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 . . .   

New species for Casa da Ayre

We had spent the day sailing on Lake Macquarie, and it had been a particularly perfect day - the weather was lovely, blue skies and a breeze that sighed.  The boat romped in the conditions and we just didn't want to go home.  Of course we did, but we arrived home quite late.  It was well after dark as I started to wash the boat.

Job done, I was rolling up the hose and rounded the side of the house, when the beam of my headtorch revealed an adult Common ringtail possum. It froze, and would have been difficult to see - but she was looking directly at me and her tapeta lucida glowed like lasers.  After a few moments of mutual contemplation, the possum leisurely continued on her way, climbing one of the pine trees in the backyard.    

This brings the number of species of mammal observed at Casa da Ayre to 4.  Adding observations from the other Orders, the all-species list is now 33 as at Sunday 11th December 2016.  


Birds
Rainbow lorikeets 
Eastern rosellas
Scaley-breasted lorikeets 
King parrots
Crested pigeons (Nesting)
Noisy miners
Welcome swallows (Nesting) 
Spotted turtle doves (Nesting, introduced)
Masked lapwings
Black-backed magpies
Laughing kookaburras
Magpie-larks
Pied currawongs
Grey butcherbirds
Pied butcherbirds
Galahs
Little corellas
Dollarbirds
Silver gulls
Blue-faced honey eaters
Australasian Figbird
Eastern koel
Channel-billed cuckoo (seen flying overhead summer/autumn 2013/14, heard Spring 2014)
Tawny frogmouth owls (heard calling)
Indian mynas
Sulphur crested cockatoos.
Fork-tailed kite (27th December 2015)


Amphibians

Striped marsh frogs


Reptiles
Grass skink (Lampropholis delicata)


Mammals

Common Ringtail Possum
Rattus rattus 
Neighbourhood cat (aka feral cat)
Mus musculus

Even the Noisy miners remain . . .

A Noisy miner giving me the evil eye, Basden Theatre,
The Uni of Newcastle, 7th December 2016. 

I attended the annual Geological Survey of NSW "Tech-Talks" presentation at the Uni of Newcastle today.  While wandering the campus that I once knew so well, I was nearly overwhelmed by so many memories of good times and friends.

While the mosquito plagues were absent, most of my old lecturers were still there, just a heck of a lot greyer than I remembered.  The gardens are all mature now and there were Kookaburras and Channel-billed cuckoos in the canopy of the mature Eucalyptus spp.  It was great to see that the kamikaze Noisy miners were still, giving everyone grief.         

When a humpback does it's best mullet impersonation . . .

Humpback pectoral wave

Dad and I made a memory that will last the rest of our lives on Friday 4th November 2016.  I had shouted my Dad a trip to Broughton Island, just north of Port Stephens as a Father's day present, but it had been postponed due to inclement weather.  It was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and about 1 metre of gentle swell.  

We were trundling along in one of Frank Future's red terrors when an adult humpback whale unexpectedly leapt completely out of the water just 500 metres ahead of the boat !  The splash when it landed was tremendous.

Watching a Humpback do it's best impression of a mullet was the last thing we expected to see, especially in Spring, when most of the whales are south-bound and travelling many nautical miles out to sea to ride the East Australian current.  

I had my camera around my neck and once I picked my jaw up off the floor, was able to grab a couple of shots of the whale as it waved a pectoral fin at us, before sounding and disappearing into the deep.

What a remarkable day !  It was the very first time I'd ever set foot on Broughton, and I promised myself that I will sail there before long in my Farr 7500.

Providence Beach, Broughton Island.  Needs a Farr 7500 in the foreground ! 

Rossco photographing Providence Beach, 5th November 2016.  It is simply paradise.