Backyard Zoology · 4 September 2019
2019-09-04T18:19:03+10:00
https://www.facebook.com/backyardzoology/posts/pfbid02rSjuMsC2wK8hkTHDc36eDdBZHGdWdkK5A1dNdWqzaQUJiKLDrHu1ogYCJ3FUxL9bl

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, did you see that the Tawny Frogmouth is back in the same tree that he's been roosting in on and off?" Now try, "Tony is back!" See, much easier 😂 Anyway, he/she is very welcome to stay as long they please because it makes washing up a damn sight more interesting when you can look out and see the snoozing fluff ball!

Content/Bluebell the Ringtail Possum also turned up unannounced back in the bird feeder. I haven't seen her for ages, well not in the feeder anyway. We did come home to a Ringtail sitting in the camellias the other night, munching away on a bright pink flower so I decided to run up the stairs to grab the camera because honestly there is nothing cuter, only to have ANOTHER Ringtail shoot out from who knows where and run up the stairs in front of me, launching into the camellias once at the top. Could one of them have been Content? Maybe. Probably. I have no real idea and I didn't end up with a photo because if there's one thing that scares a Ringtail Possum, it's the sight of another Ringtail Possum flying through the air and into the exact same patch that it was sitting in, but it was a bloody lovely way to finish a night of pizza, wine and the husband.

The more I see him, the more I've been wanting to watch Tony wake up and take off into the night. Yesterday as dusk fell, I went to sneak out the back, desperately whispering at the dogs to not follow, to not whine and please whatever you do, don't scratch on the screen door or you'll scare the subjects!!! Anyway, the dogs may have behaved themselves but I nearly scared Tony myself by half falling, half accidentally running down the stairs and all the associated noises that come out of you when that happens because sitting at the bottom of one of our trees was a very unexpected, beautiful young Brushtail Possum. By the time I got back inside to grab a torch and my camera, the little one had scooted up the tree and was sitting there looking cute as a freaking button but a tad unsure. Very glad that she didn't reach out to me or give any indication that she was used to humans. Instead she just sat in that tree and looked down at me with that sort of face that says, "Lady, how do you expect me to eat your new plants if you're out here taking photos of me all night?" 

So I went inside and left her to wander the yard, and then the next yard and the next. Instead I ended up out on the front porch squinting out into the dark, standing and watching and waiting and just as I was about to give up, I saw Tony's silhouette silently take to the sky and fly out behind the house. Same time, same place tomorrow then?

Brushtail Possum
Northern Illawarra