hungry

by Denis1950, posted in Country Victoria, environmental issues, Gariwerd, National Parks, Nature 
kangaroos
ignoring people
autumn drought

During March we visited Halls Gap at Gariwerd, (Grampians National Park). Jill was paricipating in a textiles arts conference-workshop, Maggie and I were going to explore. Initially the temperaure was 38oC and we sayed indoors wih an air-condiioner insead of exploring. Then it poured rain and the temperature dropped. We took a few quick car trips but could not do much walking. We soon discovered how devastating the bush fires had been a few months before. Tens of thousands of hectares of the park was burnt out. The fires were stopped on the edge of Halls Gap. Loss of wildlife was horrendous. These kangaroos were lucky to survive. A mob was living and feeding beside the house we stayed in. Even feral deer were living on the outskirts of the town. Recovery for flora and fauna will take a long time and this will depend on future weather patterns. Another reminder to us of climate change reality. And still our politicians pontificate about economics, jobs and growth.

what is happening

by Denis1950, posted in nature, Nature, reptiles 
two lizards

mating or fighting

take a guess

last Spring, October 2024 Jill and I took our Japanese language class to Longhollow nature reserve for a Haiku Ginko, (walk). We spread out, sitting or wandering alone attempting to forest bathe and write haiku. Suddenly one of the group rushed up all excited to share something she had discovered on a track. This photo explains her discovery.

What do you see?

These are two blue tongue lizards. They are usually very solitary reptiles, only meeting up as male/female to mate or male/male to fight over females or territory. Mothers also care for young ones.

They have powerful jaws and can nip a human if provoked. It didn’t take long to figure out this was no love bite. One male had another clamped in its jaws and it seemed painful. I carefully prodded the biter with a stick, it let go and the other lizard disappeared without invitation. We were very lucky to witness this incident and take a photo.

What a unique haiku moment.

Autumn leaves

by Denis1950, posted in environmental issues, Gardens, Nature, Trees 
                                                         tree re birth

                                                   liquid amber tears

                                                        raining leaves
falling leaves 

liquid amber sleeps

warmth coming

Our beautiful old Liquid Amber, (American Sweet Gum) has once again shed its leaves in preparation for Winter. Last year our house and the tree turned 100. Both are staying srong but showing their age. Every 2 years a professional arborist, Ben, visits and attends to any needs such as pruning or more serious removal of a larger limb. Occasionally in strong winds pieces fall. Many birds pass through, resting, looking for seed nuts or as we discovered with the Tawney Frogmouths this year, rearing a baby. Our local Possums also use this tree for feeding , travelling and resting. When Summer arrives, Cicada larvae emerge from the roots and shed their skin on the tree. There are always a number of skins left clinging to the trunk as pupa change through their chrysalid stage. Then there are all the other life forms from ants to slaters to small hand size Huntsman Spiders. Every tree has such a story, what do you know about your neighbour trees?

when will it rain

by Denis1950, posted in clouds, environmental issues, Gardens, Melbourne

sky drifter
carried by the wind
storm coming

It is late Autumn in Melbourne . The days are usually balmy reaching low 20o C and the nights very cold because there is no cloud cover. We have had only 14 ml of rain since March 22nd. This is leaving the garden in drought conditions, the grass all but gone in the front yard. We have to water most days. Another reminder of climate change with global warming. Last weekend the Australian voters returned our mildly Socialist Labor Government with a large majority. The opposition were still campaigning that Climate Change was not real. To disguise their refusal to address climate change they brought a new policy for nuclear power to the people. An absurd idea for a country with the best access to solar and wind renewables for energy in the world and it lost them votes. Now it will be total commitment for renewables to power energy. We have certainity for our government at last to intelligently address global warming.The conservative political parties have been kicked to oblivion and they deserve it. They also fail to engage with women voters, antagonised immigrant and indigenous voters and specifically targetted Chinese Australians. Their leader who behaved like an attack Rotweiller in his campaign lost his seat to a woman. All we want now is rain, rain and more rain.

ghostly

by Denis1950, posted in Birds, environmental issues, Gardens, Melbourne, nature, Nature 
ghost birds
silently depart
feather falls

I am sharing the next chapter of our Tawny Frogmouth family. Since early January we began noticing 3 of these birds roosting in trees either inside our yards or in street trees beside our block.(See my last post)

We decided to buy the definitive book on Tawny Frogmouths to understand everything about these beautiful mysterious birds. Firstly we discovered that we had a mother and father and one baby. Not mum and 2 youngsters. Secondly the adult pair are inseparable as in the first picture above, dad on left and mum on right. Third that the youngsters fledge and leave home ( with help) at a young age. About nearly 3 weeks ago suddenly only the adults were seen. Up to today they have still roosted together in the same trees they reared the youngster almost every night, moving locations regularly just like when the young one was here. They are now silent again as the baby made most of the noise. We watch them depart noislessly each twilight and sometimes find a feather offered up as a gift.

Still and silent

by Denis1950, posted in Birds, environmental issues, nature, Nature

blending
amongst the foliage
hidden birds


woken up 
watching and waiting
patient birds
disturbed
needing more sleep time
go away

For almost a month since mid January a mother Tawny Frogmouth, (an Australian Nightjar) has been rearing her two babies in trees on our houseblock and in adjoining street trees. They are nocturnal hunters, needing to sleep and rest across daylight hours. These birds have the ability to hide against tree trunks/branches/foliage so skillfully that often they can only be located by the quiet purring like noise the young birds occasionally make when they wake up. We have been priviledged to observe their sleeping/waking habits and how the mother arranges the roosting positions of her babies. As twilight ends they prepare for the evening. First the mother suddenly departs followed by one youngster, then a minute or two later, the other. These birds make no sound when taking off or flying. Depending on the amount of light hitting their feathers, these birds present quite a colour range as can be seen in these photos ,from full sun to muted late afternoon shade..

late feed

by Denis1950, posted in Birds, Melbourne 
warm evening

supping on nectar

lorikeet


This beautiful little bird is a Musk Lorikeet. There was a small flock of them busily feeding on nectar beside Macca’s reserve in Beaumaris, (Melbourne). It was near sunset however I still decided on a late photo. The red markinjgs around the head are distinctive and easily identifies this Lorikeet from the Little Lorikeet that is the same size with similar green body colouring but lacking the red and turquoise markings on the head. These 2 species were the only Lorikeets in our part of Melbourne until the 1980’s when Rainbow Lorikeets invaded down the East Coast from Northern New South Wales. The Rainbows multiplied and dominated for 30 years however in the last 3 years Musks and Littles have begun to increase in numbers and take back territory.

park my car

by Denis1950, posted in environmental issues, Melbourne, Nature, people 
size matters
a social crisis
easy fix

When I came out of a local small supermarket and was confronted by this scene I thought there has to be a haiku here. Not a traditional haiku but one with a universal message that the world has to confront the ongoing madness of consumer messaging that “BIGGER IS BETTER”. A man, and it was a man, had driven down to this suburban supermarket to do some quick shopping. There would be about 20 carparks for shoppers, however there is parking out on the street for TRUCKS. And this THING is a TRUCK pretending to be a utility vehicle. Not all that long ago here in suburban Melbourne utility vehicles were small 2 seater tray cars used by tradesmen for work purposes. Then a neo-liberal madness overcame vehicle manufacturers to build the biggest utes. First in the USA spreading to Japan and then Europe. These monsters are basically middle aged male, mid life crisis, toys appealing to an image of masculinity and rugged outdoor adventure. Advertising presents them as the workhorses of muscular heroic young men using them to scale mountains or traverse the harsh Australian outback.. The names given to these things sound like predatory wildlife and in reality In older unfit blokes prowl suburbia in them cruising the streets looking for prey and sometimes crash into small cars and pedestrians because they don’t see them .When this gets boring they can tow the jetski down to the water and add another element of useless craziness to life. General public consensus is that these vehicles are a social and environmental hazzard and need to be legally controlled.

unwinding

by Denis1950, posted in Birds, Coasts, Nature, Port Phillip bay, Uncategorized

feathered ball
slowly unwinding
a black swan

Ricketts point Marine Sanctuary on Port Phillip Bay Melbourne where these photos were taken is a favourite habitat for many water birds. Black Swans feed on the sea grass that grows close inshore in this bay. They also rest there. This particular bird had been sleeping and decided to wake up as I was watching it through my telephoto lens. The tag K14 is used to track and record the movement of this bird. There is a web site where anyone viewing a tagged bird can enter and add details of their observation. Records show that most Black Swans tagged in Melbourne move along the coast from Edithvale Wetlands to Westgate Park. Albert Park Lake is a favourite resting place however when the Australian Grand Prix occurs there in March, Swans and all other birdlife wisely depart for a few days. Ricketts Point is one of our favourite places to unwind. All our dogs have loved walking there . Maggie loves standing on a small sand dune and gazing across the bay. We are so lucky to have this beautiful natural coastal park only 7 minutes drive from home.

warning

by Denis1950, posted in Country Victoria, environmental issues, Gariwerd, Melbourne 

masked sun
peeping through the haze
bush fires

Yesterday December 20th was around 36 oC here in Melbourne and hotter in the countryside regions. There was also a strong North wind. This means bushfire weather so across our state people living in the country areas live with caution, listening to radio warnings and watching the sky for signs of smoke. By 4.00 pm a cool change was moving across the state but already there were many fires burning in different places. A large one in ranges 70 kilometres North of Melbourne and a very large one in the Grampian mountains, (Gariwerd Park) By 5.00 pm the cool change from the South West had reached Melbourne, the temperature dropped 15 oC and a blanket of smoke from the fires was drifting with the wind and was covering Melbourne. These images show the sun as we saw it. Today the weather is mild at 22 oC however many fires are still burning and residents of towns in the Grampians, (Gariwerd) are being told to evacuate immediately. Down here in Melbourne the sky is clear and most people get on with their lives. We can only hope the fires can be controlled as we have strong memories and feelings for the environment of Gariwerd.