|
|
Post by Hezz on Oct 30, 2011 3:26:46 GMT
Not quite pets, but I thought I would share with you a little of the wildlife that thinks our backyard is theirs.   Brush turkey. Not the prettiest creature, and great mulch thieves.   Goanna (Lace moniter) We generally have two. An older (in the photo, about 5 feet long) and a smaller about 3-4 feet. |
|
|
|
Post by stace on Oct 30, 2011 3:56:11 GMT
Do those goannas venture in your house, Hezz?
|
|
|
|
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Oct 30, 2011 7:10:18 GMT
Wow you have quite a backyard. I bet there will be a few surprises every day  |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Oct 31, 2011 1:02:21 GMT
Do those goannas venture in your house, Hezz? No. We have screens on everything, otherwise the insects would carry us away at certain times of the year, but it's a bit of a fright to come around the corner of the house and come face to face with 5-6 foot goanna. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 16, 2011 8:04:19 GMT
Our back-yard inhabitants have been a trifle fiesty the last week or two, and while the weather has been making many of us feel tetchy (monsoonal work-up  ), in these cases it has been more about survival: Stand-off between the scrub turkeys and the goanna. This was interesting. I can only assume the turkey has either built a nest or thinking of building a nest (he has stolen all my mulch and moved it completely off-site) and the message to the goanna was: keep moving, buddy! While the goanna didn't put up much of a fight, it was interesting to see the turkey's line of defence........turn your back and scratch everything possible at the goannna!!! Didn't seem to be a great defence tactic to me, but it worked! Goanna moved on, and turkey stopped frantically scratching. The other interesting stand-off has been between butcherbirds and a tawny frog-mouth, a kind of night bird, sort of like an owl. We have had a pair roosting in the trees beside our house for a year or two now but the butcherbirds this year have been nesting there (I think! Babies around now, just flighted) and poor old frog-mouth has been being atttacked by the butchbirds everytime he starts to move around, ie dusk. Three or four evenings this week, I have noticed them scuffling. The butcher birds are about half the size of the frog-mouth, but had the advantage of numbers, around 3-4 to 1. Just hope they haven't injured the poor fella. |
|
|
|
Post by barrieshutt on Dec 16, 2011 9:18:08 GMT
All i have are worms and seagulls
|
|
|
|
Post by BudgiesBuddy on Dec 16, 2011 9:46:50 GMT
All i have are worms and seagulls A lot better than what I have Barrie |
|
Nov 8, 2011 20:55:22 GMT
suejr69
Cruising Cobalt
Posts: 697
|
Post by suejr69 on Dec 16, 2011 12:28:22 GMT
I just have spugies (sparrows) and worms. Nothing interesting like you hezz.
Sue
|
|
Oct 12, 2011 17:32:19 GMT
kwbudgerigars
Normal Violet
W6207 budgerigars
Posts: 226
|
Post by kwbudgerigars on Dec 16, 2011 18:45:09 GMT
All i have are worms and seagulls haha just what i was thinking barrie  not a lot of things get the chance to stay in our garden as the dog chase's anything that moves. |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 17, 2011 1:01:43 GMT
All i have are worms and seagulls And budgies!!!!!  But very interesting watching the territorial play-offs. I would never have thought the turkey would have hunted the goanna, mind you they do have powerful feet and he was kicking up stones, leaves, bit of broken up branches etc. But butcher birds get short shift in my backyard, they can go somewhere else to find a feed. I am a NIMBY regarding them! |
|
Oct 9, 2011 20:22:16 GMT
serz
Cruising Cobalt
Posts: 513
|
Post by serz on Dec 17, 2011 17:16:55 GMT
all i have is pesky slugs in my garden. really jealous
|
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 18, 2011 1:30:28 GMT
It is really nice having so many birds flitting through the yard all the time..... Kookaburras willwag tails sunbirds butcherbirds fig birds Torres Strait Island pidgeons collared doves double-eyed fig parrots cockatoos (black and white) rainbow lorikeets rainbow bee-eaters peewees metalic starlings tawny frogmouth I am sure there are more, just can't think of them......and then there are the butterflies...... Sorry, I am skiting a little, but it is a nice place to be...... |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Jan 22, 2012 1:27:57 GMT
Got a beautiful photo of our resident tawny-frogmouth a couple of days ago. They are a night-bird, check out his camouflaging:  We did have a pair, but lately have only seen the one. |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Jan 22, 2012 1:32:56 GMT
This little beauty was waiting at the front door this morning:   How hairy is he?! |
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Jan 22, 2012 1:44:02 GMT
 Just to give an idea of size - that's centimetres up top, inches on the bottom We liked the added caption "don't run" And a little hard to see, but he looked as though he had gold leaf in lines over his back. He actually sparkled in the sun:  Would love to know what he was going to be after pupation, as I have never run into his type before. |
|
), in these cases it has been more about survival:
