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This time last week I was able to finally witness something I’ve been dreaming of forever: I got to see not one but TWO platypus in the wild!!! I was so lucky to spend five nights in Hobart with @chrissylovetree who is not only an incredible travel buddy but the op shop queen! We had a ball but I was hyper fixated on…
Check out this gorgeous Gould’s Long-Eared Bat that fell -almost- into our laps! I bloody love discovering new local residents especially when I’m not actually looking for them
What a phenomenal start to the week we had. As the rain came and went, first in downpours and then in that light misty fog that just makes everything feel perpetually wet, a Superb Lyrebird ran across the street and dove face first into my neighbour's mulch pile. It hung around digging for quite a while, snatching up…
I've spent a couple of days reacquainting myself with my camera, stalking around by myself - and a few dozen very hungry leeches. The rain has brought out the fungi in so many shapes and sizes. There is absolutely nothing like fungi hunting. The smell of the earth, as the bugs busy themselves, as the leaves fall and…
The world is tough at the moment, life is tough at the moment, so here's 90 seconds of utter adorableness to make your Wednesday better. The tawnies only had one chick this season, but when the chick is this perfect, why waste energy making another? Took this (very shaky) video late November and the chick has already…
Guys! It’s Bugs in My Backyard Week- the first one ever- and I’m not ashamed to say I’m pretty damn excited 😜 If you love citizen science and want to help protect our ‘cutie-crawlies’ this week is for you 🐜🐛🪰🦋🐝🐌🪳🪱🐞🪲🦟🦗 So firstly ‘bugs’ in this setting is just any invertebrate, think: snails, bees, beetles, worms,…
I have the best neighbour - aside from the ridiculously loud parties, revving her motorbike at 5am, the fireworks every Friday night (she does none of these things but I’m just checking if she’s reading along 🤣🤣🤣). I got a text yesterday saying the Diamond Python who made an appearance a week or so ago was back and…
We walked around the #australianbotanicgarden at Mt Annan on a gloomy morning. Nothing could shift my mood. Not the sweetly spiced chai or the pistachio croissant I stole big, flaky pieces of from the husband. And then I spotted this spectacular moth (Yellow-Spotted Epitome) looking as though it was hand crafted from…
This is not an easy watch, but this is the reality of shark nets. Not only are the nets dangerous for marine life, but these incidents also put the humans who attend at risk with this retrieval called off due to worsening conditions. The deceased calf has now washed ashore. #endsharknets #sharknets #whales…
Flies are strangely beautiful. Fight me. #flies #insectsofinstagram #fliesofaustralia #entomology #macrophotography #inmygarden #inmygarden today #backyardzoology
Sometimes I have the best damn luck as far as timing goes. Walked back up the stairs after a visit to the old yellow top recycling bin - another prime wildlife spot for me, believe it or not - to spot these two male jumping spiders facing off. They briefly circled one another before getting into it, legs and fangs…
Our tawnies have moved on. It's kind of strange out the back now and I still look up into their tree, instinctively, each morning and then several times throughout the day. I know they're somewhere across the road amongst the eucalyptus, building their ridiculously terrible nest, getting ready to have babies. I'm…
Fabulous time at @wollongongbotanicgarden for #natureshake today. I’m obsessed with their native bee hive and boy you could tell spring, as well as thousands of stingless bees, was in the air! Those bees made me feel like the most popular gal in town 🐝 #backyardzoology #wollongongbotanicgardens #australiannativebees…
Fabulous time at Wollongong Botanic Garden for #natureshake today. I’m obsessed with their native bee hive and boy you could tell spring, as well as thousands of stingless bees, was in the air! Those bees made me feel like the most popular gal in town 🐝#backyardzoology #wollongongbotanicgarden #stinglessbee…
This time last week we were standing on Yuin Country, watching the amazing antics of the seals along the breakwater at Narooma. Hands down one of my favourite places ever. And that water 😍 #backyardzoology #furseals #seals #naroomaseals #australiarock #narooma #seensw #visitnsw #seeaustralia #yuincountry
Okay okay okay, so this is not an animal-based post but look, when a girl finds THE BIGGEST STICK EVER, she has to share, right? 🤣🤣🤣 I spotted this beauty at Mystery Bay Reserve and funnily enough the (now) second biggest stick I’ve ever found was this time last year at nearby Narooma. What can I say? I’m a stick…
A lovely Bird Dropping Spider (sorry you got lumped with a bad common name, dude) on this rainy day. I actually saw the same little one yesterday and totally expected it to have moved on but nope, it was sitting on the same leaf, in its same position, except that this time it was covered in raindrops. I love these…
This morning the tawnies were in a sunny spot, now they’re sitting in the rain. A day in the life of a bird. #backyardzoology #tawnyfrogmouths #australianbirds #rain #rainasmr
I'm a very hands on Backyard Zoologist. I pick up, turn over and inspect all the things. Which is great until you're in the local park, mid-way through teasing apart what you think is an owl pellet, looking for remnants of bone and fur so you can reverse engineer what the owl had for dinner, only to discover that…
I finally got the husband out to look for whales. Time is weird lately. Matt and I are crossing paths like ships in the night. Okay, one of the ships might be spending hours sitting in the study "working" (she might actually be crocheting) but we haven't been able to tee up a decent amount of time together recently.…
Come whale watching with me! Marvel as I walk across shell covered beaches, clamber over rocks and almost fall to my death into a puddle of literal slime 😬 incredibly thankful that I had on my backpack which stopped my skull getting cracked open on the rocks as I actually fell backwards but also a little pissed at my…
Without a doubt, one of the most incredible wildlife experiences ever today! The Superb Lyrebirds were in full song at Mt Keira. I was lucky enough to watch the most gorgeous male on his dirt podium going through his full vocal repertoire of bird calls (and the metallic sound of the lyrebird itself), his tail inverted…
My emotional support tawnies are back doing what they do best: scaring the crap out of me by disappearing during gale force winds. I mean, it's a perfectly reasonable reaction to assume they're both dead after one day not spotting them, right? RIGHT?! The first thing I do each morning is open the blinds, look up into…
That mission we were on that had us decked out in rain gear during the torrential rains? It was for a great cause. You can read about my find and how local legend David Finlay was able to tick off his fourth glowing fungi species!
Guys, I'm still alive! I'm just rarely on here these days. I have had a fabulous time doing a little fungi hunting locally and I will update on that shortly (between now and 2026 if my current output is anything to go by 🤣) But I did want to drop the link to an article about some of my favourite FREE adventures in…
Cue: Dionne Warwick’s That’s What Friends Are For. 💙 thanks to a message from a friend, pyjama bottoms were ripped off, slippers flew through the air, jeans pulled on and a frantic dash to beat the sunset AND the rising tide was on. . You see, my friend had spotted her very first Blue Dragon Nudibranch at a nearby…
My husband went and turned 50, so to celebrate we decided to try #vanlife on for size! ‘For size’ is probably the best terminology because it turns out that two 50 year old bodies and a dog who enjoys the finer things in life ie is a bit of a bed hog, take up a LOT of room in the small van and Matt discovered he was…
What is it about not trying to scare your partner, that always leads to screams and squeals and mad dashes out of the car, or frantic brushing down of clothes?! Me spotting spider in the car: “don’t panic but you might want to jump out for a sec”. Cue Matt throwing open the door and practically stop, drop and rolling…
Not much of a story with this one but I thought the photos were fun in a creepy, what-the-hell is that? kind of way. Once again, the green waste bin is where all the action is at. I swear I've seen everything on that bin, including a stick insect laying an egg! And once again, it was Matt who made this find. We were…
I have a long relationship with finding nesting turtles at the @wollongongbotanicgarden but this was a very special surprise! Monday I was chasing native bees and after stalking up and down the same path, moving aside for large groups spread right across and spilling over onto the grass and the ride on mower not once…
Summer has been weird. I'm sure it's been essentially the same as every other summer, minus the bushfires but it's felt particularly wet and sticky and my dog is starting to smell and when you pick her up she's a sweaty mess. No judgement, I'm the same, just harder to pick up and carry from room to room. But yesterday…
I heard a lone cicada today. I guess summer is coming to an end. No more mass chorus of cicadas so loud that your ears feel like they will genuinely bleed. No need for noise cancelling headphones to hang out the washing. No shower of cicada pee raining down on you so subtly that you think it's a sun shower and raise…
The first sign that something was happening was one of the tradies shrieking, "Is that a rat?!" We kind of expected something like this, but up until now, there'd been nothing. No snakes, no lizards, no possums. Matt looked down and saw one of the young guys with something small in his hands. I bolted down the stairs,…
Mabel and I sat out on the porch with a chai yesterday afternoon. Well, I had the chai and she cried because she’s decided that my chair is her chair. Anyway. I kept getting buzzed by… something. The day before it was a leaf cutter bee complete with its little rolled circle of freshly cut leaf looking for a hole to…
Let's end the year with one of our fave walks and some of the animals we spotted along the way (you might even spot me in the video too. A very rare sighting indeed 😉) Yesterday was perfect walking weather, not scorching like it has been, a cool enough breeze so that the back sweat was not too gross and lots of…
We haven't seen our Tawny family for a couple of days. Matt had been visiting his folks for around 10 days and missed the rediscovery of the very healthy fam and as soon as he got home, the forest swallowed them up again. I felt so disappointed for him, as I know how much he loved seeing their chunky little bubba…
Want to see into a secret world? Keep watching... Some experiences are really difficult to put into words. So I won't faff about too much with this one. (Oh, alright, you know me, maybe a few words for these lovelies...) We only noticed a tawny on the nest across the road, late into the piece. Suddenly it was there,…
Your kids when they're babies vs when they're teenagers. Look at that attitude 🤣Got a whole story to tell you about these two....
For those who are still looking for the perfect gift... grab yo'self this gorgeous book that I helped write. It's a dream come true for any wildlife/nature lover to be asked to contribute to a book for Australian Geographic. I near about fell off my chair, then I ran around the house screaming and then I panicked but…
Guys, this is old and I need to redo this video (adding to my VERY long to do list) but I just love to share it. If you've never watched a cicada emerge from its exoskeleton it really is an amazingly cool sight and is one of my very favourite things to witness. It's a slow process and patience (and mozzie spray and…
We had planned to go to Barren Grounds. It was more of a plan than I'm used to in that the night before we looked at each other, decided where we would go and I made a note to pack some crackers, cheese and hummus and because I was feeling fancy, some gherkins. I'm not great at following through with plans. I need…
There can be a lot of time between whales, especially as the season is starting to wrap up. And so I've been taking my macro lens with me just in case, because if there's one thing this gal loves, it's having options. After a particularly quiet afternoon I spotted one of my very favourite ants (as in ant species, not…
It's been a long time since I was face to face with not one but two snakes simultaneously (and you lot can get your minds out of the gutter right now!). Happy to report I broke my double-snake drought while we were down the coast. There's loads of dog friendly places down at Bermagui. Beautiful beaches, cafes, pubs;…
I like to tell myself that I focus more on videoing the whales than I do on taking photos because you just can't get a sense of their size and their power through still images alone. But it's really because I'm not a brilliant photographer. I just don't get those sharp images of the jumpy whales that others do. Words…
Matt has been working like crazy the last couple of months. While I've been able to take up some mini adventures again recently (thank you steroids) he's been stuck inside doing worky kind of things. So last night I said, 'tomorrow is all about you. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, I'll make it…
GUYS I'M SO EXCITED - I HELPED BIRTH A BOOK BABY!!! Last year I was asked to write some entries for this absolutely gorgeous book by Australian Geographic, highlighting 75 of Australia's best national parks. It is packed full of information and gorgeous images. Not just the run of the mill stuff either, but details…
There were two amazing, free shows today at Bass Point. The first was this constant barrage of tail slapping by a very happy humpback, just over and over and over. I think most people didn't realise it was going on, so it was my friend and I balancing on the rocks cheering and screaming and just general oohing and…
Today was one of those days where nothing really happened while everything actually did. The whales are starting to head south and we are probably a month off peak season. I knew there was a chance that I'd see nothing today but thanks to the power of steroids I decided I'd risk it anyway. The was a cow and a calf…
Practice, practice, practice. I have discovered that pinning is hard, framing is hard and that I can’t be trusted around glue (yup, smeared all over the frame 😬) #butterflypinning #insectpinning #taxidermy #taxidermyart #butterflyart #backyardzoology
Did you know that if you engage with your fave pages, they’ll come up in your feed more often? At the moment Facebook is really restricting original content- you might have noticed all the sponsored posts and suggested pages instead of the things you want to see. So if you’re seeing this and want to see more BZ, drop…
I turned 50 the other day. The number itself doesn't worry me too much (okay, maybe a tiny bit) but people's perception of me sure does! We had a tradie out here and I know him pretty well now and we joke around a fair bit but jokingly asking for a discount isn't as funny when he replies offering a bloody PENSIONER…
Easy like Friday morning… Had a sneaky wander along Bellambi Beach this morning. I didn’t mean to, but decided last minute to ditch doing the groceries and instead head towards the ocean. Very glad I did as this lovely Pelican posed for a couple of phone pics and a little video. It’s kind of gloomy but still beautiful…
I'm still pinching myself over this one! Now this might be totally ridiculous but I turn 50 this year and I have a whiteboard in my study (okay it's the laundry but there's a computer there and it's not at all distracting working as the washing machine is rumbling away behind you). The whiteboard is usually reserved…
I'm not really sure what's happened but I haven't been taking my camera out recently. Today I was meeting my bestie and I just had this niggling feeling, in the shower where I think all my best thoughts, that I really should chuck the camera in the boot 'just in case'. And for once, when I say chuck, I literally mean…
This afternoon was unexpectedly exciting. One minute I was in my pjs, the next I was racing through the house, shedding clothes as I went, grabbing Matt mid-dinner making. The moment I had been waiting for had come: someone posted on one of the local pages that they had seen Blue Dragons down at the beach. These are…
These Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos have been visiting various trees around the street recently. Matt called me out from my lair the other afternoon (the laundry slash study slash crochet haven) and I was super happy to find one of these birds tearing my neighbour's tree to shreds. The neighbour? She probably wasn't…
I had to share this video with you guys. I have always wanted to see squid and I've been lucky enough recently to snorkel with a couple of small groups. But these guys? Well these guys are my new hands down, stop the presses, drop everything favourites. I've run into a couple of them now. And I do mean run into. Well,…
So funny to think a few weeks ago snorkelling wasn't high on my agenda. Sure, I've snorkelled on holidays and the like but now? I'm obsessed. I even dreamt I was snorkelling last night although the tide was super low and there was, ah, BITS of sting ray in the water. If anyone wants to interpret that, be my guest.…
So after stumbling across our resident tawnies Toni and Tony and their two surprise chicks on Wednesday, I woke up yesterday to find the little family in our backyard! Now I know you're not supposed to anthropomorphise and all that, but I don't care, I'm going for it: those birds thought it was time to show their…
You can read my story about Buttons, the Grey-Headed Flying Fox I posted the other day, and her foster mum Kae at The Illawarra Flame. ***stayed tuned because I have some amazing news about a fabulously exciting find we made today out the front. Can you guess what it might be?***
Don't mind me being a tad quiet on here. Finding socials a bit of a drag what with all the ads and suggested posts and I've instead been throwing myself into learning new skills - I'm currently balls deep in a massive crochet project waaaay beyond my skills but based around the Museum of Natural History which is kind…
Apologies to those who have seen this but it didn’t get shown to many people and it’s too cool to not repost as it's one of my favourite encounters this year! Look, I don't know how you guys spend your nights, but I spend mine on all fours, peering into the drain out the front with a UV light. Glamorous, I know. But…
We did a clean up of our front porch a few weeks ago. When you live in a tiny house, every last centimetre counts. I don't know how but our porch had become the resting place for half used tins of paint, rock hard paintbrushes, boxes of books ready to donate, plates for some reason! It was a mess. Matt came home from…
Well we had an unexpected treat today, and I'm not talking about the box of baked goodies we took to snack on or the horde of ducks, geese, swamp hens and coots that descended on us the second we sat down with said snacks at the Wollongong Botanic Garden. The snacks were expected. I mean, we set aside actual time out…
These photos are from another time, which sounds WAY more dramatic than it is. Maybe a couple of weeks ago. That's the last time I ventured out. Don't you worry though, I have been exploring ALL the places: the bed, the lounge, the front porch with the view of the bush, the back deck, the egg chair on the back deck,…
Got out for a dose of Vitamin Sea yesterday. It was absolutely incredible with pods of active whales pretty much visible at all times, including several at the same time. When you don't know where to look because there's just so much action, you know you've got a good day of whale watching ahead of you! I love the…
If you've been following Backyard Zoology for a while, you probably would have already met this handsome, blue-faced gentleman. It's a new to science species of Jotus jumping spider that I discovered in my backyard around 3 years ago. I originally found him in June (there's a bit more to this story but that's a deep…
Yesterday while driving to the Royal National Park, I listed off all the things I wanted to see. It's been a while and so the list was ah, shall we say, ambitious. But hey, when you're busy manifesting all the good things, go big or go home, right? Echidna, Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo, Whales, Peacock Spider and Lace…
Here's some video from yesterday's White-Bellied Sea Eagle scuffle. Magpies and Currawongs were giving this one a run for his money - but check out the size of his catch (right near the end)! Wish I'd captured him flying away with them in hot pursuit but you can't win them all. White-bellied sea eagle Bass Point
These two make me laugh every time I see them. My morning ritual is to get up, let the dogs out, find where Toni/Tony are roosting for the day, say hello to them by yelling, "Good morning Tonis" and then waiting patiently for Matt to make me a coffee. This is the longest they've hung out in the yard and I just feel so…
I've spent the last few days rock pooling. Alone, with friends, scrambling over rocks, slamming into rocks (oops and ouch!), knee deep, ankle deep, dry as a bone. However I did it, it was always fabulous. There were so many fascinating finds! I tend to post one animal at a time on here but I thought, to give you all a…
Anyone else a clean sheet fanatic? I swear there is NOTHING better than crawling into fresh sheets, still warm from a day drying in the sun. So I was feeling pretty good last night snuggling into bed, clean sheets pulled up and under my chin and under a new, fancy schmancy doona cover. Imagine how good I was NOT…
So I went and turned 49 yesterday. Well that feels ah, interesting! I had originally planned to spend the day in pyjamas watching horror movies and eating cake but the weather turned out beautiful; the rain from the day before had stopped, the wind had died down to nothing, oh and Matt bought me a new lens for my…
I've missed these guys. Kind of knew that today was going to be a bust when it came to whale watching and decided not to do the 'big drive' to our usual spot and instead headed to Port Kembla. Just to show how serious we were taking the whole thing, we even took the puppy with us. We found out how bad an idea that was…
Ever spend a lot of time writing a post only for your entire computer to freeze and the words disappear into the void? Trust me, it was a good post. Every joke a winner and every description on point 🤣 Anyway it basically went: lots of waiting, nearly falling, rock clambering, friend chatting, close whales, more close…
Hello, it's me, this time sans possum! This morning we headed down to Bass Point to try and catch some of the northern migration on the Humpback Highway. Last Monday we walked to Wedding Cake Rock in the Royal National Pod and saw well over 20 pods. It was absolutely incredible. They were further out than we're used…
And here's a short video of the happily reunited mumma and bubba! (If you haven't seen the previous post, scroll back. I tell you, there's never a dull moment around here!)
*sound up* I'm going to miss the bats when they head north. Grey-Headed Flying Fox Northern Illawarra
Thought I'd share a piece I wrote for Australian Geographic Adventure magazine about the incredible Young at Heart kayak program designed to get seniors out and onto the water and run by the super lovely folks at Region X Unspoilt Experiences Batemans Bay NSW. It was such a challenge for me because my body couldn't do…
I bought new jeans the other day. It's been forever and they are the new wide leg style because don't you know skinny jeans are out of farshan, darling. I got them on mega sale and they are deliciously comfortable so I couldn't wait, ripped off the tag and slid my body into them and off I went to Woollies to do the…
There's something about Robber Flies. They kind of look man-made to me. And I love their fuzzy little moustaches, (not quite as luxurious as mine, but lovely all the same). I especially love when they catch another insect, holding them tightly so they can pierce the flesh with their proboscis and fill their prey with…
So yesterday I pulled on the boots for the first time in around six or seven weeks. Due to a new diagnosis I've been trying to avoid the sun the best I can but yeah, that doesn't really work all too well for someone whose job is nature writing! So I slathered on the sun screen, donned my fancy schmancy new hat (it…
Here's a video of the laziest hunt you've ever seen: Dragon vs Jewel Beetles. Note to self: stay very still; only the wigglers get eaten!
It's been a week™️. But proving that once again I'm the luckiest gal in the world, I've been visited by some of my absolute favourites. Matt woke me up from the deepest afternoon nap yesterday. It was stupidly hot, with that steamy heaviness that only summer can bring. I didn't want to open my eyes. I had both dogs…
Okay, I admit it, I heard the quiet calls of "Bunny", but I didn't respond. I wasn't asleep, asleep, but I wasn't awake either. You know that period where you are beyond drifting off, where you can still startle yourself fully awake, but you're not yet dreaming? That's where I was. And that's where I wanted to stay.…
Just wanted to pop in on this gorgeously sunny Christmas Eve, to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We have a couple of new Kookabubbas here and as a result it is NOISY. Bubbas growling for food, maniacal laughing at all hours, a handful of cicadas every now and again for good measure. We also had our first ever…
I finally swallowed my fear of the night and went frogging. Matt and I went early and stood in the bush, and just let the day dissolve around us. It was beautiful. Calm. The forest humming itself to sleep, while the nighttime creatures started calling. Now don't for a second think that we would have done this by…
Guys, it's that time of year again!!! I'll give you a hint... it starts with a 'C'. Yes! It's the most wonderful time of the year: Cicada Season! I LOVE this time of year; balmy nights, perfect for wanders, life just barreling on at a crazy speed. And cicadas, dragging themselves up and out of the dirt to start that…
Gah! I missed Total Bastard Tuesday, or Thursday for that matter. It's been a while since I've posted in that category because bastards have been few on the ground. But then I remembered the largest bastard of them all, the Channel-Billed Cuckoo is loudly making its presence known once again. These birds fly in from…
I absolutely have the deepest respect for those who worked with and for the wildlife after the Black Summer bushfires. It's not something I could face myself. But then add in Covid and now the floods! I spoke to Tracey Storm about the work that Wildlife Stations Shoalhaven did and are continuing to do for our native…
A really fabulous couple of SUNNY days. Wasn't sure what to share but I've gone with the behaviour that just would not replicate for me today, even though I packed the more appropriate lens. Thanks for nothing Nature. Yesterday I headed out to Blackbutt Reserve near Shellharbour which I have never actually been to. At…
I spoke to snake catcher Glen Peacock this week, and turns out his wife used to be afraid of snakes but this year is joining him in catching! 🐍 The Illawarra Flame
Read about the whale tragics, those people whose favourite time of year is whale migration season 🐋🐋🐋
BIRD BINGO! 🐧🐔🐦 Look I know the weather is crappola at the moment, but how about the chance to win an awesome Illawarra guide book by the South Coaster? Every time you spot a bird on the bingo card and yes, you can even let your kids help 😉, snap a pic and post with #flamebirdbingo and The Illawarra Flame and you're…
Well, look who I found today: 'my' new to science spider. Hilarious to think a couple of years ago I was desperately trying to find a specimen to send to a scientist for describing and it took me over THREE MONTHS, and now I can walk around the corner and he's sitting on a fence! I spent ages trying to get this little…
So the echidna I mentioned in my last post (what do you mean you haven't seen the last post?! Scroll back, baby) didn't show it's face. Which is a shame, because I love echidna faces. They are ridiculously adorable, and usually have ants running all over their snout, which for some reason, just makes me love them…
Nicci is a dead set legend, exploring the country while researching some of the most amazing animals. Living the dream 100%
I nearly went snorkelling yesterday. I was THIS close. I had everything packed including my cossies which was where my plan imploded. I didn't want to wear them under my clothes because wearing a one piece is a toilet-going nightmare. (Yes, in my world, mild inconveniences are referred to as nightmares 🤣) But then…
I've been a very bad backyard zoologist. Not in a fifty shades kind of way, but in a not documenting a very cool process happening underneath my nose kind of way. I have a fiddle leaf plant struggling away in my bathroom. I've done the whole day spa aesthetic where you stick your plant in a seagrass basket, but that's…
Another story I’ve recently written, this one for Discover Magazine about the very lovely weedy seadragon and how citizen scientists are being accepted by the scientific world. This is why I’m struggling to get out and do much exploring lately! So busy! That and I’ve learnt to crochet 🧶 😂 And just like that, a new…
I have no business being on rocks. None at all. Especially alone. But there I was today, on rocks, in my 'not to be worn on slippery rocks shoes', by myself, with wind blowing my hair into my eyes and into my mouth and the fluff-lined hood of my jacket blowing into my mouth and into my eyes, so that everything was a…
EDIT: Thanks lovely people for making this the number one story on The Illawarra Flame 🫶 Planning to bring you all lots more stories that you'll love to read 🥶🧊 Where my wild, winter, swimming enthusiasts at? My latest story for The Illawarra Flame. Illawarra Folks - if you’ve got a nature based story you’d like…
You could probably tell by my updated profile pic, that we had snuck away on a little mini break. We got home yesterday to rain, two of the 3 jute mats we own covered in splotches and puddles of dog wee, a pile of washing up, 4 nights worth all hastily washed that morning by my son who was house sitting, no coffee…
I'm back with a bang! Literally, unfortunately. Well, more like, back with a scccrrrraaapppee. That was the sound of me pulling into the car park at the Royal National Park this morning and somehow scraping my car along the car next to me!!! I still don't know how it happened but after a frantic search through my car…
What on Earth Wednesday: I’ve gone full poetry 😉. See if you know what this creature is…
We woke to a loud crashing sound this morning. Never how you want to wake up but particularly unnerving as the owner of a very large backyard gum tree in gale force winds. Thankfully for us, it was just the roof of the neighbour's shed ripping off! And thankfully for them, noone was hurt and the damage stayed firmly…
Ah, memories. This is from the VERY early BZ days and when I was excited about being asked to do an interview on the local news to talk about this encounter. What a stupid, naive media baby I was back then requesting the camera man to not film me bending over and to please not show my double chin(s) - cue a slow-mo…
I love flies. There, I said it. I can remember when I was younger and a blowfly would come inside the house and mum would lose her mind saying it was going to start laying maggots if we didn't get rid of it but she had totally missed the point because that was the BEST bit. Carefully scrunching a tissue up and under…
I know this is Backyard Zoology and not Backyard Mycology but I thought you guys wouldn't mind a change in pace for one post. These are the Ghost Mushrooms that I found growing in our yard after being alerted to a pair of Tawny Frogmouths snoozing in the corner, by a noisy couple of Lewin's Honeyeaters who wouldn't…
Now I don't want to alarm anyone but we've had two consecutive days of full sun and it has been glorious! We're home for Easter this year and really, pretty much every year because we're not huge fans of people. It's been so nice to do a couple of camera walks super close to home even though I've felt the pang of…
The rain here has been relentless, scarily so. Not only has the sky been whited out with the torrential rain much of the day (and all of the night) but there has been a really unnerving rumble from deep within the escarpment, heard somehow over the roar of the rushing and tumbling creek. By 10am I'd pretty much given…
I was woken in the middle night by a god awful noise. I mean, what even was that? Was something scratching at the roof beams? Gnawing at the foundations? Whatever it was, it sounded serious and being the light sleeper that I am, I hauled my tired ass out of bed, flicked on the torch on my phone and set out to do some…
It's that time of the week folks, and this WTF Wednesday is something I had a lot of fun with... until I didn't... but then I did again. This isn't so much about WTF this is but WTF it'll become... and check out the little spin. This thing has better moves than me and I won the dance competition, (okay I tied with…
I'm here with a thousand apologies for my absolute slackness in posting lately. I'm balls deep (I changed that for knees deep not wanting to offend anyone and then thought, 'nah, knees is not deep enough so balls it is 🤣) in my Freelance Writing course. Gah! I am LOVING it. And I'm so excited at the possibility that I…
The Brushtail Possum in our roof has gone quiet. No scratching herself in the day, no clambering out of the roof and stomping noisily over the tin after dark. We’re assuming she’s moved out and frankly I wouldn’t blame her; after recently having a joey there’s a young male who waits for her, just beyond the roof and…
Matt kindly found a few Christmas Spiders for me the other day... with his face. By the sound of his screams, it would seem that he would have just preferred to use his eyes and spotted them the old fashioned way, but I for one was thankful for the newly cleared path. I think anyone who's ever bush walked has run into…
Not saying I’m a Disney Princess, but I did have numerous butterflies land on my outstretched hand (and my hat, and my bag) today 🤷♀️😂🦋
EDIT: Youg guys are the absolute best! And plenty of you got this one while the rest of you had me rolling 🙌 Answer is up now While you’re all out fighting to the death to purchase a RAT, waiting in endless queues for hours for a PCR, I’ll just be over here screaming WTF?! Yes, it’s WTF Wednesday, our first for the…
I promised I’d post, I didn’t say anything about using a real camera 😂🤷♀️ This Christmas Beetle decided to hang out with me (and my torch) last night. Summer nights are the best 🙌
Today’s adventure: still life with Monitor Lace Monitor and Backyard Zoologist 😉 Mt Annan
You know those dreams, the ones where your brain gets stuck on one particular thing because your body is trying to tell you something? I often have toilet dreams where I'm running into various public toilets, busting to pee, but there's no door, or no actual toilet, or there's a window so that everyone can see me. My…
Well would you just look at this cute as a button likely murderer! I mentioned earlier this week that we had Kookabubbas and it looks like there are two young ones. It's hard to keep track of them as they, along with the entire family group, disappear for a day or two, their laughs echoing in the far distance letting…
There are SO many babies around at the moment my ovaries have been having conniptions for days 🙈 Of course I mean babies of the non human variety, which are the best kind if you ask me. Tumbling ducklings and squawking currawongs and oh be still my beating heart, KOOKABUBBAS!!! But today was all about the Magpie…
Today I spotted not one, not two, but three native Teddy Bear Bees all within the space of a couple of minutes hanging around my buddleia flowers. These are my very first native bees of the season and as you can imagine much excitement (and desperation soaked panic) ensued! Now my plant is pretty new and piddly but my…
It's Wednesday so you know what that means: time to ask, "WTF is this?!"
Okay, I SWEAR there is a creature in the photo I posted! Even Matt who was there when I spotted this little guy couldn't find it when he went searching on his ipad! Awesome camouflauge from one of my very, very favourite animals. It takes a while to reveal itself in the video but totally worth watching until the end!…
I thought it was hard enough getting the dogs to go out for a wee during all this rain but it seems that the possum that lives in our freaking roof is also having second thoughts about heading out tonight 😂🙄😂 Brushtail Possum Northern Illawarra
This was 2 years ago now!!! But how could I not share again?! Sometimes I think I'm one of the luckiest gals in the world. Also, it's fun reading back over the encounter, just like being there, which I was but you get the idea 😂
Okay, so firstly and, I should point out, totally and utterly unrelated to the photos, Thursday night I was finally able to tick something off of my bucket list, a thing I have wanted to see FOREVER: bioluminescence!!! And you can probably guess from the lack of the associated photos that I didn't actually get any. I…
Firstly, a spider update! I found another specimen of my spider. This time IN MY HOUSE 🤣 It really just seems like sheer dumb luck that it hadn't been 'discovered' previously. I took a selfie but let's just say posting a photo of me flushed face (with excitement and no pun intended) in front of the toilet pointing at…
This is my exhausted face after spending a couple of hours crawling through the leaf litter, over rocks and through charcoal too by the looks of it and this is the face of the SECOND species of Peacock Spider that we found on the weekend. Not as fancy as the Plumed Peacock Spider from Saturday but this Velvety Peacock…
It's that time of year, Masked Lapwings all locked and loaded, having babies in the most ridiculous of places, their angry 'ka ka ka' call cackling out as they dive bomb unsuspecting dogs and humans. Personally I love them. And their babies really are cute AF! Masked Lapwings Northern Illawarra
This photo pretty much sums up life at mine and makes me laugh every single time I look at it: the husband demonstrating how to do work from home right, in the hammock, fully ugg booted up, my littlest dog Elsie noticing that something has happened long after it's actually happened and some random wildlife encounter…
Okay so these are dodgy phone at night photos but hey, I can't not share with you all one of the newest babies on the block, right?! We actually spotted mumma sans baby a week or so ago. Well, not sans baby as such but walking across the tin roof with a very, VERY full pouch. So let's say, sans visible baby. Matt and…
I'm not keen on surprises. At all. But this one was a good one. Sure it started out a bit WTF and then turned a bit OMG but ended finally with awww. It was a bloody lovely surprise and I didn't stop smiling all day. So, from the top. We decided that it was time to get in and get the deck looking schmiko for Spring.…
I almost missed this gorgeous little Eastern Spinebill. I was overreacting to a pair of Spotted Pardalote that have been moving through our yard every second day or so, snatching at various insects, blending in amongst a flock of teeny, trilling Thornbills and a couple of overly attractive Golden Whistlers. Spotted…
I don't want to alarm anyone but my competitive side has been unlocked by this scavenger hunt. Firstly, you guys are absolutely amazing! Cannot tell you how much I've loved seeing the hearts flowing in ❤️💚💕 Don't stop now, keep 'em coming!!! They're slow to join in over on instagram so I've started to share some of my…
Look, it may still be August but that did not stop me awkwardly recording a video in public to launch our September Scavenger Hunt 🤣 Okay, details: Firstly, this is not just for kids but for the big kids too. I'm 47 and if I can do it, so can you! Each Sunday night, starting tonight, I'll announce the week's theme.…
Sitting here writing about the coming of Spring with the heater on 😂 Trust me, it was deliciously warm last week. And don't just take my word for it. Even the Welcome Swallows were in the nesting mood.
Edit: Answer posted in a new post now What am I and who do I belong to? Now this will probably be an easy one for some of you, but it was one of those things that I saw around quite a bit, but never gave much thought as to who it belonged to. That is until I found the owner a year or so ago and kind of fell in love.…
I had planned this post for WTF Wednesday and now it's Friday, WTF indeed. One of our spinies shed her skin on Monday (Fleur, for those of you playing at home) and while we knew it was coming it was damn stressful! As many of you know, I've spent heaps of nights sitting out in the warm summer air, crickets clicking…
Hoping to head back into the bush this morning to try and get you guys a half decent picture of the owner of this nest (not the owner of this particular one but you get the picture. Or you don't. Which is the reason I'm heading back in). Turns out the Yellow-Throated Scrubwren is my new nemesis in that it's too small,…
Well I just had the most unexpected and ridiculously lovely encounter literally at my front door 🥰. Getting a little video together now but if you need your cockles warmed and a big dose of happiness inducing fluffy overload, check back soon. Wtf Wednesday indeed!!!
Just wanted to say a huge thanks to all the lovely people who commented and reacted to my post yesterday. I swear, we have the best community on the internet here! What a wild ride we're on, huh? 4 more weeks (at least) and no sign of our Dan Murphy's order 😂 I headed into our local patch of bush and far out it felt…
WTF Thursday?!? In these unprecedented, socially distanced times, something about the new normal... things get in the way and that's my excuse for why WTF Wednesday is coming to you on Thursday 😉😂🙌 Well, there was that post about the Southern Right Whales yesterday... and if you haven't had a look, go, go right now,…
Guys, I have no words right now, but they'll come... many, many words 🤣 But I have just had the most incredible Whale encounter of my life and was finally able to tick off seeing an absolutely breathtaking Southern Right Whale AND HER CALF, off my bucket list! I'll post later but first lunch and pain killers and…
So it turns out that the Satin Bowerbird bower that we regularly walk past but haven't bothered to get a real close look at because we're total amateurs, is a DOUBLE BOWER!!! I've never seen one before and thinking back I can't remember even having heard of one either. A massive thank you to my friend Melissa for…
Drum roll please... A massive thank you to Jennifer, Lorelle and Sarah who saved my two spinys from the names I was about to inflict upon them by instead suggesting Petal and Fleur!!! I loved Petal from the second I heard it and Fleur suits the theme and the insect perfectly! There were lots of great names, Bacon…
And just like that, we're back into lockdown! Yes we have placed an order with Dan Murphy's, yes I panic bought chocolate 😂 But this time, instead of eating my feelings, I'm hoping to learn how to sew. What could possibly go wrong? 🤣🤷♀️🤣 Luckily for me, I headed to Wollongong Botanic Garden prior to lockdown and saw…
It has been quite a week. (Just realised it's only Tuesday 😂😳). I have been making sure to spend time outdoors, running out between rain squalls on some days but it is such a noticeable difference mentally when I don't get out there so it's a huge priority for me. Actually I've fallen in love with rock pooling again…
Ever wondered what a crab or fish might see as they're hunted by a very hungry (or in our case, curious) octopus? 🐙 We had an incredible POV experience today where we encountered a very bold octopus with its eyes clearly on the prize. This is underwater footage and it's bloody awesome! Watch to the end to see me…
How was your Sunday? Mine was bloody delicious! Back to one of my favourite places, doing one of my favourite things with one of my favourite people (plus bonus friends, perfect weather and I stayed upright 100% of the time! 🙌). You know how most of the time you don't see Sea Stars move? Trust me, they not only move,…
Did you know that Soldier Crabs are one of the only crab species to walk forwards instead of sideways? Plus they're such cool colours! 🙌 Now, I know that not all of you are loving the new format but this post is one of the reasons why I'm really enjoying it; I absolutely love animal behaviour and it's so nice to be…
Okay, I posted about the lovely little Kestrel we found yesterday. Well, what can I say? I know what I like! Headed out today specifically to find her again and also found a speedo clad fellow. Life is good 😂😉 Photos on the website ⬇️ Come and visit!
I visited the very lovely Minnamurra Rainforest in search of Superb Lyrebirds. If you've never seen a Lyrebird run, check out the included video. Alright, check out the end of the included video 😂 🙌
Happy Mother's Day! And because I love you all, it's a double post kind of day. I know, you're so spoilt 😉 I was lucky enough to see a very loving mother Eastern Grey Kangaroo cleaning her joey while it was snout down in her pouch, feeding it's face and if that doesn't sum up Mother's Day, I don't know what does 😂🦘😂…
Let's try this a different way: new post is up - okay it's my very first 'places' post and I'm squealing with excitement!!! 🙌 It's up on www.backyardzoology.com under PLACES or scroll through BZ on Facebook and click on the link I just posted. Mark Zuck is trying to make this difficult and is severely restricting my…
So many backyard shenanigans at the moment. Things that go bump in the night and then bounce noisily across the deck. I've started putting the night camera out and about again to see what's going on but frankly my skills at guessing the best position have been suspect at best. I headed out last night with the dogs for…
We did this walk on Sunday. How on earth is it Thursday (afternoon) already??? Oh I know, I've spent a good deal of that time in the new shower 😂 And because life is never dull, we noticed a chip in said new shower screen so that was removed today, will get polished and reinstalled tomorrow so yes, we're back to…
It's Thursday and yet here I am doing a WTF Wednesday. I'm four weeks into showering outside in the dark so trust me, the old rules no longer apply! I won't be asking WTF this critter is. Like, I said, the old rules are gone. I'm going to tell you what it is straight off the bat and I'm sure, if you're anything like…
Well, I disappeared there for a hot minute, didn't I?! We've been living in a bit of a blur here, if by 'blur' I mean, surrounded by boxes and renovation mess, which I do. We've also been showering outside which is both amazing and annoying as all hell. Think: having to shower in the dark so the neighbours can't see…
These Southern Leaf-Tailed Geckos are the reason I can't just grab my bin and drag it down the driveway like I want to. While all of the literature states that these guys shelter in crevices during the day, at my house they choose to sleep the day away UNDER our bins. Now, you never can tell which of the three bins…
The Eastern Spinebills are so used to us now, lazing around or working or reading or chatting next to the little garden patch, that they no longer even think twice about flying in, their wings making that gentle clapping sound they do, and feeding on the salvia. Like little humming birds they hover allowing their…
Today was all sorts of serendipitous awesomeness. You know, when you get all the good finds even though you weren't looking 🙌 It all started with the frantic hissing of a young Satin Bowerbird and ended with a frog in the meter box. However like any tale on here, there is no quick, straight line to the conclusion so…
Hey! It’s Wednesday and you all know what that means... time to raise your eyes to the heavens and scream WTF!!!! So, I ask you, good people of the internet... wtf is this?
I mentioned yesterday about an unexpected visitor (thankfully, not of the human variety). There's been a lot of commotion from the local Kookaburras lately. They're territorial birds so they're always laughing and hooting away, yes hooting, as in almost like a chimpanzee! It's the strangest sound. Anyway, I learnt the…
I don’t usually share posts from other pages but look at this beautiful, playful calico cat!!!My beautiful sister in law Mell puts her entire heart and soul into caring for foster cats and kittens in need and the beautiful Lucy has just had her own babies and watching her care for her bubbas on Mell’s page has been…
Is it Wednesday? It is, isn't it? 😳 Between the dead air between Christmas and New Years and then the Australia Day public holiday falling on a Tuesday and the husband still working from home, I honestly don't even know who I am anymore. It's a bit late for a WTF Wednesday then. And by 'a bit late' I don't mean…
For those of you who have been following since October last year, you'll understand just how amazing we feel right now. For those who are new, some context. We had the most gorgeous Tawny Frogmouth, Tony, who spent a lot of time in our backyard, snoozing in a couple of different trees, giving us death stares as we…
So the WTF Wednesday animal is... an Umbrella Snail (or slug). I didn’t even know these things existed! It was unearthed during yesterday’s rock platform wander and you know when you see something and you’re turning the image around in your brain trying to work out what it is and it’s not until you actually get up…
So I normally don't post the same species two days/posts in a row because if you're anything like me, you have the attention span of a toddler. At a birthday party. Who's already eaten the lolly bag and has found the cake. I need new things to see and new behaviours to learn about to keep me happy. BUT when the…
It's always about being in the right place at the right time and even though I haven't been posting this week - ummm, where did the first week of the new year go? - I've still been trying to get out amongst it despite the rain, the never ending ear piercing shriek of cicadas and various board games and snoozes. And…
Christmas Eve Eve and I'm willing to bet that I am far from being the only one not even nearly feeling the Christmas spirit. But the world keeps turning and the Kookabubbas - yes, there's more than one! We have two! - came and sat in nice and close to our porch and whinged to their family to feed them already. Their…
Welcome to a late and if I'm honest, kind of last minute WTF Wednesday or as I like to call it, 'better late than never so no complaining' 😉 Catchy right? Okay, I'm making this one easy for you. No guessing required but I'm sure there'll be a few of you exclaiming WTF as you scroll through the pics. I didn't even know…
I’m telling you, these warm nights are hitting me right in the feels. Between the Micro Bats that flit frantically over our roof as the sun sets, the Garden Orb Weavers all building their webs simultaneously, stretched between trees exactly at face height, Peron’s Tree Frogs cackling away and the Possums stomping…
New people have moved in up the road. I haven't met them yet and am not entirely sure how to break it to them that I spend a lot of time popping out from the depths of the forest straight across from their house, camera in hand, head to toe in sleepwear. And not always in the daylight either. Add in a torch and the…
I know some of you are probably sick to death of Cicadas at this point but #sorrynotsorrry! I mean, firstly, there's got to be some benefit to running a page like this day in, day out meaning I get to choose the content and secondly Facebook is restricting the hell out of my reach and videos are restricted even more…
It's Wednesday and you know what that means! So, let's all join together, hold hands and scream to the sky "WTF?!" (Doesn't that feel better?!) 😂 I have the husband to thank for this one and because he's totally lovely he spent a bit of time digging in the leaf litter in the gutter to grab this to show me. He was also…
Well this little bugger scared the absolute bejesus out of me today! I decided to hang around the house and do sweet FA although I did get into real clothes at one point and back into my pyjamas not too long after that. We very occasionally have Eastern Water Dragons in the backyard but most of them are smart enough…
At the moment, it feels like I'm marking time until I can put up my Christmas tree 😂 I used to love, love, love Christmas, there was a bit of a wobble last year and I swore I'd never celebrate again, but just the thought of my tree with its twinkly lights and pink glitter tips has me shaking with excitement and I'm…
Well I'm a very happy gal today and not just because it's Friday and Friday equals Friday Night Fun (ie wine) even though we happened to also have Wednesday Night Fun this week. Don't judge. It's been a long week 😉 But just on dusk yesterday, I heard it fire up. It's one of those sounds that some summers I absolutely…
Had a VERY quick trip to The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan but it turned out to be just what we needed. I feel sorry for the husband when I do these mini trips during the week. I always come home with stories of amazing animal encounters often showing him my photos while singing songs like 'she works hard for…
Guys I’m so sorry but I have more awful news. We headed out to see if we could spot the warbling Lyrebird and I found a mess of adult Tawny feathers, including quite a lot up a tree and bone fragments just underneath that, a few houses down. I had heard that the Flying Foxes have returned and I suspect that the…
And this is why you can't just walk around looking up at the birds all the time! A couple of days ago, I was standing in the middle of the road, staring up to see if there was any movement on the Tawny nest, as you do, and thankfully took a minute to cast my eyes downwards because right there, smack bang in the middle…
Well, there’s NEVER a dull moment here! Last night, after the rain had died down and we had settled in for a little bit of entertainment delivered via one of many streaming services and the puppers very finally quiet and sleepy and we’d eaten and were now moving onto some ice cream based fun, there was a noise at the…
Ummmm, so Christmas is stupidly close! Here's your not so subtle reminder that I have a RedBubble store with lots of goodies for all the lovelies (and not so lovelies 😉) in your life - notebooks, pencil cases, bags, masks, coasters, cards, travel mugs, pins, cushions, phone cases, a bit of everything! When you go to…
I thought I'd beat the Christmas crowds by doing a quick Kmart run this morning, you know, considering it's only part way through October. Spoiler alert: I did not beat the Christmas crowds!!! 😳 I really haven't been going out into the world much at all. Nature doesn't count. That's the world, world. I mean, into…
Some days don't work out, but in the best possible way. We headed out this morning to search for whales as Matt hasn't had too many up close and personal experiences this season but the ocean was still and quiet, on the surface at least and neither of us really had the staying power today for some reason. We wandered…
There are babies galore absolutely everywhere around here at the moment and some are very close to home! (And no, I don't mean that I'm pregnant. That's just my COVID 19 additional kilos. And probably then some if I'm honest 😂😉) I've waited a couple of weeks to share this because I'm a tad superstitious - actually I'm…
Not going to lie, today was all kinds of weird. Pyjamas by 12:30, pain killers and so many journalists! I was thinking that this must be what life feels like when you go on something like Love Island but then I looked at my body in the mirror and thought that Love Island wouldn't be the show for my anyway. I then…
A bit of press about the new to science Jumping Spider I found in my backyard. If you’ve been following this page for a couple of years, you would have been introduced to him about 18 months ago when I found him eating a bug on my recycling bin, not knowing just how special he was! Fast forward to early June this year…
I had one mission in mind when I woke up yesterday: to find the Rainbow Bee-Eaters now that they've returned for the summer breeding season to the Napean River. It's a fair whack of a drive and after standing at their 'usual' spot for almost an hour which just happens to feature a dead tree nice and close that they…
Well, I am all worded out. This is a rare occurrence so my best advice would be to savour it. When Matt first moved in, things were still VERY new, we were still getting to know each other (what can I say? We move fast) and over dinner he actually said to me, "You know you don't need to talk all the time, right?" Oh,…
It’s my favourite day of the week!!! (Unless I have nothing to share with you guys and then it’s just bin day 😂) Welcome to another WTF Wednesday 🙌 Okay, so I have to ask, WTF is this? This one had us really scratching our heads and I sorta have an answer but it’s not definitive, so all ideas welcome below ⬇️
I went looking for Koalas again this morning. I'm sure I don't need to point out that I was unsuccessful but come on, these guys are an AMAZING substitute! I had actually stomped around the Dharawal National Park looking for interesting critters and could hear these guys calling somewhere in the distance but it wasn't…
(If you want to hear what a Ringtail Possum sounds like, just scoot to the end and sound up) I know it's going to be hard to see any real detail in this video especially when you're watching on your phones and to be honest, I almost didn't bother posting. BUT the behaviour is pretty fascinating I think, and I love…
And just like that, it's spring! As in, all the animals from all the land congregating in our tiny backyard and getting down to some serious David Attenborough style shit!!! 😂 Tawny Frogmouths launching off branches and grabbing insects off of tree trunks, a chubby Brushtail Possum noisily dragging itself in and out…
Yesterday I gave you guys ducklings, so today is all about me. No really. ALL about me 😂😉Folks who have been following for a while know that I'm a little bit addicted to time lapse and a LOT addicted to time lapse footage of Sea Stars, especiallly these Carpet Sea Stars which come in such a gorgeous array of colours.…
Well, that's another WTF Wednesday done and dusted - thank you for playing along and letting me go wild in the GIF section! These lovely spiders build a zig zag cross in their webs, most of the time, occasionally just one line or in this case none. The young spiders build a hilarious looking zig zagging messy circle.…
We took a road less travelled yesterday ie we veered off the bike path, not far off even, still being able to see the bikes and people passing by, through the trees. I know, a pair of total adventurers 😂 But we did stumble upon five Little Pied Cormorants, who were far enough from everyone to sit quietly on a…
Gah! I'm just getting in, in time - Happy Wrensday folks! Not going to lie, I prefer WTF Wednesday but everything has been pretty above board and not particularly WTF worthy this week so apologies for my boring finds 😂😉 Still, I know how many of you love these boys and far out are they all out and about and in full…
We've had a Huntsman Spider move into the house. By saying 'moved in' it implies that the spider made the decision to choose our house, gather all of its things together and actually move in. I'm implying that because that's exactly what happened. I like spiders. All of them except for Huntsman, which after having one…
Me: Watching butterflies float and flutter and swirl through the air is ridiculously beautiful and relaxing. Also me: Sweet mother of God, he's trying to put what where?!?!?! I had one of those need to get out of the house kind of days and considering it was gorgeous and sunny, albeit a tad chilly, and the next few…
Today was supposed to be filled with adventuring out in the world but after waking up feeling a bit rubbish and spending the morning in bed reading, we ended the day 3 steps away, literally, on the deck in the sun surrounded by all the creatures. And it was perfect. Found this little lady with her freshly caught prey…
Remember that detox I mentioned a few weeks ago? Well, it's the beginning of week four and I'm still going strong even though I seriously considered sticking my tongue between the golden stream of syrupy honey that was drizzling out of the bottle mid air, the light catching it at certain angles and the cup of tea I…
Let's just say that the last few days have been very frustrating. I don't do frustrating well. I do frustrating with a side of tantrums, not big ones, but tantrums all the same and sometimes tears. But I'm a stubborn cow and I don't give up, as much as I might want to and oh how I have wanted to! And so, cue extended…
I had big plans this morning to get my hands wet and my heart happy by doing some rock pooling. I checked the tides, laced up my boots, packed my gear and sent some Kanye West through the car stereo because there’s nothing as satisfying as being a 46 year rapping along about bitches and hoes. As soon as I pulled into…
Continuing to focus on my health and accidentally walked 5km today 😂 I just felt so good and with an unusual amount of energy and with both hips working today, I thought why the hell not? You know when you turn around and start the walk back and you're feeling great and feeling great and feeling great ... until you're…
Been a weird few days, not gonna lie. I actually made this time lapse vid maybe a week ago but I kind of love how this little Dwarf Cushion Star is just doing its own thing, probably snacking on some algae film as it makes its merry way round and about this super shallow rock pool. It's like looking inside my brain -…
Gah! Half way through Wednesday and I had forgotten all about this but the WTF gods were smiling down on us and presented me with this little 'something' for WTF Wednesday! 🙌 So, I ask you, WTF is this? I'll post the answer later today!
I first got tipped off that one of my favourite birds was in our backyard by Matt's subtle exclamation,"Holy crap! Look at that bright green bird!" 😂 Ah, my love, the hint is in the description - that would be the Green Catbird, you know that one that sounds like a cat being strangled first thing in the morning? I…
Oh, this? Just a couple of Hermit Crabs feeding their faces 😂😍 I had a massage today. I’d had a gift voucher since last year and now everything is open again and not feeling particularly COVID-y locally, I decided that the time was right. I got my temperature taken on the way in which is a first for me and had me in…
You may not know this but when a female, human adult finds themselves in the presence of an octopus, their vocal chords loosen and extend, rendering them incapable of saying anything other than a warbled attempt at labelling the animal. It also causes adult males to freeze instead of lifting the phone to TAKE A DAMN…
So about 9 hours ago I was freshly showered, newly caffeinated and about 3 sentences into this post. And then it started to rain quite heavily and I shut my computer, went and climbed back into my pyjamas and instead pulled out a book. I find it stupidly difficult to relax and as a result I have so many books on the…
This young Australian Magpie caught itself a lively skink and by lively I mean still wriggling and bouncing around well after it had been caught and carried around in the Magpie's bill. Now, I expected to see that skink struggle but it didn't seem like this youngster did. At all! It went from strutting around with its…
It's whale season!!! How do I know? Well I haven't seen any yet and my Facebook memories are filled with tortured posts of days spent at headlands spotting nothing that's how! 😂😂😂 Hopefully the billionth time is the charm 😉 I should make a t-shirt that says, 'I waited for whales and all I got was this lousy Nankeen…
I always appreciate sexy with a shot of funny and this bird has it in spades - a totally handsome looking bird, until you get in nice and close and you catch a glimpse of those eyebrows and that bill 😂🙌😂 They always look like you've just told them a joke and they either love it and can't stop laughing or they hate it…
I swear it's impossible, absolutely totally and utterly impossible for me to eat anymore sugar. I don't know what that's all about but what I can say, is that I make a mean chocolate caramel slice. And honey biscuits. Oh and apple crumble. I should point out that me saying that I can't eat anymore sugar doesn't mean…
Not gonna lie, this post in just a filler until tomorrow's which I'm very excited about. I mean, who doesn't love a WTF Wednesday?! But in the mean time, there's ummm, Tuesday I guess 😂 And that pretty much sums up today. It was good. The end. Nothing overly exciting. Sunny weather down at the beach, a smattering of…
A few things have happened over the last couple of nights. I made the world's best roast, hands down. This is normally Matt's area of expertise and it felt good to shove him back into second place behind me in yet another area 😂 Then last night he 'tried' to replicate my famous (well, famous to me) apple crumble and…
Annnnd.... we have success!!! My little trail cam finally did what it said on the box and delivered me the goods. Well, some goods, but goods all the same. Turns out I didn't need to climb onto the chair to strap the camera to the top of the umbrella on the deck after all. As I wandered out this morning, still bleary…
I know you guys are a sucker for a Superb Fairy-Wren and check out the attitude on this little man! I'm feeling in a particularly shitty mood this afternoon so I thought I'd start the photos with this gratuitous arse shot 😂 It's been an, ah, interesting end to the week and that first photo pretty much sums up my…
I posted the video of the Powerful Owl the other night, so I thought it only fair that I post some photos of their favourite food! 😲😲😲 Alas, it's true, the gorgeous Ringtail Possum is number one on the P'Owls meal of choice and will often be seen sans head, dangling from the owl's talons during the day - a pretty…
Okay. You guys know I normally share everything with you. It could even be argued that I often over share 😂. But sometimes, just sometimes I have to keep things on the down low. And this is one of those times. It's not everyday that you get to see such a special bird, Australia's largest owl, an owl classified as…
Okay, it’s WTF Wednesday but this one’s a little different - WTF made these tracks? I’ll post the answer later today 🙌
Today there was a weird cloud. Yup, that's what passes for fun these days 😂 Actually it was strange and beautiful which is always a great combo and I did really appreciate seeing it but damn, life is super strange right now! Still, have a few Jumping Spiders around which are always fun to photograph. This little…
Mother's Day is coming up on the 10th May. Matt and I actually got married not only on Mother's Day 13 years ago but on the grand final of Eurovision. Talk about all the big events on the one day 😂 I kind of feel a bit ridiculous putting this out there right now with the world being as it currently is, but hey, just…
Ah, about last night. We were woken not once, not twice but three freaking times (and trust me I wrote something other than freaking but deleted it because I'm practicing being a better human 😂😂😂) by the ear piercing screech of the smoke alarm. No smoke of course. I probably just breathed out too heavily. But once you…
Bored in isolation? May I suggest these two options as demonstrated by a couple of native bees I came across yesterday: eat or do something that isn't eating and involves legs going everywhere 😉😂 I was minding my own business taking photos of a lovely Lipotriches Bee feeding on a daisy and she looked so damn cute as…
Today we had sun. Gale force winds but sun. And if you thought I was going to miss the opportunity for getting out and about in that delicious warmth and just revel in the great outdoors, you don't know me at all. So I walked 100 metres down the road 😂😂😂 Thankfully for me, I came across this gorgeous little Jumping…
Firstly, there's lots going on here. And by here I mean in the very close proximity of my house and a couple of metres either side of the house. I'm just struggling to find words so forgive the pause in transmission. But life is most certainly kicking on in the way that life kicks on ie critters eating critters and…
So it seems I’ve been away for a while! Honestly, I was just over here, quietly unravelling. Spent a few days crying and yesterday Matt told me I had to eat. This has never happened in the almost 13 years of our marriage. This girl does not need to be told to eat 😂🙌 But yeah, loads of tears and meltdowns. I’m sure…
For those of you who have seen the post of the Superb Fairy-Wren I posted this afternoon losing his breeding plumage and don’t know what they look like ‘fully dressed’, thought I’d reshare this video I made earlier this year. For those of you who have already seen it, I think it’s always worth another watch 😉
Well, this little guy made my entire week and it's only Wednesday! Actually, I spotted him (her?) by chance yesterday from out the bathroom window, a little flash of movement just out from my little side garden and of course, ran out, on tippy toes, like the delicate fairy that I am and promptly made such a noise that…
I don't want to alarm anyone, but I'm pretty sure I have the coronavirus. I have a temperature. I always run fairly hot (amiright, boys?) but considering the world at the moment, I figure it's best to assume the worst. Not to worry though, I always buy toilet paper in bulk so we are set 😉 Seriously though, this time…
I don't know how you spent your night last night, but I spent it making the dreams of my 11 year old self come true, drinking sugary sweet frozen cocktails (okay, that was my 18 year old self) and dancing and singing the night away with A-ha at their Sydney gig! Well, when I say with, I guess I mean at them, from…
I feel like I owe you guys some bird photos. Yeah, ah, about that. I'm not even taking out the long lens most days. I'm obsessed with the little things at the moment. Bees particularly. Other insects often. Baking also. But as I know a lot of you came onboard through bird pics and I just happen to be currently…
I took myself down to the rock pools this morning. It has been forever but I needed to breathe that salty air, to hear those waves crashing and of course to find some interesting critters. But my head was most definitely not in the game today and I took myself, my uncoordinated self down there, onto the slippery, wet,…
I think this is the first time I've ever featured a Silvereye on here. They're pretty little birds, often too fast for me, one minute nicking berries and grabbing at insects and the next swallowed up by the shrubs they are bouncing around. But, well, they just seem a bit boring for some reason. I mean, I don't have…
Okay, a little video featuring some of the grooming and general argy bargy as the Lipotriches Bees settle in for the evening. I’ve done a pretty poor job of showing how many bees there were but it gives you a bit of an idea as to all the hustle and bustle going on. I would have loved to go back later this afternoon…
I'm not kidding when I say today had it all! Although full disclosure I did wake up at 4am so there were definitely enough hours for all the things to happen! But I'm talking everything from standing under thousands of bats heading home through cloudy skies at dawn through to a very unexpected, young Diamond Python…
Ocean, slow motion fairy-wren, bouncing, hopping, shaking, slipping. What more do you need? Happy Wrensday!!! Superb Fairy-Wren Towradgi
So this morning ended up being in complete contrast to yesterday which we spent in the ocean. I thought the dip was completely relaxing and said as much to Matt as we bobbed around. His response? "Relaxing? I'm exhausted from trying to walk along the bottom using just my hands." My husband, ladies and gentlemen 😂🙌…
I can hear the Green Catbirds meowing and tinking away in the neighbour's yard. They always start nice and early and often end up in our front yard, resting, scratching and knicking berries from the palm. I've been trying for a couple of days now to get half decent photos but the light's been very bright and shiny,…
I set my alarm for nice and early this morning. A Sunday. Australia Day. A day with absolutely zero need to be up at the crack of dawn but what can I say? I like to keep everyone guessing 😂 The benefit was of course, aside from a leisurely microwave latte (trust me, it's a thing, a good thing) and some homemade banana…
It was stupidly hot yesterday. Nudging, and possibly bubbling over 40 degrees. Just how uncomfortable it was, was demonstrated by our garage Brushtail Possum who had pulled up stumps and moved to sleep in the tree outside! But it made for a lively night walk with me spotting possum (side tree), possum (eating the…
I've got a feeling that this is one of those you either love it or hate it videos. And it's definitely not going to be top of the list for the arachnophobes out there but what a sighting and one I have to thank my lovely husband for! We spotted some suspicious diggings out the front yard yesterday morning and suspect…
First things first. This morning we were woken up by ridiculously loud thunder. You know the type that's a flash and a bang all at once and rattles the windows and makes you clench up instinctively because that will totally save you when you're inevitably struck by lightening? And after a dry day we've just had…
I woke up to rain yesterday. Not a lot but it was still nice to hear. Today is a combination of smoky air and overcast sky and I'm hoping that we get some more of that rain falling before the day ends. We've had a quiet weekend so far and I don't expect that to change, which is fine by me. I baked first thing…
So this little critter caused almost all out war between the husband and I a couple of weekends ago. We hadn't had much luck getting photos all day so I suggested that we head out with our macro lenses knowing full well, Matt hasn't quite got his head around the ins and outs of macro photography and while I think his…
So guys, I didn't want to leave you all with just today's depressing post. That's not how we do things around here and by we I mean me and speaking of 'we' can I get a round of applause for the husband who made amazing veggie burgers tonight OUT OF A RECIPE BOOK and now he thinks he's on bloody Masterchef! 😂🙌😂 One of…
They say to start the new year as you wish to continue. So I ah, had a unicorn cornetto (do not recommend), took a photo with my phone of some random dude's echidna tattoo (wasn't on silent mode and I'm pretty sure he heard the shutter and certainly saw a blur as I rushed past giggling to my husband waiting at the…
Not gonna lie, I spent a good whack of Christmas night bawling my eyes out. Even though we have been doing shared care with my son's dad for over 13 years, Christmas doesn't get any easier and as I dropped my boy off I felt a big, fat lump lodge itself in my throat and refuse to move. We've also had a stressful few…
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!!! What a way to finish a stupidly busy day of shopping and driving and picking up kids and cakes and cooking and not finishing cooking and feeling completely unchrismassy which is totally unlike myself who is a massive Christmas fan or was because I'm not going to lie I'm not quite feeling it…
Husband: Come quick! I found a new spider in the shower! Look at its interesting back. Me: *runs screaming ... for camera So this lovely young lady was hanging under the lip of our mop bucket which due to the ridiculous size of our house and the fact that Matt uses our laundry for an office is often in the shower with…
Okay, after sharing the video of my favourite total bastard last night, I realised that many of you haven't seen the tiny Cuckoo Wasp in the wild before. It's really difficult to tell from the footage just how glittery and stunning this bastard actually is. Now I don't want you all to think that I go risking life and…
I love when I get rewarded for doing house stuff! Heading down to the bin and found this stunning insect just hanging out on the side of the house. I had pretty much no idea what it was, except that it looked shield bug-ish and had the good manners to match very nicely with my house's dodgy colour scheme. Turns out…
We spent our weekend knee deep in dirt and mulch and various sticks and twigs and leaves and vines. It was better than it sounds though! We are pretty slack when it comes to our yard. It's not that we don't give a damn, but that it's just become so overwhelming and literally a dust bucket and when you could either a/…
There is so much happening here, I don't know where to start! But this afternoon contained a lovely surprise so I guess there is as good a place as any. So I've mentioned about my little garden that has attracted all manner of critters and makes me totally and ridiculously happy. I got home around lunch after a very…
I think one of the reasons I love watching a Cicada moult into adulthood so much, is that it's just the ultimate transformation, right? They crawl up out of the dirt after years living underground, their exoskeleton hard and brown and once they shrug off that old skin, they emerge soft and fresh and new and just so…
It was a very bad day to be a Cicada today! The last couple of nights we've heard one or two Cicadas starting up, sounding not quite as summery as they do when there are loads all singing at once, but it was a nice little reminder all the same, of nights soon to be spent on the deck watching the bats fly in and…
Thought you guys might enjoy a very quick glimpse of some Blue-Banded Bee activity going on in the garden this afternoon. The video is actually quite steady because I was sitting down in the new chairs and, because I am totally fancy AF and a total whiz with technology, I've also incorporated a slow motion bit so you…
Not going to lie, today didn't start out great. I've been working really hard on trying to get my pain and fatigue levels under control and have been eating super well, drinking a lot less (RIP fun me 😂) and trying to walk more, stretch and basically be a better owner of my body. But you know what, this body of mine…
Thought I'd give you all an update on the Grey Butcherbird family that was nesting just across the road. The babies fledged just before I headed away and over the few days after fledging, they moved deeper and deeper into the bush until I couldn't see them or hear them anymore. I pretty much thought that was that and…
So yesterday was a day of amazing returns - not only did Tony the Tawny turn up in our tree again, after being missing for weeks, but the husband returned from two weeks overseas. I was very happy to see Tony and very, VERY excited to see Matt. The bed is ridiculously squishy again with us all in there (including the…
And just like that, we're home! 5 amazing days in Melbourne including a cheeky trip to Phillip Island, down the Great Ocean Road and to one too many patisseries! Many of you know about my horrific fear of flying which has me avoiding planes wherever I can. Getting to Melbourne on the overnight train though is easy,…
I didn't really go out adventuring this weekend but regardless there were animals everywhere. Brushtail possums with very full (read: overflowing) pouches and Ringtails with twins, the comings and goings of unseen Bandicoots, a young Eastern Water Dragon huffing and puffing and scurrying through the leaf litter…
And just like that, three out of the four Grey Butcherbird nestlings have fledged! The fourth, the runt I guess, is still in the nest and the parents are flat out delivering food to that bubba, and to the others spread throughout the branches of the tree next to it. Even though the nest has been looking more and more…
These are not the Rainbow Bee-Eaters I was hoping for but I have to admit Sacred Kingfishers are a pretty good consolation prize. Took these photos a couple of weeks ago and promptly forgot about them. But at the time as we were searching for these beauties I was pretty damn excited when we finally stumbled across…
If I had to narrow down THE sound that represents home to me, it would be the various calls of the Eastern Yellow Robin. Most often it is the first bird I hear in the morning and the last at night, generally beating the Kookaburras and the Cockatoos. In a way, their call has this sombreness to it, but I think that's…
Not going to lie, I have a big fat case of writer's block. You guys loved the snakes. I mean, LOVED the snakes and there's a bucket load of new followers on here (oh, hey, I'm Amanda 🙂) and I fear that those new people may be expecting snake quality posts all the time. You lot who've been here for ages know this page…
We headed down to Bass Point in the hope of getting husband his first decent Humpback sighting of the season. As soon as we pulled up there were a few puffs so I was feeling pretty damn confident for him. Unfortunately we didn't get great sightings, well I didn't, for a couple of reasons. One, the whales tended to…
I usually dread today. Eleven years ago my dad died. The older I get the more aspects of him I see in myself so today is usually pretty awful. But I woke up feeling surprisingly good and went about doing all those morning things like paying bills, and drinking coffee that's gone cold as you're paying bills and…
The last few days have been so damn good here. Firstly, the kitchen is pretty much completed so no more tradies pooing in my toilet! Can I get a hell yeah?! I may have broken one of my toes this morning accidently kicking the crap out of it on a new step stool as I was admiring the baby pink tiles but totally worth it…
Sometimes I think I’m the luckiest girl in the world... and then something ridiculously wonderful happens and I realise I never knew just how lucky. I have to give a massive shout out to Lorna Hobbs who has been following this page for a while and who is an incredibly talented sculptor. After reading my little,…
I not only left the house today but I also stayed out of my pyjamas until 3:30PM. I am the miracle we all need right now 😂 Not only did I leave the house, but I left the local area and headed up to Mt Annan to the botanic gardens there, a place I absolutely love and wasn't disappointed. I kind of got stuck trying to…
After two days of torrential rain we have sun, which is absolutely perfect timing as our kitchen floor (and to the back of our cottage) was being tiled today. That does include the toilet area so I have been making a few trips to the library today to ah, enjoy their full range of facilities ie the toilets and we are…
I ended up with a little bit of free time today. I have been waiting for exactly this moment! So what did I do? Oh, I upended a tin of paint all over the floorboards (thankfully the old waiting to be tiled boards), said, "F*** it, I'm going to Kmart" and then instead ended up at Hill 60 looking for whales. My heart…
Now I don't want to boast, but today I made a GIF 😂🙌 For someone that is easily distracted and even more easily bored, let me tell you, this is a bloody huge achievement. But truth is, I'm supposed to be finishing off a clean up and pack up of our old kitchen, in preparation for it being pulled out tomorrow and…
It's been a brilliant few days here with loads of animal comings and goings. After not seeing the Tawny for a day or two, he suddenly reappeared and we've kind of ended up naming him because it's much easier to throw a name in a sentence than to say something about the semi regular Tawny Frogmouth. As an example: "Oh,…
In a case of pretty much perfect timing, yesterday was delicious and sunny which meant that my roof could be finished (hoorah!) and I could do a bucket load of washing - and get it dried - in the one nice day in a week of rain. Now I'm not an amateur so I only hung the towels and sheets outside in full view of the…
On day 3 of a roof replacement in VERY windy weather and day 2 of a house re-wire that was started earlier this year but could only be finished due to the strangeness of our roof pitch once the tin was lifted, I'll just be over here like this cute AF little Rose Petal Bubble Snail burying my head in the sand. And as…
Very happy to have FINALLY got back out amongst it again this afternoon after doing absolutely nothing nature based for days. If you could see our front yard at the moment, you wouldn't see a lot of yard, just a whole lot of Colorbond and loads and loads of ceiling batts. It's new roof and re-wiring the house time!…
Another freezing cold, dreary, manically windy morning. Husband is still snoozing away, and I've just watched dog number 2 get up and trot her way back to the bedroom, choosing body warmth and blankets over the heater that I'm crouched in front of. So unlikely there'll be any real adventures again today, apart from…
Sure, I’m prone to exaggeration some of the time (most of the time - what can I say? I err on the side of the dramatic) but today was nothing short of idyllic. I really haven’t been having a lot of luck whale wise so considering the absolutely gorgeous day, the brilliant sea conditions and the upcoming yucky weather,…
I love when the animals come to you because let's face it, ultimately Sundays are for being a lazy cow! We always seem to have Eastern Whipbirds around, either in the bush across the road, or more often bouncing around the backyard or in the shrubs up the side, constantly reminding me of what a true blue Aussie cobber…
So the first day of the last month of winter is okay, I guess! I've got a bit of spring cleaning fever. Don't get too excited though. My one pile of untouched notebooks (I love to buy notebooks but hate to ruin them by, ah, using them) and assorted dockets and must get to paperwork has now become 4 piles so I'm not…
Sea Star Sunday - look, it mightn't be a thing but it should totally be a thing! I reckon it's a bloody lovely way to head into Monday. Husband has been a tad under the weather this weekend so it's been another quiet one but the sun was shining and the wind was really light and the tide was low - perfect sea star…
I've kind of gone to ground over the last few days and pretty much lived in my pjs and it has been AMAZING. My body was definitely asking for rest but maybe not the copious amount of Kit Kats I've been feeding it! As I've been padding through the house at night I've been hearing the various Possums stomping across the…
EDIT: Hello World tawnies and Be Who You Are - teddy bear bee SOLD OUT! Thanks for your support!!! Lots of others still available. They’re here in time for (the end of) plastic free July and are totes amazing! 🙌 And now you can have a bit of BZ with you on your travels. I was going to do a full photo shoot outside…
I've always wanted one of those husbands that contact you during the day. You know a text here, a text there. One of my friends has one of those and they seem to be chatting all day long. Actually, thinking about it, I have a few friends that have those chatty husbands and they seem totally dreamy. I seem to be the…
I spent part of the day finding and filming an Eleven-Armed Sea Star, which pretty much blew my mind because I absolutely love them and all their weirdness and the other part freaking out because I was getting interviewed LIVE on the radio about some of my recent sightings. Last time I was interviewed was on the telly…
Another day, another rock pool. Sorry! But I know a lot of you loved the Sea Snail video from the other day and since i'm still ballsing up most of the underwater stuff, this is going to have to do! You can actually see the passage of time through the reflection of the clouds and even the change in weather as the…
If the camera gods had been with me yesterday, this video would be of the seal that was chasing fish off Sandon Point yesterday. Or maybe of the pod of dolphins who came surging past, also very obviously on the hunt, rushing in so fast that they created waves in front of them. But you know what's ridiculously…
I haven't had a chance to thank you all for the birthday wishes but they are all very much appreciated!!! Today we got to play with one of my birthday pressies - a DJI Osmo Action camera, like a GoPro but better 😂😉 The thing is, DJI Osmo Action camera isn't a catchy name, so we've already started referring to it as…
Sneak peek of something TOTES amazing coming up for Plastic Free July 🙌😉🤔
So, this is the Nankeen Kestrel that decided to, quite literally, throw itself at my feet yesterday. I don't know about you but birds don't regularly do that kind of thing and even though my eyes were focused through the lens and trying to squeeze some detail out of the two massive hulk of bodies hurtling up out of…
Kiama is teeming with 🐋 - just off blowhole very close mums and calves cruising past
As much as I love living surrounded by trees, at this time of year, it kind of drives me crazy. Our house is bathed in darkness. All the time. There is moss on all the pavers and stairs and the lights are always on. Trying to dry clothes (I don't have a dryer) is a nightmare. I basically chase the sun in the backyard…
I spent the morning adulting. Our tiny cottage is showing it's age so we're in the market for a new roof which meant a steady stream of tradies coming and going and telling me things I didn't quite understand and asking me questions like if I wanted the roof and the gutters to be the same colour and if I wanted the…
I'm a couple of weeks out from turning 45 😬 I have absolutely zero idea how that happened. I mean, I still feel like a teenage girl at heart. Actually I feel like a teenage Japanese girl at heart, but either way I feel much, MUCH younger than I actually am. It's weird though, all of a sudden I'm noticing how much…
Okay so these photos are not the greatest having been shot through water (I need a GoPro. There I said it) and I have some great video which I haven't had a chance to edit yet, so these will have to do. But, I don't know, these photos just speak to me - two Sea Hares mating away, on the side of the pool wall, not a…
Usually I don't give Silver Gulls the time of day. If I go out to take photos and there are only gulls hanging around, I shrug my shoulders, say, "Nothing to see here," and move onto greener pastures. What can I say? Seems like I'm specist! But I do have some great childhood memories of Silver Gulls or sea gulls as we…
So I know you're all going to find this absolutely impossible to believe, but I can be really socially awkward (and if you do actually find that hard to believe, I'm going to guess that you haven't been following for long 😂😉). But alas, it is true, social grace is not my forte. And I'm okay with that. I went out to…
Well this is ridiculously difficult to get a photo of but still! Such glossy. Much shine 😍 If you’re looking for the perfect vessel to hide your hard liquor in at work, or just wanting to spend your coffee (and cake) break with some critters, there’s worse ways you could do it! Backyard Zoology mug featuring tawny…
Gluttony, thy name is Little Pied Cormorant. We spent (quite) a few hours over the weekend trying to find the husband his first whale of the season. We saw two waaaaayyyyy out doing absolutely nothing, and as he didn't even raise his camera, we're not counting those at all. I also spent way too long today battling the…
Well, it would seem that my manifestation skills are in tip top shape again! After a morning of writing about whales and then a chunk of time talking about them, I actually got to sight my very first humpback of the season this afternoon! Got to say when I saw that first puff of water vapour, air and mucous (yes,…
So, it's quite obvious, I would hope, that this is not a whale 😂🐋 Now that the northern migration is finally underway, I've started my annual May tradition of gracing any available headland waiting for that moment, for my first sighting of the season. And while I wander around saying I'd be happy with seeing just a…
I'm pretty obsessed with White-Bellied Sea Eagles. For some reason though, I rarely see them here. Except for when I least expect it of course, like soaring over our house when I'm putting the bins out, on their way up to the escarpment but hardly ever when I have my camera in hand, long lens extended, legs apart,…
Same day, different stingray ❤️🙌 I woke up in a cold sweat somewhere around 2:30am this morning (meaning: approximately 2:30am. I know where I was physically 😂). You see, I had posted loads of stingray stuff on my personal fb page including the infamous dance video but all those folks know me and are used to me but…
We kind of missed the weekend. We both had a bit of a lurgy and spent some time in bed. It rained on and off and then it was Monday. Honestly, I don't even know what happened. Oh, there was one thing though. It looks like I may have gone and discovered a new species of spider in the front yard! You know those…
A mystery within a mystery, a possum within a garage. It turns out the girl who is always right, 100 percent of the time, may not actually always be right all of the time after all. I know. I'm shocked too! So the juvenile possum I posted the other day? The one who I assumed belonged to the tail that dangles out of…
No Easter bunnies here but how about an Easter Juvenile Brushtail Possum? How freaking cute is this little one?! ❤️ We were actually outside watching a little Ringtail Possum who had thrown itself noisily, and I do mean noisily, even the dogs were like, "WTF was that?", from our roof into our camellia bushes to feast…
I thought I spent a ridiculous amount of time swearing at my camera. That was until I took Matt's old camera out for a spin yesterday morning. Matt's old camera with less megapixels and zero stabilisation, I should point out. I heard words coming from my mouth that even I didn't know I knew. I thought I'd stumbled…
I am sitting here in a rather strange position. Well, the position itself isn't really that strange. I'm just on the lounge, in the normal spot, so much so that there's a bit of an indent (okay, a lot of an indent 😳) and I'm looking at one dog and I can hear the other wreaking havoc in the kitchen. I have a cushion on…
So, the spiders continue to follow me. I found a little jumper on the handle of our screen door this morning, and snapped a couple of photos. They are seriously cute. But enough of the spiders already! If I find a spider on my face in the middle of the night tonight (not a euphemism 😉😂) I'm going to be pretty unhappy!…
Imagine spending everyday of your life looking like a poo (many, many faces, float up in my mind's eye, but I push them back again as I'm practicing being a better human.) In unrelated news, how's the general mood in your current work places? 😂😉 I wish I could say I found this little guy myself but alas, I am short…
There's been quite a few of you who have said that you're not digging the spiders and I totally get that. Flying is my kryptonite. I'm terrified of it, irrationally so and haven't flown for years. When I do, I take loads of drugs, washed down with copious amounts of alcohol, have my hand held by strangers and still…
Hello, from the other side! Well, not the other side, other side, that would be kind of concerning for my family and friends!!! but from the other side of the weekend. I think this is the first weekend I've gone without a post for a while and definitely the first without an adventure or two for ages. I try not to talk…
Heading into Monday like...🙈🙈🙈 #tellmewhyidontlikemondays #currentmood #closeyoureyes #gardeningaustralia #abcmyphoto #wollongongbotanicgarden
Happy Wrensday! I really had to trawl through the archives (all the way back to October) to find some wren based shots that I hadn't already shared with you all. I like to tell my husband I'm keeping things fresh when he turns up and I've cut myself a brand new fringe (note to husband: please mention my new fringe)…
I just want someone to look at me the way this Katydid looks at this flower. Well, to be perfectly honest, the Katydid wasn't just looking at the flower but actually eating it. I just thought it sounded a tad wrong to post: I just want someone to... Never mind. 😂 Kaydids have never been on my radar as such. I'm sure…
Is there such a thing as too many photos of a Black-Shouldered Kite? Asking for a friend... There is just something about a raptor in a dead tree - it's my absolute favourite setting to photograph them in. They just go together, like cheese and bikkies, wine and Friday nights, skinny jeans and tears 😂 As soon as we…
Seriously. What.a.day! If only I had some decent photos to show for it 😂 Firstly, I decided I was long overdue for an adventure. I'm a massive fan of mini adventures and mini breaks (take note, husband) but today it was all about adventuring alone and I reckon a spontaneous adventure is so good for the soul and for…
File this under: things you don't expect to find dangling above you while you hang out the washing! People who have been following this page for a while know that I get a little obsessed with my washing. I don't have a working dryer at the moment (or for the last few years - time flies when you're trying to dry your…
So I'm a little guilty of not paying attention to the more common critters - ones that I grew up with. I mean, I have featured Australian Magpies on Backyard Zoology exactly zero times in the 3 years that I've been running this page. Oops. And that's even after spotting a newly fledged maggie AND a parent in a nest…
Q: Could weevils be any cuter? A: No. No they could not. Weevil Northern Illawarra
I headed out this morning looking for some specific Valentine's Day content. Critters mating? Maybe. Animals that pair for life? Perhaps. A heart shaped leaf? Beggars can't be choosers! But I went out with the usual attitude that I normally have which is: "alright Universe, come at me 'bro!". Now, full disclosure, I…
I somehow spent 3 hours at the botanic gardens this morning. I seriously lost time. Aliens may as well have beamed me up and given me a good old fashioned anal probing because by the time I stumbled out to the car I didn't even know what day it was anymore, let alone the hour. Like I've said before, I can occasionally…
I should have posted this yesterday. I even had a pun all ready to go - sun's out, tongues out. Good huh?! But I was feeling a tad rubbish yesterday so after my walk I headed to bed. Which is great, right? Self care and all that. But you know what happens if you don't post when you should? The damn weather changes and…
One of my very favourite things to do at this time of year, is to run outside around 8:15 each night, to watch the bats fly over. We haven't been sitting outside on the deck that much this season, which is a shame because it's bloody lovely out there but the mosquitoes have been not only vicious but also prolific -…
This morning it was all about backlit birds and bugs, loads and loads and loads of bugs! You know when you are out and about and then suddenly a small swarm of insects appears next to you, all balled together, spinning around each other and you start walking faster or even running because a/ you don't want them in…
You know it's time to mow the lawn - oh, who am I kidding? let's try that again - You know it's time to call the guy who does the lawns 😂 when the resident Eastern Water Dragon is almost hidden by all the long grass! But how great does he look? Very prehistoric. Must admit that the red chest markings of the mature…
Well, what could could be more Australian on Australia Day than this green and gold Metallic Shield Bug on a gum leaf, posed next to the fibro wall of my cottage 😂 I've got such a soft spot for these guys. The first time I really noticed them was just over 3 years ago in my backyard swarming over some exposed tree…
Our resident Common Ringtail Possum sure does demonstrate that these guys use multiple dreys or nesting sites. They build spherical nests but will sometimes use tree hollows to sleep in. Our morning ritual is to check if this little one has slept over or not. It’s here more often than not now but good lord it’s…
Loads of baby making, preparation for baby, caring for baby and just babies in general around today. But first, a confession. I was trawling through the news online the other day when I read that the poet Mary Oliver had died. I'd honestly never heard of her and having now read some of her beautiful, beautiful work I…
Awwww look at this Robber Fly cuddling its teddy bear ❤️ Oops, my bad. Let's try that again. Look at this Robber Fly injecting this insect that it has hunted down and caught mid air, with a neurotoxin to immobilise it and enzymes to liquify its insides so that it can suck up all the liquified insecty goodness. That's…
So the kookabubbas have been very vocal as usual. Now, full disclosure, I broke one of my rules but hey, rules were meant to be broken and there were extenuating circumstances and..and...and 😂 Anyway. The weather has been warm and humid here, as my many posts complaining have made you aware no doubt. The animal life…
We have a few of these little guys around the walls of the house - back and front. They're nocturnal so we tend to forget that they're here; if you're not actually looking for them, it's super easy to miss them. You can always tell when husby has spotted one though...because he goes flying up the stairs, pressed as…
Mum says that as a kid I used to sleep with one eye open. She'd walk into my room to check on me and that one eye would follow her around! I had FOMO before FOMO was even a thing 🤣But I remain a pretty rubbish sleeper in that I can't seem to stay in that dead asleep state, that total relaxation, all is right with the…
And...we have Kookabubbas! So exciting. And noisy. Very, very noisy. The resident family group have been flying around, laughing and chuckling up and down the street and bringing tasty cicadas and lizards to the two babies. And boy are they cute! They have these stumpy little tails and all black beaks (this slowly…
We had big plans to get up before the sun this morning, you know, beat the heat and the tourists and people in general. I even heard the husband's alarm go off. I did not, however, rise. Gah! I really didn't want to waste another day but heat and I don't mix so after a quick coffee we decided to head into the bush for…
What better way to ring in Christmas Eve in Australia than starting the day with a noisy chorus of cicadas who have, thankfully, chosen the trees across the road to sing from; just the right amount of decibels. And then we encountered some gorgeous Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos munching away in the banksia trees on…
So. It's happened. I finished up at work yesterday 🙌 Must admit I had a last minute wobble where I was wondering if I had done the right thing, and felt all sentimental about the lovely people that I see day in and day out and especially the people I have become real life proper friends with and sometimes it's better…
There are a few things you need to know about me: firstly, night wanders are my latest obsession and secondly I don't know how to use the red eye reduction tool thing in the apple photos app. There. I said it 😂Still, thought this Ringtail Possum was super lovely, even with red eyes - we all look bad in photos…
I know spiders aren't everyone's cup of tea but why on earth not?! I mean, they're just out there doing their spidery thing, living their spidery lives. On one of my nightly rambles around the yard I found what on first glance I thought was a 'hairy spider' (yes, I know that sounds filthy, and no, it's not a euphemism…
An hour and a half of active effort (not including the time climbing and adjusting and then drying) in less than 2 minutes 😳❤️ Not sure how you all spent your Saturday night but we have this thing in the Illawarra called the Santa Pub Crawl and it is massive. Thousands of people dressed as santas and angels and…
Got to admit, the pressure of following up a very popular, much liked, much shared post such as the Cicada Moult post is huge. I mean, how do you possibly follow up something as awesome as that? Well. I um, I suppose I have this, ah, slug...😂🙌 I first found this guy very early Saturday morning, dragging my butt out of…
Me: I'm so hungry I could eat anything!!! Also me: *sees spider eating one of its own kind* Yeah maybe not THAT hungry 😳 Found my first Silver Orb Spider the other day. Not sure how I've missed them up to this point; they're fairly common although they are smallish I guess. But the flash of silver is pretty hard to…
It is a crazy windy day today. Scarily so. The wind is roaring through the gums and they are bending and creaking and dropping bark and leaves and thankfully, only small branches. On days like today I normally firstly think: “dear trees, please don’t fall and crush the house” and then “woo hoo! Washing time!” 😂 but…
It's been another quiet day here. I'm bad at quiet days. I feel like I'm wasting the day when I rest or sleep and that instead I should be out and amongst it and to a certain extent I should be. No-one felt worse by spending time in nature. So we headed out for a brief walk this morning, just into the bush across the…
I normally think it’s the most wonderful time of the year because it’s advent calendar season (chocolate a day...bring it on! 🙌🙌🙌) but now it’s even better because it’s BZ calendar time! Got my calendar today and it looks GREAT! So going ahead and ordering for all of you lovelies who put in a pre order. I’ll be…
This is going to be the first line of my autobiography: 'It had been an enjoyably challenging and interesting week at work'. I'm going to call my book: 'LIAR'. 😂🙄 So when work gives you lemons...you take yourself on a late afternoon jaunt to look for whales! As soon as I pulled up I started that slow scan you do,…
I used to have this life motto that I called BBOFF (I know, so catchy 😂) - bring back old fashioned fun and it was all about enjoying the simple things, creating stuff, board games, baking etc etc etc It works for me because ultimately I'm completely old school. Now that includes being sans technology occasionally and…
Is it just me or does this look like the perfect Friday night - face down in a field of flowers, with a man on your back? 😂😉😂 With forecasts of 37 degrees today, I had planned to not go out at all today. I even got out of bed and proceeded to pull all the blinds shut throughout the house and checked that there were…
What with the distraction of the 'day spent locked at home' ie bad-tradie day and the resultant mantid and the excitement of the Regent Honeyeater, I had kind of forgotten that I hadn't posted all the Port Stephens fun! Ok. So dolphins are almost as big a deal as koalas in PS. Koalas are heavily featured in signage,…
I learnt a few things today: even if you book a tradesman to turn up at 11:30am that does not mean he will indeed arrive at that time. Or any time. One hour late and I sent a text, called and left a message, two hours late and husby called and left a message and then 3 hours later Matt fixed the damn door himself!…
One of the reasons I headed to Port Stephens was to suss out the local wildlife, specifically the koala population (ok, full disclosure, I also headed up for the newly opened Bannisters Hotel - having had a love affair with their Mollymook property for many moons I wanted to try on their PS property for size and was…
It's so easy to miss the little things when you are focused on the big things instead. I guess you could see this as some sort of metaphor for life itself and if you do, that's awesome because that means I've gone from observing and documenting the wildlife around me, to becoming some sort of guru and as a result I…
We woke up early this morning - well, it wasn't planned that way, we were actually very rudely woken up by the haunting call of the sometimes resident Powerful Owl. Now, the clock was saying it was 5:18am and I don't know if you're like me, but for the first few weeks after the start of daylight saving I always…
When I woke up, I didn't realise I needed an adventure. It was another cold, windy and drizzly day. I thought I needed a coffee and a heat pack and a cuddle from my very smelly dogs who refuse to go outside when it's wet, and just a total sloth day. Pjs on. Netflix on. One of those days. But then 11am rolled around…
Today was quite warm. Sunny and lovely but warm and it's days like this that reminds me that as much as I have been jumping up and down (figuratively not literally) for months waiting for spring, I don't actually like the heat at all and it's at this point that I start counting down to winter again 😂 (pray for my…
So here's a little something else from yesterday. I mentioned the sound of the adult humpback's fin slapping against the water and really I couldn't even begin to describe the sound or the effect it had on me - and trust me, this video is not going to help at all - but I still think it's worth a share. Now I was a…
Thank god we only have a small yard - I pretty much suck at gardening and all related garden based activities. But I'm trying. Or at least, I'm trying to try. Anyway. We have a birds nest fern. A big beautiful, super lush, vibrant green fern. Cool huh? Except it was growing out of the brick work at the back of the…
So today turned out to be unexpectedly emotional - not in a cry in the car kind of way but more like a lump in the throat that sneaks up on you and doesn't want to move on. I ended up in the little town where I used to live and wow had I forgotten how absolutely beautiful it is. It was weird driving in though. Things…
And just like that, it's spring! Today had that steamy kind of heaviness which I both love and hate. I don't love it when it gets too hot and humid but right now it's perfect because you know the season has finally changed. And the animals know it too - they're everywhere! And boy are they looking for love - the…
I almost forgot the highlight of my day yesterday: I saw a random bottom - sans clothes. Now friends from my personal FB page will be able to cast their minds back and remember many bare bottom stories from my morning walks - bottoms belonging to other people that is, not my bottom which is rarely bare. Anyway. We…
It wasn't a great afternoon for photography today with the light really weird from the overcast skies and all the glare coming off the water. I continually 'blew my highlights' which is a thing, I think, because I hear Matt saying it all the time but I'm not quite sure I know exactly what it means so I use it…
Anyone else feeling like life is getting too complicated? Today I have read that coconut oil is poison and there should be warning labels, that body creams can increase fire risk and there should be warning labels, that carbs are good for you and carbs are bad for you, that we're in the worst drought ever, that a rain…
🎶They see, me rollin', they hatin...'🎶 People who have been here from the beginning, might remember me regularly stating "this is not a phototgraphy page" due to my amateur camera skills and poor quality lens. Now I've upgraded, both in kit and in skills I don't say it as much, I probably should, but I don't. Now,…
Not proud of how many times I swore at the huge flock of Silvereyes who insisted on flying past me, calling as they went, making sure I saw them, clearly, very clearly, just before heading back in amongst thick foliage and shrubs. Bastards 😂 I headed down to the beach this afternoon, a local beach I somehow haven't…
So when we say we love the nightlife around here...what we actually mean is we love the nocturnal wildlife around here. It's been a long day. A very, very long day, just doing much needed house and garden stuff but added on to a very, very, very long week we are well and truly exhausted. I even half jokingly said to…
It's been a very kestrel-y couple of weeks. It feels like everywhere I go there's been a kestrel or two. Often they aren't close enough to get decent pictures of, or I'm driving, or on my way to another critter, but there they are hovering, searching, hunting. I see them so regularly now that I've stopped squealing,…
Ever broken a bottle of peppermint essential oil in your house before? Yeah, don't do that. My son did last night and to say my house smells minty fresh is an understatement! My face actually feels cold 😂 and the smell is in EVERYTHING! I decided to take myself out on a mini adventure today - off to the delicious aqua…
Guys I’m officially on insta! I’m such a novice it’s ridiculous and I don’t understand it at all and not sure my page really works in the insta format so I’m trying to find my insta voice 😂😂😂 yikes! Thank god for 15 yr old sons who can help out a little 🙌 We’re totally bonding over how crap I am at it all 😂 Please…
I've previously posted about the perils of rockpooling in skinny jeans. Now, I learn from my lessons and so I keep the tight jeans for when I'm trying to hold all my fat in the one place and wear loose pants to bend over in. So I was feeling suitably dressed for getting in nice and close to a hermit crab I found…
So I've been housebound the last few days - I have a sick husband, a school holidaying son and a body that's saying "right that's enough gallivanting about. How 'bout you, I don't know, stay home and make cupcakes instead?" Now everyone says that you should listen to your body yeah? I think they might mean to eat less…
I think it's been long enough to justify another rock pool post. Well. I did post about the anemone yesterday. But that was almost 24 whole hours ago so... We headed out into yet another beautiful winter's day only to discover massive seas and quite strong winds on the water so husband's drone stayed firmly packed…
I love a good penis factoid and I don't think I have shared this one with you guys before. Now some of you may already know this but for those that don't it's totally worth hearing and then filing away in your brain, in that part that is reserved for penis facts and the like: macropod's testicles are IN FRONT of the…
When you're not feeling your usual self but still need to take your 3 legs out for a walk...wait...what?! So the other day I posted about the Eleven-Armed Sea Star I found and it's ability to regrow from a separated arm as long as part of the central disc remained attached...and just like that...manifested! (Kind of…
I've been hearing the sugar gliders barking away in our trees again recently. When we first moved in I used to lose hours of sleep each night trying to work out what on earth was yapping away. It wasn't until one went gliding past my husband's head that I put two and two together. The swamp wallabies are also out and…
You'll be surprised to hear that we have been down at the rock pools again this weekend 😂 Actually you WILL be surprised to hear that we also went down there last night, as in in the cold and the dark last night, as in leaving the house after 8:00PM and out till 10:00PM last night, as in under the stars last night! As…
A couple of pro tips for those of you keen to get out rock pooling this weekend (otherwise known as: don't make the same mistakes that I did). 1. If you're wanting to film critters take a tripod. You won't have anything to balance yourself or your camera and it's probably windy and that will move you around and you'll…
Another crazy windy day which makes for some dramatic looking ocean but also makes for cold humans with such rubbish staying power that nothing of any real consequence was sighted today - except for a burger and fries at our viewing spot but those photos are for another page. So instead here's some quickly thrown…
Ok so this was the video I alluded to yesterday and honestly it was such an awesome moment for me - real bucket list kind of stuff. This was on the day I got my teenage son out of the house and to the rockpools with us and I was really hoping that we'd find something pretty incredible - seriously, who wants to be…
Not gonna lie, this is not the post I had planned. And there actually is quite a bit of planning and thought put into each post even though it often seems like I've put them together, on my phone, in the dark, on the toilet 😂 I came across a critter on the weekend that has been on my bucket list for a long time; a…
So we had a crazy fun and interesting long weekend - thanks to Her Maj - any takers on what has taken us???
So...you guys want to see what the inside of a rat looks like? Not in an x-ray kind of way either but I'm talking some next level, skin peeled back, vertebrae on display, Silence of the Lambs shit. We were doing the rockpool thing today, looking for crabs, hoping for Octopus, finding only a few of the former and none…
Me: Sooo, would you guys like to look at loads and loads of photos of the same birds in pretty much the same pose in every single one of them? *not waiting for a response* Me: Well, do I have a treat for you! Enjoy! Actually, this morning was pretty great bird wise. We only had an hour free because we were late…
The big chested girls amongst us will understand that button up shirts come with many risks. Add in a camera hanging around your neck and a camera bag slung across your body and it's not unusual to realise that you've been walking around with your buttons all popped open and your bra on display! Maybe that's why the…
So I've been promising a completed dolphin video...ummmm, yeah, about that. You see today was lovely, a tad cold, and a bit windy but gorgeous autumn, sunny skies. I wanted to look for whales and ended up at a cafe with a cappuccino and a banana cream pie. I took the opportunity to have a nice long afternoon snooze.…
If you don't love Pelicans do you even have a soul? Australian Pelican Shoalhaven Heads #birdsofoz #shoalhavenheads #australianpelican #pelicans #olympusAU #backyardzoology
Where's my #birdnerds at? So over the last few days I've posted about the kangaroos, wild bee nest and turtle that I've been lucky enough to spend time observing over the last week. Freaking awesome right? But only birders will understand the quiet thrill of finding the bird you have been targeting. I have no sense of…
I kind of drove myself a little crazy on our mini break constantly scanning the water for dolphins and the grounds around our cottage for kangaroos. I was always hanging out on the balcony - even when it was pouring rain and blowing a gale - just in case a critter decided to show its face. And all the time the cutest…
No birds were harmed in the making of these photos. Oh, except for me, who should know better than to half lay, half crouch on rocks at this stage in my life and at this level of fitness 😳😂 We had set out to find some new waders for me to tick off - it's been a while since I have seen new species and I'm missing that…
Not ashamed to say I'm a bit of a royalist - it's the British blood I guess. My Nanna particularly but also my Dad loved the royal family so I've grown up with a soft spot for Her Maj and her fam but I also love a good scandal and let's be honest, there's plenty of skeletons in the closets at Buckingham Palace! Plus…
Q: What has thousands of legs and squeals? A: Me stumbling across hordes of soldier crabs! I haven’t seen these little guys for years! I had taken myself on a photo adventure last Friday around different spots throughout Lake Illawarra and had so much fun and saw so many cool birds that I insisted husby come with me…
*Drives to hill overlooking the ocean Me: "Can't see any birds. Should we move onto the next spot?" Husby: "Well, there's a pigeon on that pole. We could take some photos of that" Me: "I don't want to take photos of a bloody pigeon" (apologies pigeon lovers 😬) *looks up at pole. He may not be great at identification…
Found this unfortunately named Horehound Bug the other day. (Yes, I realise it's named after a plant it regularly feeds on. No, I'm not a teenage boy. Yes, I still think Horehound is a hilarious name 😂) These guys are sap suckers (I swear this stuff writes itself sometimes 😂) and obviously find the Horehound weed…
Well this is a very unexpected edition of 'total bastards' which has somehow become a thing on Backyard Zoology 😂🙌. Now first of all, let's get this out of the way: this is a very crappy photo but trust me, it's worth it. I did a bit of a garden wander this afternoon desperate to find something to take a picture of.…
"Well that felt bloody amazing" and "I need to do that more often". These are things I imagine that people who enjoy exercising must say after they do an 'awesome' workout (whatever that is). You know, that rush of endorphins and that 'hurts so good' feeling? Well that's exactly how I feel about today. Thank the lord…
I'm really starting to like reptiles. I know absolutely nothing about them, never really worked with them and can't identify one species from the next but over the last few weeks I've come across two different but equally lovely dragons. The first were the Mountain Dragons that we found in the Blue Mountains - bloody…
Standing out on the back deck and watching the bats fly up and out into the night is still one of my favourite things to do but somehow I always forget how bloody lovely they are until I wander into the camp. We had family staying with us for the first time over Easter so of course no sooner had they gotten here than…
So yesterday was Good Friday which means next to nothing was open. Well none of the important places anyway, no supermarkets, no bottle shops, no nothing, which meant that we had to sustain ourselves, like real adults doing real adulting. So we took ourselves to the local beach cafe for breakfast 🤣🙌 Let me tell you,…
Husby thinks I have a tendency to be negative. He's wrong of course. But nowhere is my positivity and optimism more obvious than when I'm in the presence of a large dragonfly: I always assume that I've stumbled across the endangered Giant Dragonfly, Petalura gigantea. So far this year I have found one on no less than…
Autumn I am so ready for you!!! What the hell was with the 38 degree day today?! It's been air con blasting pretty much all day here and I have a very snotty kid so there hasn't been much zoologying happening in this neck of the woods. Still, at around 6:30PM every evening the trees get crazy full with loads of little…
After posting the Domino Cuckoo Bee the other day it became clear that you lot love the total bastards of the animal world so thought I'd feature another that starts off life with a bit of a dick move: the Brush Cuckoo. Now I didn't even know the Brush Cuckoo existed until I sighted one about a week ago. We get the…
So I spent the majority of the weekend in bed, on the deck or on the lounge feeling bleurgh. Can't quite put my finger on it but I felt all round rubbish. There were buckets of sweat, like literally pouring down my face and the small of my back and while I'm feeling a little better I did dream today that I was on a…
And...they're back! The Grey-Headed Flying Foxes have set up their temporary camp down the street again. And thank goodness for that because when I normally want a batty fix I have to stand on the highway a few suburbs away and for some reason people find it necessary to beep their horns and yell abuse at me - and…
I love getting new visitors to our little patch - or new old visitors in this case. Came home from work (ok I came home from work after a quick detour for Vietnamese for lunch - what can I say, I have needs), grabbed the mail and went to head up the stairs only to be faced with a huge Blue-Tongue. Haven't seen one of…
Look out world - I made a meme 😂🙌 I’m considering giving up caffeine...but, but how will I wake up in the morning...and at work? 😂 Powerful Owl Wollongong Botanic Garden #wollongongbotanicgarden #coffee #powerfulowl #backyardzoology
So a thing happened. We were breakfast bbq'ing - the very best kind of bbq - and the Robber Fly returned; the same fly that sent me into a camera grabbing, macro lens adding meltdown the other day. This time I was cool. There was no panic, there was no chaos. I slowly walked inside and the Robber Fly stayed perched on…
I had been hoping to post something for Valentine's Day because I do love a good festival but instead I spent my afternoon sweltering away as it's been stupidly hot and humid here, waiting for a delivery of roses from my lovely husband. The roses ended up in a suburb about 30 minutes away, delivered to a woman I've…
You know when you're outside having a bbq and a Robber Fly lands on the kangaroo paw and you start screaming for everyone to not let it out of their sight while you run manically inside to get your camera, and swap to your macro lens and grab a torch, but forget your flash, and it's getting dark and you're super shaky…
How I planned to spend my afternoon: in my pyjamas, eating chocolate and then sound asleep, drool on the pillow asleep, curled up with my dogs. How I actually spent my afternoon: after happening across a local-ish sighting report on facebook, I instead spent the afternoon back in Wollongong, struggling with poor…
Days off work are always better than normal days. You wake up and the sun is shinier, or if it's raining, it's not a miserable rain but a comforting 'you stay in bed, you deserve it' kind of rain, your morning coffee is just tastier, you have a spring in your step, and if you're anything like me it's as though a veil…
This is a visual representation of me removing the negativity in my life and only leaving the tasty bits 😂🙌 I've had a couple of stressful weeks dealing with a large telecommunications company which will remain nameless (in case they cut my internet again 😂😳). Throw in work stuff and health stuff and I've been feeling…
There's probably a reason our little cottage is looking a little neglected of late...we make grand plans to freshen it up and then life gets in the way. We have the paint, we started to paint last weekend and had planned to make real inroads today but yeah. Still, it would be unAustralian to do any hard labour on…
I didn't get out today and I didn't get out yesterday - I've been spending any spare time 'nesting' (no, not in the baby way, I just put that in there to see if my mum reads the words rather than just looking at the pictures I post 😂) but just doing house stuff, spring cleaning in summer and all that. I went back to…
So...butterflies are quite photogenic. I MAY have taken a FEW photos but hey, this butterfly just happens to be sporting an eye in one of my favourite colours: duck egg blue. So apologies for the loads of photos but sorry not sorry 😂🙌 And before anyone jumps in, let me get in first - this is NOT a native insect - it…
Dear God: why did you make me so socially awkward? Haven't been out and about for a few days because it has been stupidly hot - ridiculously hot - and muggy; which is the very worst combination in the whole entire world. We've been living Netflix and Stan and air con. Today I was DESPERATE to leave the house so headed…
Some girls get flowers. I get husby calling me over and presenting me, with a extravagant wave of the arm, bugs! Gorgeous, metallic, clustered harlequin bugs. The large orange bugs are the adult females and the smaller metallic blue ones are nymphs. These little guys pierce the stem of plants and feed off of the sap.…
I'm not a New Years resolutions sort of girl. Let's face it, I'm likely to continue to get fatter this year so why set myself up for failure 😆 Instead I usually do themes. I've had 'no fear, no regrets' (spoiler alert: with a theme like that you do tend to end up with a few regrets) and 'home sweet home' where I…
"OMG you guys are NOT going to believe what happened to me today" - Tawny frogmouth chick to family upon being reunited "OMG you guys are NOT going to believe what happened to me today" - me preparing you for a long arse post So. Despite the rubbish weather we decided to do a quick botanic garden run to check on the…
I am not a summer girl, and I'm definitely not a muggy, steamy, sweaty, rainy summer girl and that's exactly the sort of summer we are having. So I haven't really made it on a tawny baby run for a while. I've been worried about them because we have had a couple of uber windy days, and loads of super hot days. So…
So spiders are new for me. I don't dislike them, and I wouldn't say I'm scared as such but I'm not gonna lie: when I found this beauty my first instinct was to run inside to grab my camera and then to get the camera as close as possible to the spider while stretching my body as far away as possible. I didn't scream,…
Oh the irony! I found this cicada on its back and not moving this morning. Of course I had to pick it up because yay! dead things. Except this little guy wasn’t dead and flew out of my hand and onto my camera bag. My empty camera bag because I’d left my camera inside. Bugger! Oh well, nothing the ever present iPhone…
For those of you who love spiders, heads up: there are currently loads of spiders at the botanic gardens For those of you who hate spiders, heads up: there are currently loads of spiders at the botanic gardens 😆 Massive difference in size between the male and female (the male is the smaller, not as lovely spider).…
Now, you're just going to have to trust me on this one but this is a tawny frogmouth, high in the trees, on a nest and with at least two very new fluff balls under its (most likely, his) feathers, peeking out only occasionally! Hoping to get pics over the next couple of weeks because if you've never seen a baby…
I'm really sick and tired of people saying that I'm overly dramatic. Not only is it rude but it's just not true! In unrelated news, I nearly died twice today looking for birds 😂😂😂 I woke up not feeling much like leaving the house but I'm nothing if not totally obsessed so I got up, packed up and headed out! Since it…
A couple of grandparents with their grandkids walked past me today and luckily for me I happened to overhear one say: "should we go and see the owl?". Now, at the mere mention of the word 'owl' my head flung up and around like something out of The Exorcist while my brain was frantically flicking through any 'owls'…
And the video of the pup stretching its wings Grey Headed Flying Fox and pup
Couple of active pods off Bulli now 2:50pm 🐋🙌🐋 edit: one pod with a super active calf has appeared to dive. The other is now way off on the horizon on its way to woonona. Still, not long before my post 3 active pods were reported off towradgi so there's loads out today! CRAZY hot, windy conditions though but worth it…
Gah! What is it with me and animals in peril lately? Found a bee looking very unwell this morning, not flying off, struggling on the leaf it was sitting on, you know the drill. And then I remembered seeing something on facebook and as we all know if it's on facebook it must be true and so I ran inside to whip up a…
Things I learnt on a cheeky girls weekend away down the coast: you can eat too much cheese and drink too much wine; neither of these things make ocean faring particularly fun; getting photos of dolphins is really damn tricky - they are too fast and I am too slow but they are super lovely even with a hangover. Dolphins…
That moment when you're driving down the street and husby yells "lyrebird" and now you can answer the age old question: what do lyrebirds eat? As many worms as they can fit into their mouth at once as it turns out! (and spiders and frogs and insects - anything that they turn up out of the leaf litter really). We hear…
Make no mistake, I am prone to exaggeration. But after being gifted a gorgeous spring day off from work, I decided to try another whale watch cruise - yes, a whale watch cruise like the one I almost died on a few weeks ago 😂😂😂 (that exaggeration thing?...not exaggerating about the exaggerating). But I didn't go in…
Today? Today was pretty damn incredible. Today was also made possible by the miracle that is 'chips and gravy'. I had a full on hankering all morning, a hankering that I was desperately trying to ignore. I even went to the fridge at work to grab my freshly prepared pineapple only to find I'd left it in my bag all…
I'm just a girl, standing in front of a cormorant, asking it to be a whale 😂🐋 Whale season had started so well for me, but it seems to have dried up. I KNOW there are whales out there because the internet told me so. They're just not out there performing for me 😭 Still happy to hang with an animated cormorant this…
So I've tried twice now to record the call of the local boobook owl to add it to the photos that husby took on the night time photography tour. The first time we tried we were a little excited and a lot noisy and the owl disappeared. The second time I heard it I was in the kitchen making dinner and getting ready to…
Guess who's back?! Some very noisy birds alerted my neighbour who alerted me to the presence of another python. I say 'another' because this one was much smaller than the resident python - son of python if you will! This time in the trees at the side of the house but moving super fast. By the time we sighted it again…
This is the video of the mother and calf humpback whales from yesterday off Bulli Beach. So great watching the baby copying her mumma, mirroring her rolls, breaches and diving. If you haven't seen the photos yet, they are in the previous post. Love this time of year ❤️🐋 Humpback Whales Bulli Beach #whaleon…
That moment when you can't get to the wildlife and the wildlife still comes to you! Came home from work feeling very, very sore and sorry for myself only to find this lovely male water dragon sunning on our front lawn. It's breeding season and this boy has clearly had a bit of territorial dispute with a gash on his…
Me in the morning: what a perfect day for a whale watch cruise. Narrator: It was NOT a perfect day for a whale watch cruise. Note to self: learn how to read marine reports PRIOR to getting on a whale watch cruise. Didn't get a lot of whale action and what we did get I couldn't take a picture of because 1: the camera…
So the jumping spiders are back out and about in pretty decent numbers now the weather has warmed up (queue me falling to pieces and melting into a big heap of love for the little guys). Heard an ominous buzzing sound not far from a larger looking jumper I had been watching and sure enough I'd just missed watching it…
It's Threatened Species Day here in Australia. Back on this day in 1936 the last captive Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) died in Beaumaris Zoo. Such a terrible loss! When we were in Tassie in June we went to the museum which has a fascinating Thylacine collection. I found the whole experience incredibly moving, especially…
In frontyard zoology today: a close encounter of the cutest kind! After a bit of research, found out this creature is considered a serious pest for the Australian wine industry so I've got to admit I'm a little conflicted - I mean, I'm a sucker for a cute face 😍 but I'm also a sucker for a lovely glass of red 🍷…
As the original mother of dragons I'm very excited to say I saw my first water dragon of the season! After brumating over the colder months the last few unseasonably warm weeks seems to have activated these little guys and there were quite a few sunning themselves at the botanic gardens yesterday 😍 Haven't seen them…
By the time I realised what was happening I was too far away and too pooped to try for decent photos but still, the behaviour was interesting enough to post regardless. I got to watch as this kelp gull took some sort of shell - possibly a large sea snail - and after initially dropping it straight onto the rock…
I wish I had gotten better photos of these ants but as I got down onto my hands and knees to be nice and near to the action, as I put my face down REAL close to the nest to get a good shot, and as ants started pouring out from the many entrances I kind of realised that maybe any photos would be better than someone…
Today was an industry public holiday. I offered to work, firstly because even though I dislike people on a whole, I'm a total team player (really!). And secondly because the pay is double time and a half. Ok, mostly because of the pay 💰😂 Turns out I wasn't needed so I took my zero dollars and went raptor hunting in…
These photos were supposed to be of seals so let's face it, they're not going to be quite as interesting or exciting. But high seas and strong winds meant another day on land rather than bouncing around vomiting over the side of a boat (was meant to be whale watching last week and the same thing happened - bloody…
I've been told I'm hard to please. Seriously? Give me one of my favourite birds, stick it on my actual street, put a lizard in it's mouth and I'm pretty much dead from excitement! Not sure the lizard feels the same way though...actually it probably gets the 'dead' part, the excitement part? Not so much! White Faced…
Beach rambles: Some days you find dog poo and used condoms and other days you find sand dollars, skulls and egg masses 🙌 I know which days I prefer 😉 Edit: skull is actually possibly a synsacrum of maybe a bird or a fish...the mystery continues!!!
I want to call these pictures: 'just bite the bullet and buy a new lens woman' but should probably call them: 'learn how to use your camera first you big dummy; a series'. Also got to see some argy bargy when a kookaburra happened into the area the kestrel was hunting in - loads of swooping and defensive behaviour.…
How freaking incredible is this: one of my friends just happens to be on the Gold Coast TODAY, on her first whale watch EVER and wouldn't you know it, Migaloo the all white humpback showed up on his northern migration?! 🐋🐋🐋 Looks like he put on quite the show too!!! Thanks to Rob for the beautiful photo!…
So this happened!!! I commissioned the incredibly talented and fellow tassie devil lover (and all round lovely person) Suzy of oh.susannah.illustration (quick, go follow her on Insta!!) to create for me, for Backyard Zoology, a cover banner 😍😍😍 Just need to work out how to make the lyrebird illustration my profile pic…
So two things happened today: firstly I got not one but TWO gorgeous wedge tail eagles as they soared over me 🙌 (by 'got' I mean badly photographed but hey, they were up proper high) and secondly someone in a bird group who was helping to confirm the ID told me that the 'jizz' was very different to a juvenile sea…
Sometimes I make bad life decisions. Today I decided to drive straight from work and go looking for some new birds, specifically waders. I knew I might end up in one of the um, dodgier parts of town, and when you're birding you tend to head into remote areas, surrounded by bushes and out of sight of anyone passing by,…
Todays Backyard Zoology is brought to you by NIMBY (not in my backyard) and the little penguins of The Neck game reserve on Bruny Island Tasmania Little Penguin tracks
Well that's probably the best beach discovery ever! Weedy Sea Dragon
Day 247 and still no whales... I've been standing staring out at the ocean since just before the northern migration started in early May and still nothing. zip. nada. Those whales sure are being elusive (for me) so far this season. Still, very happy to have the BSKites to keep me company and was super excited to see…
2 days 2 dolphin pods 0 video skills 4 hours sitting on a headland
Found this raptor in a Norfolk pine today, this REALLY tall Norfolk pine and the pine was on private property and there was this fence, this REALLY tall fence and I've got those short, stubby legs not built for climbing fences let alone trees, and there was this sign about not trespassing and...well these unfortunate…
What has 10 legs and squeals? Me finding an octopus! (Kind of ashamed to admit I had calamari for lunch not 1 hour after I took these photos 😳😂) Common Sydney aka Gloomy Octopus
So topknot pigeons? Not the most attractive bird ever to eat the berries from our palm that's for sure! Topknot pigeon
If I had listened during high school science 20 *cough cough* years ago I would already know this. If I hadn't skipped Sir David's Life in the Undergrowth for more mammal related content (or more likely *gasp* for Masterchef) I would already know this. But today I watched as ants walked over and around aphids, swaying…
Sooooo...a couple of things happened: I got my hands on a macro lens (best.husband.ever!) and those jumping spiders I have been searching high and low for? Like, for weeks? With absolutely no joy? Yeah, turns out they live in our camellias next to our deck. And you can spot them while you're sitting down with coffee…
Had a There's Something About Mary moment today when I walked in the door only to find my fringe full of wet, white foamy stuff! 😳 A bit of foraging around revealed a CREATURE!!! A very tiny and very cute creature but one that definitely wasn't in my hair at the start of the day!!! Turns out (I think) I had brushed…
Spent the morning with loads of monarch butterflies and one very, very hungry caterpillar Monarch butterfly, caterpillar and lady birds
That moment when you're coming to the end of your bush walk and you're about to reenter the world so you're chatting noisily and stomping through the undergrowth and husby looks up and stumbles loudly: "w...wallaby!" and you weren't expecting it and he wasn't expecting it and the wallaby most certainly wasn't…
Apologies to the strangers who drove past only to see an over excited, pyjama wearing woman waving her phone frantically towards the bats as they flew out last night! But bats! And flying so low! A perfect Wednesday night Grey-headed Flying Fox
If my wander in the bush last Saturday doesn't perfectly sum up my evolution as an animal lover I don't know what else will. Started out looking for swamp wallabies (I was totally obsessed with mammals and marsupials for a long time), stumbled across a bower and changed to searching for satin bower birds (discovered…
So THAT'S what an echidna sounds like slurping up an ants nest
Seriously could bats be anymore gorgeous?! Back when the sun was still in the sky (we're having a run of horrendous weather here) we went and visited our local bat colony and I'm super happy to announce that not only are they doing well, those guys are absolutely flourishing! The colony numbers have increased and all…
As much as I love the big fluffies, the little fluffies are pretty damn gorgeous too. This bee is me at every food related event - some for now, some for later :-)
50 Shades of Grey Darker (or a few pics of a white faced heron and a hapless lizard) White Faced Heron
It's easy to see why someone thought it was a good idea to introduce the Common Myna into cane fields in north Queensland to help with pests. This little guy flew straight down in front of us and grabbed dinner out of the freshly mown pathway. This bird is really aggressive and causes loads of issues for native birds,…
Went out looking for raptors, settled for cormorants, silver gulls and a strange conversation with an old Scottish man. Little Pied Cormorant
I'm a deep sleep, drool on your pillow, even though it's mid afternoon kind of girl. Happy to be woken up how I was today though: by the calls of some VERY close black cockatoos!!! In my neighbour's yard close! 4 gorgeous cockies feasting in her trees. And then in MY trees and then swooping low over me and into the…
Spent a very gloomy, but finally dry, afternoon with a couple of black shouldered kites. As gruesome as it sounds, I'm really hoping to get a photo of one of these guys with their prey in the near future - such awesome hunters Black Shouldered Kite
So that time between Christmas and New Year when you eat all the things? And then even though you've eaten all the things you still want more and then you get more and you're like 'how on earth did that get in my mouth?' Well, happy that time! Here's a visual representation - in the form of terns - of what I've been…
Spent the last few days discovering just how cool Greater Crested Terns are! Loads of courtship displays with one bird diving arrow-like into the ocean to catch a bait fish, flying back to the rookery, announcing its arrival VERY loudly and then displaying. If the display is returned (and sometimes there's a few…
So this morning I learnt that fighting over poo and then trying to steal it is a thing. Dung beetles
The best kind of neighbours are the ones that text you at dusk because the tawny frogmouth and her two babies are in their yard. We battled a billion mosquitoes (wasn't much of a battle, the insects clearly won) but wow was it worth it. Even got to see a frog try to wiggle out of mum's mouth!!! Add in a juvenile brush…
So just how many possums live in our garage anyway?!? Hint: more than we thought! Meet as yet unnamed mystery possum number 3
This Cormorant is my spirit animal: eyes too big for it's belly Unfortunately these photos are very blurry but this cormorant trying to swallow what looks to big a HUGE eel was too good not to share. Rest assured, it was successful (the bird, not the eel) and after taking quite a few gulps of water to help the food…
We don't need a thermometer in our house. If we want to know the general temperature we just look to the garage: no tails, it's cool to cold; one tail, warm; two tails, hot. Very muggy afternoon here as demonstrated by Notch and Notchling
Step away from the whales... They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Well I not only have FOMO (fear of missing out) but I have a rather nasty case of FOMOOW (fear of missing out on whales)! I chased a couple of pods this afternoon even jumping in my car to find better vantage points for…
This time last week we were on a mini break in Mollymook. Every time we stay there the resident sea eagle swoops around us for a bit and then takes off again. This time it hung around for ages and we even got to see it finally catch a fish after all the searching (we were also in the bar at the time drinking cocktails…
Welcome baby Welcome Swallows!!! The other day I watched as an adult Welcome Swallow sat holding a suspiciously large white feather in it's beak so I followed it as it flew and stumbled across a nest with three hatchlings. The first photos are from the 7th of October and the last are from the 11th - you can see how…
Welcome Baby Notchling!! So remember our resident possum Notch, the one I thought was a male until I spied 'his' pouch full of possum joey?! 😂 Well baby is out of the pouch and exploring the world with mum- we've decided to christen the baby Notchling. Apologies for the terrible iPhone but pics but seriously- how…
50 Shades of Beige At the beach this morning, so many patterns, so little colour. But so damn gorgeous
So today we achieved...wallaby!!! We knew they were living in our bush but apart from Matt spotting one near the road once a few months ago, we hadn't seen them. We were back bush bashing again today - it was seriously beautiful - and we went off trail a few times after hearing some suspicious bounding sounds. And…
Such echidna. Much perfect. Haven't been doing a lot of Backyard Zoology-ing the last couple of weeks. I've been unwell and have spent as much time as I can in bed (it's boring, I can hear the world outside and I'm quietly going crazy but its necessary). However, we have snuck out for a couple of small walks and holy…
We walked so far today in search of new birds I can guarantee that I have absolutely earnt the pizza I'm planning on smashing for dinner tonight! We walked around a little island, up onto a deserted beach (well there were people there but it was a BIG, new to us, beach so essentially it was deserted ok!) and over mud…
Turns out our resident juvenile male Brushtail Possum Notch isn't so juvenile, or so male after all!!! We were trying to quietly indulge in a little Scandic-Noir last night when we could hear a gentle drop, drop, drop onto our garage roof. We ran out to investigate a couple of times but discovering nothing we headed…
Duckling update or as I like to call it: fluffy butt round up. Now maybe I'm imagining things but these little guys appear to have grown significantly already. They're waddling along and feeding with mum and dad, falling asleep together in a big duckling based mosh pit and just basically exuding cuteness and goodness…
I was not going to make the same mistake today I made yesterday and ensured that I had my camera firmly packed in my bag before I left the house. Luckily the ducks and ducklings were out and about again today - feeding and roaming. I didn't get a lot of time with them as they were quite hesitant around me (which is…
Very possumy few days up here. I was lucky enough to have left something in my car the other night and just happened to spot the most gorgeous little Ringtail Possum peeking out from the front of the roof. Sheer luck because these little guys, unlike the much larger Brushtail Possum, have a much more delicate touch.…
Glimpses of Eastern Water Dragon the other day and almost the whole kit and caboodle today Eastern Water Dragon
Eastern yellow robins are one of my favourite birds - so little, round and sweet (essentially me in bird form so I assume they're also mad for a glass of wine and anything featuring Jamie Dornan). Trying to snoozle with the pups this afternoon and I heard a thud- you know those ones that make you feel a bit sick?…
So I'm a tad obsessed with photographing new (to me) bird species - anyone who's playing Pokemon Go will totally understand - gotta catch 'em all and all that. It's easy to forget how gorgeous some of the most common birds are. These little guys are everywhere, my front yard, back yard, standing on a pile of my dog's…
So I guess sometimes you just get damn lucky! I normally snooze after work but today I decided to take my camera out for a spin - it's whale season and I am yet to see one this year so was hoping today might be my lucky day. Hung around a local beach for a bit - the ocean was a super weird colour - really murky…
Nothing screams emotional rollercoaster like me out in the finally gorgeous weather trying to find something interesting to take pictures of. All the nopes. Nothing. Nada. Sulking and throwing around the occasional: "I guess I'll just get in my car and go and buy bread and milk then since there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…
This photo, as blurry as it is, is the culmination of my life's work (Yes, this is an exaggeration. No, I'm not going to tone it down). Saturday morning my nemesis returned. After not making an appearance for a month or two, I was woken up mid dream in which I was desperately trying to find my camera to take a pic of…
Happy 90th birthday Sir David!! This man (along with my dad) taught me just how fascinating the animal world is. Just daggy enough to have a touch of the dad jokes about him, just loveable enough to be cuddle worthy and the right amount of genius to be awe inspiring. #lifewelllived #whenigrowupiwannabesirdavid
Me taking pics of large, still, coastal birds: Oh hello there. Thank you for tolerating my presence majestic one. You are truly beautiful and I am humbled that you are allowing me to capture your image. Nameste Me taking pics of tiny, constantly moving, tree loving birds: Oh for f***s sake. Would you like to stay…
Me: Matthew. Matt. Matt. Give me your lens. Matt. Your lens. All my photos are too far away. Quick. I need your lens. Matt. Matt. Maaaatttt. Me putting Matt's gorgeous zoom onto my camera: Hush now. No one move. I'm creating art. White Faced Heron
Oh. Hello there! Me: *looks up. Holy crap! Hollow! Nesting material! Nesting material in hollow!!! Nest!!!! Tiny possum face: *looks out, nose twitching Me to possum: Oh, hello there! I'm your mother now Seriously though, yesterday I stumbled across my very first possum nest - as in a real nest in a real tree hollow,…