Some, only some, of the wildlife around the farm.

Lately, in the Courier Mail,  I have read of Brisbane residents complaining that the local local wildlife should have "pest" status. 
Maybe being on a large block of land changes your perspective, because I enjoy the wildlife we have around here.
Well, most of it!

Snakes. 

Yes, it took me some years to adapt to the presence of snakes.
We have 2 varieties....Red-Bellied Black snakes, and Eastern Browns.
The locals have instructed us about their particular behaviours.
  
We were told that the Red Bellied Blacks are not aggressive, and also that they eat the eggs of the Browns.
The Eastern Browns can be aggressive, especially during mating season.

So far, whenever I've crossed paths with either reptile type, I have given it all due deference and respect.  
And they've ignored me.  An excellent arrangement.

But recently we found a small snake, which was probably only a few days old when we saw it.
We could not identify it, so had to call on the expertise at the Queensland Museum.
It is a young Eastern Brown.
The stripes are typical of their young, and they'll be lost as the snake matures.




To give you an idea of the size of this baby snake....it can fit within the palm of a man's hand.




..and it is DEAD!   This would not be happening if it was alive and kicking!!


Lizards.

There are lots of lizards on the farm.
The two most common are Blue Tongues and Bearded Dragons.
This one below was seen just after it had climbed onto the vine, to warm up in the sun.
It was a light brown colour at first, but rapidly changed to be camouflaged on the vine.
It's a large, and very fine specimen.



Here it is stretched out along the pruned grape vine.
It's looking at me, as I photograph it.




This photo was taken on the road. The bearded dragon is starting to display its beard.
You can see the spines on the beard's edge, and along the sides of the lizard.



Kangaroos.

We have lots of kangaroos in the bush around the farm.
I love to see them.
They are very timid, and hop away from you when you approach.
But they are often around the house, especially in the early mornings and late afternoons.  They come to nibble on the grass here.

Here are a couple of photos of them.

Isn't this cute? A mother with her joey in her pouch.
This was taken on our front driveway....about 2 metres from the house.

And here is a 2nd photo, which was taken 6 months later.
It is also near our house...about 4 metres away this time.
Because of the time difference between the 2 photos I'd like to think that it is the same pair, but of course the young one is 6 months older.
And because I don't know how quickly kangaroos grow, it is just an assumption that they are the same pair.

Possums.

We don't have these in large numbers, but occasionally one or two visit the house during the night, and if I see them, I leave them a piece of fruit.
This fellow is chewing a piece of apple.

 

Echidnas.

These are not in huge numbers either, but we have evidence of them on the bottom block.
And twice I have watched an echidna cross our road.
Each seemed oblivious of the human standing there watching, as it determinedly waddled its way to where ever it was going.

Each sighting excited me.

Sadly we found one echidna dead in one of our dams. What happened? We'll never know. They can swim, so it shouldn't have just drowned. Maybe it was old and sick, and it was time for it to die. Who knows?

I don't think that you'd want to see the photo of the dead one floating in our dam, so I have substituted this photo taken on Bruny Island, off the SE coast of Tasmania. (there are lots there too)

Of course, all the times I've seen them here on the farm, Murphy's Law has prevailed, and I've not had my camera with me. So no live photos of farm echidnas!

Birds

There are a lot of birds here.
My husband used to be an avid bird-watcher, or "twitcher", who'd travel thousands of kilometers to see a particular type of bird.
Note the use of the past tense.
Now that we grow grapes those once admired birds are now pests of the first water!

But let's ignore that for now.

We have the usual Australian birds such as magpies and butcher birds. Their songs are absolutely beautiful.
There are groups of kookaburras which laugh in the early morning and at dusk.
And lots of parrots and cockatoos.

Here is an Eastern Rosella, sitting and posing on one of the grape vines.

But I love the "little birds".
A  scarlet robin was around over winter, and his breast was a vivid, vivid red. He added a splash of colour whenever he flew near the house.
There are also yellow-rumped thornbills, and Superb fairy wrens, and double-barred finches.
Alas, I don't have any photos of these.
But I do have some of a bird who has become quite inquisitive about us, and here he is.

He is a Pardalote....a Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) 
Isn't he a handsome young bird?
The yellow on him is so vibrant.


Here he is, in the magnolia tree.



And another photo of this handsome bird:




It almost looks as if he's posed for this shot on the handle of a spade....asking all of us to admire him!




This little bloke loves to  feed, and sing, in one of our evergreen magnolia trees, which must be a veritable larder of thrips, lerps, and other insects.
And when ever I practise the piano he flies to a nearby window and sings along!
Is he in harmony with me, or trying to tell me that my piano playing is atrocious?
Whatever it is, I love it when he appears.

And he now has a female, who often appears with him.
Maybe we'll even see some young in the near future.

I hope that enjoyed this Blog, and that it did not feel too much like a Biology lesson!!!