

painmaster said:

pomolo said:

Our bird bath is being well used during this dry spell. Lots of never seen before are taking advantage. King parrots. Kookaburras, Pale headed rosellas, Channel bills, Even a pheasant coucal. All the other regulars as well. It’s like Queen Street.

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

is queen street in brissy?

It’s the main thoroughfare in Bris city. Suppose someone has already told you that.

Dinetta said:

justin said:

painmaster said:

Love it. Also will be in Queen St soon.

is queen street in brissy?

Main drag thereof…

I knew it.

justin said:

Dinetta said:

justin said:

is queen street in brissy?

Main drag thereof…

ta – i have been there in my twenties. i seem to recall a few slopes and streets built over and down across hills. it was a weatherboard town when i was there.

Ain’t any weatherboard in Queen Street any more. Hasn’t been for 50 years I reckon.

Dinetta said:

justin said:

Dinetta said:

Main drag thereof…

ta – i have been there in my twenties. i seem to recall a few slopes and streets built over and down across hills. it was a weatherboard town when i was there.

Ooo if you were there on a Satdee morning, (before Queen St was “malled”…or is that “mauled”?) you would have seen George (?) in his FJ Holden complete with those plastic streamers on his aerial..

if george was an orangutan it sou nds more like sydney – lots of apes in cars there – our veedub was soundly broadsided as we joined a roundabout throng.
but that’s another story altho’ the same trip.
all we saw of brissy’s busy hub was a long bridge at night.
i did sketch some of those weatherboards on stilts – i remember them as having lots of character, deep shady verandahs, partially filled in and peeling paint.

pomolo said:

justin said:

Dinetta said:

Main drag thereof…

ta – i have been there in my twenties. i seem to recall a few slopes and streets built over and down across hills. it was a weatherboard town when i was there.

Ain’t any weatherboard in Queen Street any more. Hasn’t been for 50 years I reckon.

ok – i anticipated this – read previous answer – preferably not backwards lol.

justin said:

all we saw of brissy’s busy hub was a long bridge at night.

Storey Bridge? That would have been the only “long” bridge back then…

We’ve still got the weatherboards on stilts (stumps), but a lot of the “inner city area” has been converted into high density living…all of it lived in, too…

Poor old ‘Fat Frog’ has stopped coming to the glass doors each evening. Just no insect life around for him to eat. This dry spell is holding lots of stuff in limbo. Possible storms predicted next Tues & Wed. I’ll cross my fingers but I will believe it when I see it.

I’ve been meaning to put in a little snippet on dragonflies. As you probably have guessed, I am a bit attached to the dragonfly world. Probably because my Grandfather was a world authority on them in his life time. Anyway I saw the David Attenborough program on them and finally learnt how to tell a dragonfly from a damsel fly. I’m pretty quick you know. lol. Next day the Sunday Mail had an interesting little reference to dragonflies and their brain power. Reads as:-

Dragonflies possess a mental ability previously only demonstrated in humans and other primates, say scientists.

The insects is the first invertebrate known to be capable of “selective attention”, which allows it to overcome distractions.

Dragonflies hunt their prey on the wing.

Selective attention allows them to act like a homing missile locked on to it’s target.

Even though a swarm of other potential prey might be present, the dragonfly’s brain focuses on one victim.

I knew you would all want to know about this and it’s something my Grandfather would never have been able to write about either. I hope he knows now, where ever he is.

pomolo said:

I’ve been meaning to put in a little snippet on dragonflies. As you probably have guessed, I am a bit attached to the dragonfly world. Probably because my Grandfather was a world authority on them in his life time. Anyway I saw the David Attenborough program on them and finally learnt how to tell a dragonfly from a damsel fly. I’m pretty quick you know. lol. Next day the Sunday Mail had an interesting little reference to dragonflies and their brain power. Reads as:-

Dragonflies possess a mental ability previously only demonstrated in humans and other primates, say scientists.

The insects is the first invertebrate known to be capable of “selective attention”, which allows it to overcome distractions.

Dragonflies hunt their prey on the wing.

Selective attention allows them to act like a homing missile locked on to it’s target.

Even though a swarm of other potential prey might be present, the dragonfly’s brain focuses on one victim.

I knew you would all want to know about this and it’s something my Grandfather would never have been able to write about either. I hope he knows now, where ever he is.

Interesting snippet indeed…it’s not something you’d pick up with the naked eye, either…

pomolo said:

I’ve been meaning to put in a little snippet on dragonflies. As you probably have guessed, I am a bit attached to the dragonfly world. Probably because my Grandfather was a world authority on them in his life time. Anyway I saw the David Attenborough program on them and finally learnt how to tell a dragonfly from a damsel fly. I’m pretty quick you know. lol. Next day the Sunday Mail had an interesting little reference to dragonflies and their brain power. Reads as:-

Dragonflies possess a mental ability previously only demonstrated in humans and other primates, say scientists.

The insects is the first invertebrate known to be capable of “selective attention”, which allows it to overcome distractions.

Dragonflies hunt their prey on the wing.

Selective attention allows them to act like a homing missile locked on to it’s target.

Even though a swarm of other potential prey might be present, the dragonfly’s brain focuses on one victim.

I knew you would all want to know about this and it’s something my Grandfather would never have been able to write about either. I hope he knows now, where ever he is.

cool.

There are lots of baby birds around the place now all squawking at their Mothers for food. The worst one I have ever heard is a Kookaburra that does not stop doing that throary raspy sound that the baby ones make. We’ve had lots of baby Kookas round here but I’ve never heard one as constant as this one. Not sure whether Mum and Dad aren’t feeding it enough or it’s just a whinger. You know the type. We have probably all had a child that was more demanding that the others.

It’s a very cute bird though.

I spent some time watching the rainbow Lorikeets having a ball at the bird bath. This was earlier in the day before it go too hot. There were about 20 of them, including some scaly breasted ones too. Of course they fought and screeched the whole time they were around. They hung from the tiny branches over the BB cursing each other, all waiting for their turn I guess. Then suddenly, as these birds seem to do, they were all gone in an instant. Only one scaly breasted left at the edge of the BB looking skyward, wondering if he had said something wrong. Maybe that’s why he was having a bath because he had BO.

These are moments that are worth any sort of inconvenience of living away from built up areas. Yesterday the pond was being hogged by two Kookaburras including the ‘whinger’. Nobody can satify that bird.

pomolo said:

These are moments that are worth any sort of inconvenience of living away from built up areas.

Yes. I’ve just had the singing honey eaters and some other small bird, “bathing” in a “nuisance bush” that I’ve been planning to mow…they were dancing in the bush, splashing themselves with water droplets from the sprinkler…

It is like a problem week I have hear. I don’t feel so bad about it now because I noticed that it harbours ladybirds.

bluegreen said:

It is like a problem week I have hear. I don’t feel so bad about it now because I noticed that it harbours ladybirds.

week weed

What’s a nuisance bush?

bluegreen said:

bluegreen said:

It is like a problem week I have hear. I don’t feel so bad about it now because I noticed that it harbours ladybirds.

week weed

And ‘here’ not ‘hear’. lol. It’s good for me to know other people do it too.

bluegreen said:

It is like a problem week I have hear. I don’t feel so bad about it now because I noticed that it harbours ladybirds.

The native lawyer vine harbours a white native flutterbye….

bluegreen said:

bluegreen said:

It is like a problem week I have hear. I don’t feel so bad about it now because I noticed that it harbours ladybirds.

week weed

You’re right, I worked it out…

roughbarked said:

What’s a nuisance bush?

When it grows up, it’s going to be a 10 metre tree…and it’s 5 metres from the house…not going to grow up I’m afraid, am planning on adding shrubs to the eastern fence right down to the next street…with birdbaths…

Now the white headed pigeons are building in the wisteria that we’ve made into a standard. It’s a very dense crown and I don’t know how they can even move around in there because they aren’t a small bird. They’ve been chasing and cooing at each other for about a week but seem to have finally come to an agreement and work is on in earnest. They’re old nest in the Leptospermum is still intact. They only raised one baby that time. We’ll see how well they do this time round.

Once again the nest is at eye level so we should see everything at a glance. Yay.

pomolo said:

Now the white headed pigeons are building in the wisteria that we’ve made into a standard. It’s a very dense crown and I don’t know how they can even move around in there because they aren’t a small bird. They’ve been chasing and cooing at each other for about a week but seem to have finally come to an agreement and work is on in earnest. They’re old nest in the Leptospermum is still intact. They only raised one baby that time. We’ll see how well they do this time round.

Once again the nest is at eye level so we should see everything at a glance. Yay.

You lucky thing, you!

pomolo said:

Now the white headed pigeons are building in the wisteria that we’ve made into a standard. It’s a very dense crown and I don’t know how they can even move around in there because they aren’t a small bird. They’ve been chasing and cooing at each other for about a week but seem to have finally come to an agreement and work is on in earnest. They’re old nest in the Leptospermum is still intact. They only raised one baby that time. We’ll see how well they do this time round.

Once again the nest is at eye level so we should see everything at a glance. Yay.

Change of plan it seems. Pigeons aren’t continuing with a nest in the wisteria. Still trying to decide I guess. Still cooing at each other. I think she is playing hard to get.

The pheasant coucal is becoming more friendly. Goes under the house now. Takes off when we step outside but keeps coming back. Must be frogs it’s after.

pomolo said:

Change of plan it seems. Pigeons aren’t continuing with a nest in the wisteria. Still trying to decide I guess. Still cooing at each other. I think she is playing hard to get.

The pheasant coucal is becoming more friendly. Goes under the house now. Takes off when we step outside but keeps coming back. Must be frogs it’s after.

Didn’t know the pheasant coucal ate frogs? Not really thought what they eat, to tell the truth…

I’ve spent the past couple of hours sitting on the verandah watching the birds and trying to ID them and their habits. You can only take the time to do this when you’re retired. Need I remind you. The Pheasnt coucal is still here. Spends a lot of his time in the Durantas down the fenceline. The white headed pigeons seem to have a stalemate going on. He (I think) is collecting twigs and flying here and there without settling anywhere, She (I think) just sits, and I mean sits on a branch, close by and watches him. Now I understand what playing hard to get means.

What really got me watching was seeing these 2 birds playing tiggy on the ground under the trees. Moving very quickly, in and out of our yard fence, then gone. I got the bird book out and confirmed that it was the whipbirds. They are fun to watch.

Now I deserve some breakfast.

pomolo said:

I’ve spent the past couple of hours sitting on the verandah watching the birds and trying to ID them and their habits. You can only take the time to do this when you’re retired. Need I remind you. The Pheasnt coucal is still here. Spends a lot of his time in the Durantas down the fenceline. The white headed pigeons seem to have a stalemate going on. He (I think) is collecting twigs and flying here and there without settling anywhere, She (I think) just sits, and I mean sits on a branch, close by and watches him. Now I understand what playing hard to get means.

What really got me watching was seeing these 2 birds playing tiggy on the ground under the trees. Moving very quickly, in and out of our yard fence, then gone. I got the bird book out and confirmed that it was the whipbirds. They are fun to watch.

Now I deserve some breakfast.

I am just loving the bird life here too.

pomolo said:

I’ve spent the past couple of hours sitting on the verandah watching the birds and trying to ID them and their habits. You can only take the time to do this when you’re retired. Need I remind you. The Pheasnt coucal is still here. Spends a lot of his time in the Durantas down the fenceline. The white headed pigeons seem to have a stalemate going on. He (I think) is collecting twigs and flying here and there without settling anywhere, She (I think) just sits, and I mean sits on a branch, close by and watches him. Now I understand what playing hard to get means.

What really got me watching was seeing these 2 birds playing tiggy on the ground under the trees. Moving very quickly, in and out of our yard fence, then gone. I got the bird book out and confirmed that it was the whipbirds. They are fun to watch.

Now I deserve some breakfast.

Didn’t you have trouble seeing them once upon a twice? You could hear the whipbird but not see it?

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

I’ve spent the past couple of hours sitting on the verandah watching the birds and trying to ID them and their habits. You can only take the time to do this when you’re retired. Need I remind you. The Pheasnt coucal is still here. Spends a lot of his time in the Durantas down the fenceline. The white headed pigeons seem to have a stalemate going on. He (I think) is collecting twigs and flying here and there without settling anywhere, She (I think) just sits, and I mean sits on a branch, close by and watches him. Now I understand what playing hard to get means.

What really got me watching was seeing these 2 birds playing tiggy on the ground under the trees. Moving very quickly, in and out of our yard fence, then gone. I got the bird book out and confirmed that it was the whipbirds. They are fun to watch.

Now I deserve some breakfast.

Didn’t you have trouble seeing them once upon a twice? You could hear the whipbird but not see it?

We cerrtainly did have trouble seeing them then D got a blurry photo. Since then we have removed some of the Durantas and there is an open space for viewing and that’s where they were playing this morning. The male and the female are still calling but they are hidden now.

I’ve spent a considerable time watching a wasp on the verandah. It had caught the hugest spider. For its eggs to eat when they hatch I guess. The wasp couldn’t fly with the weight it was trying to carry. It would get to about 60cm off the ground and fall back to earth after a few wing flaps. It kept trying and trying but in the end it left the paralised spider on the verandah. Bruce and the spider all over again.

pomolo said:

I’ve spent a considerable time watching a wasp on the verandah. It had caught the hugest spider. For its eggs to eat when they hatch I guess. The wasp couldn’t fly with the weight it was trying to carry. It would get to about 60cm off the ground and fall back to earth after a few wing flaps. It kept trying and trying but in the end it left the paralised spider on the verandah. Bruce and the spider all over again.

Yup. Hope you put the poor spidey out of it’s misery?

When feeding the lorikeets yesterday, one stuck it’s head in the open packet of feed before I had a chance to pour…I think it is a new bird…

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

I’ve spent a considerable time watching a wasp on the verandah. It had caught the hugest spider. For its eggs to eat when they hatch I guess. The wasp couldn’t fly with the weight it was trying to carry. It would get to about 60cm off the ground and fall back to earth after a few wing flaps. It kept trying and trying but in the end it left the paralised spider on the verandah. Bruce and the spider all over again.

Yup. Hope you put the poor spidey out of it’s misery?

When feeding the lorikeets yesterday, one stuck it’s head in the open packet of feed before I had a chance to pour…I think it is a new bird…

The spider was only paralysed. The wasp would keep coming back until it dragged it to the nest.

And on the contrary.. new birds don’t know where the food comes from.

roughbarked said:

And on the contrary.. new birds don’t know where the food comes from.

I strongly suspect that it knew all about where the food came from, the little cutie…“new” to my tankstand (where the food is put out) was what I meant…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

And on the contrary.. new birds don’t know where the food comes from.

I strongly suspect that it knew all about where the food came from, the little cutie…“new” to my tankstand (where the food is put out) was what I meant…

:)

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

I’ve spent a considerable time watching a wasp on the verandah. It had caught the hugest spider. For its eggs to eat when they hatch I guess. The wasp couldn’t fly with the weight it was trying to carry. It would get to about 60cm off the ground and fall back to earth after a few wing flaps. It kept trying and trying but in the end it left the paralised spider on the verandah. Bruce and the spider all over again.

Yup. Hope you put the poor spidey out of it’s misery?

When feeding the lorikeets yesterday, one stuck it’s head in the open packet of feed before I had a chance to pour…I think it is a new bird…

On the bird feeding scene I watched a first at my brothers place last weekend. He feeds the rainbows and anything else that visits including maggies (which don’t usually eat seed) He puts seed in 2 trays that hang from chains on branches in a big Grevellia. I watched in disbelief as I saw one of the magpies fly up from the ground and kick the underside of the seed tray so it toppled over a bit and a few grains of seed fell to the ground. He ate them. Then, just to prove I wasn’t seeing things he went through the routine again. This time he managed to dislodge a lot more seed and proceeded to eat it all. Nature never fails to amaze.

We were treated to a performance by a flock of Sulpha Crested Cockatoos this morning. They are pretty common in this area but fortunately not close to our place. I know a lot of districts are constantly complaining about them and the noise and damage they do.

There were about a dozen or so this morning and they had such antics. Shrill screeching and squawking. Flying and swooping from tree to tree. Tearing off hunks of bark, hanging upside down. totally acting like clowns. I don’t know if there was a particular reason for the show but it upset the crows no end. I definately wouldn’t want then here permanently but this morning it was fun to watch.

pomolo said:

We were treated to a performance by a flock of Sulpha Crested Cockatoos this morning. … …

There were about a dozen or so this morning and they had such antics. … … but it upset the crows no end.

Hooray!!

I don’t know if they’re wild or not, but sometimes we get a bird or two in a flock, that will sit on the back or front verandahs and smooch like mad if you talk to them…

Today we have had the Sulphur Cresteds and the Yellow Tail Cockatoos going ape. What a row! It must be because of some food source. I know they eat the SheOak seeds but I don’t think they are on at the moment. Meanwhile we get to enjoy the antics.

pomolo said:

Today we have had the Sulphur Cresteds and the Yellow Tail Cockatoos going ape. What a row! It must be because of some food source. I know they eat the SheOak seeds but I don’t think they are on at the moment. Meanwhile we get to enjoy the antics.

Grain crops coming off somewhere?

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

Today we have had the Sulphur Cresteds and the Yellow Tail Cockatoos going ape. What a row! It must be because of some food source. I know they eat the SheOak seeds but I don’t think they are on at the moment. Meanwhile we get to enjoy the antics.

Grain crops coming off somewhere?

No grain crops round here that I know of.

pomolo said:

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

Today we have had the Sulphur Cresteds and the Yellow Tail Cockatoos going ape. What a row! It must be because of some food source. I know they eat the SheOak seeds but I don’t think they are on at the moment. Meanwhile we get to enjoy the antics.

Grain crops coming off somewhere?

No grain crops round here that I know of.

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Dinetta said:

Grain crops coming off somewhere?

No grain crops round here that I know of.

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

I think there’s pine plantations in Pomolo’s area, now that you mention it…not sure about the Bunya…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

No grain crops round here that I know of.

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

Doesn’t need to be a plantation to attract a mob of screeching cockatoos. At least half a dozen mature fruiting trees are enough to make your brains want to jump out of your head.

I think there’s pine plantations in Pomolo’s area, now that you mention it…not sure about the Bunya…

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

I think there’s pine plantations in Pomolo’s area, now that you mention it…not sure about the Bunya…

Doesn’t need to be a plantation to attract a mob of screeching cockatoos. At least half a dozen mature fruiting trees are enough to make your brains want to jump out of your head.

At time like that I’m glad I can’t hear them…the cicadas were bad enough for getting “inside” my hearing aids…

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

Dinetta said:

Grain crops coming off somewhere?

No grain crops round here that I know of.

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

there aren’t any Bunyas here. I wish there was. We have a couple of Banksias but not enough to draw this lot. Anyway all is quiet this afternoon.

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

No grain crops round here that I know of.

They really do well on Radiata pine but there also could be good banksia about. Are there Bunya nuts about?

I think there’s pine plantations in Pomolo’s area, now that you mention it…not sure about the Bunya…

The odd pine but no plantation. The ex neighbours have a couple though. Could be…………

pomolo said:

The odd pine but no plantation. The ex neighbours have a couple though. Could be…………

Are the plantations to the south of you, then? I’m sure I drove past some a few years ago…

Dinetta said:

pomolo said:

The odd pine but no plantation. The ex neighbours have a couple though. Could be…………

Are the plantations to the south of you, then? I’m sure I drove past some a few years ago…

They are around the Glasshouse Mountains. About an hours drive from us.