The secretive world of hatchling skinks

Hatchling Penny lizard No 1, 
Casa da Ayre, Belmont, NSW, Australia, 8th January 2017.   

The engine revved wildly before settling to a steady throb as the throttle was pushed from "Start" to "Mow". Two-stroke exhaust stung my nostrils and my dogs ran away, peering out at me from their kennel. I smiled with pride as my backyard transitioned from grass to lawn.  I had to stop numerous times to let minuscule hatchling Penny lizards scamper out of the way.  They are in massive abundance at the moment, and once I was finished mowing, I took a couple of shots of three individual skinks to show the colour variation and just how small they really are.     

Hatchling Penny lizard No 2, with $2 coin for scale. 
Casa da Ayre, Belmont, NSW, Australia, 8th January 2017.  

Close-up of hatchling Penny lizard No 2. 
Casa da Ayre, Belmont, NSW, Australia, 8th January 2017.   

When you are as small and defenseless as a hatchling skink, such as these Penny lizards, Lampropholis delicata, you are on the menu for almost anything.  Predatory insects, spiders, frogs, larger lizards, snakes, birds, marsupial mice, cats - pretty much anything that can fit them in their mouths.  Their main defense seem to be crypsis, because as long as they do not move, they can be very hard to see.  Anecdotally, they seem to be most prevalent in leaf litter and thick grasses - the vibration and noise of the lawn mower flushed thirty or more in our little backyard this morning. 

This is another strategy - the sudden abundance seems to be very co-ordinated this year.  I've never really taken much notice before, but it would be fascinating to investigate if the hatching is timed to overwhelm the predators with sheer numbers of tiny hatchling skinks. Penny lizards are well-known to use communal nests; many females deposit their eggs in the same spot, under a brick or piece of log or timber resting on the ground. If they all hatch at the same time, undoubtedly many will be eaten by predators.  But hopefully not all will be eaten as their predators might be "stuffed-to-the-gills" and simply cannot fit another one in.  

The final line of defense for this species is the ability to shed their tail - properly referred to as autotomy.  The tail will be dropped very readily by hatchling Penny lizards, and will twitch madly for thirty seconds or so, hopefully allowing the skink to escape.  The tail will regenerate eventually, but will never be perfect again.  There will always be a colour and shape difference readily observable in the new tail.     

Close-up of hatchling Penny lizard No 3. 
Casa da Ayre, Belmont, NSW, Australia, 8th January 2017.   

         

The King parrots are back too

A King parrot keeps watch while his mate feeds on the ground. 

King parrot & Rainbow lorrikeets feeding on fallen sunflower heads and spilled seed. 

I breakfasted alfresco-style on the rear verandah this morning, and enjoyed the parade of constantly squabbling Rainbow lorrikeets.  A pair of King parrots soon arrived, aloof and silent rather than adding to the rioting of the Rainbows.  The King parrots are a total contrast to the Rainbows. They are far more cautious, and one usually keeps watch while the other feeds.    

Getting trained by the wildlife . . .

Our friendly Sulphur-crested cockatoo demanding sunflower seeds

One of the great things about Casa da Ayre is our (mostly) native wildlife.  Over the years they have become so used to us that we can usually get very close.    

There was a bit of a raucous shrieking coming from the backyard late on Thursday afternoon.  Our friendly neighbourhood Sulphur crested cockatoo had dropped by and very clearly let me know there wasn't enough sunflower seed in the feeder for his liking.  

Amanda added seed to the feeder 

Happy cocky ! 

How nice is it to be so well accepted by the local wildlife that they are now training us to feed them on demand !   

  

Penny lizards hatchlings

I have always had a very soft spot for "Penny lizards", and watching them transports me back to the happy days of my childhood.  My sister and I used to spend hours observing and catching them at my Grandparents house in Kotara.  Happy days indeed.    

"Penny lizards" are known by many different common names, many of which seemed to be ridiculously contrived and appear in the literature from the 1990's onward.  I will always use the common name "Penny lizard" because it is by far the most apt; they are almost exactly the shade of a old, well-used Australian penny.  Without doubt, Penny lizards are the most commonly observed skinks in the lower Hunter valley, and are prolific throughout the region.  They are actually two species; Lampropholis guichenoti and Lampropholis delicata.  To the layman, they are practically indistinguishable.  We are fortunate to have both species at Casa da Ayre.
 
We returned from our Christmas holidays on Monday, and to my complete delight, there have been hatchling "Penny lizards" seemingly under every piece of ground material, from the hose, to the dog's waterbowl.  I was watching the antics of a couple of them in the backyard while I was enjoying my lunch today.  Happy days are here again.           

Late afternoon visitor

Late afternoon visitor to the bird feeder, 3rd January 2017.  

We've just returned from Christmas holidays to find our dim-witted Spotted turtle-doves are back, dropping nesting material all over the carport.

On a happier note, the sunflowers in the back garden are now at full height, and many have bloomed.  Quite a few of the most mature have had their seed heads chewed off, and we were intrigued to see who the culprits were.  In recent years we've had adult King parrots drop by to sample our sunflowers - they will not visit the feeder for some reason but will munch the seed heads on the growing sunflowers with alacrity.

Sulphur crested cockatoo caught in the act, munching sunflower seed heads.
iPhone photo courtesy Amanda Ayre, January 2017. 

We were happy to find our Sulphur crested cockatoo is back, and he promptly chewed off another seed head before hopping onto the bird feeder for a quick portrait.  It's strange how our dogs completely ignore such a large bird.
          

And they're b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck . . . Dumb and Dumberer

Dumb and Dumberer - Caught in the act !  

I have mentioned we've been having issues with a pair of Spotted turtle-doves attempting to nest on a light in our carport back on 15th November 2016.  It had been going on for several weeks at the time of writing, and had been so annoying that we resorted to blocking the space to physically prevent the birds gaining access.  This worked, and the doves appeared to have focused their efforts elsewhere within a few days.   

My wife & I have been away for our Christmas holidays, and have just returned home.  We'd removed the material from the top of the light before we left, as it looked pretty ugly, and the Spotted turtle-doves had well-and-truly lost interest within a couple of days of blocking the space above the light.  Or so it seemed.  

It's been approximately seven weeks and they are back, trying to build a nest in the same place on top of the fluorescent light.  For the same result - nesting material falls off almost as quickly as they place it.   Le sigh . . .