Backyard Zoology · 17 November 2018
2018-11-17T17:32:33+11:00
https://www.facebook.com/backyardzoology/posts/pfbid02s8iEuH4eZXUzi15Ac6eFEm6BqY18ykhsBfyrgmttLCsU2qfdGihiuHDXK2QVsF8Pl

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 road.

It's weird. We have so much animal life around here, owls and possums and sugar gliders and snakes and wallabies and yet sometimes when we head into our little patch of sub tropical rainforest it's crickets (minus the crickets). Today started out like that. A couple of crimson rosellas raining chewed up flowering plants onto us but nothing much of any note. The whole area looks SO different, completely green and filled out after the recent rain. You can smell the lantana everywhere, that woody, almost sickly sweet scent. I was hoping that the bats had moved back to their patch but the branches were silent. It was an overcast morning but warm and muggy and we worked up a bit of sweat within minutes. And still the animals hid. 

I spent a bit of time eyes down looking for jumping spiders, specifically peacock jumping spiders which I am yet to find in the wild and will pretty much die on the spot when I do, but nothing. The area we inevitably head to first is usually filled with long, swaying stems of yellow grass. The first time we literally stumbled into it, the whole area whooshed into life, dozens of crickets rocketing up and out from around our feet, the air filled with the orange and black of monarch butterflies everywhere we looked. Not sure if we are too early in the season or the distinct lack of long grass, which has mostly been mowed to ground level, has made such a difference but the activity was much more subdued this morning. Still, as we stood quietly we spotted a Robber Fly, several species of moths and butterflies and a single, tiny ladybird. 

I found a thin, ill defined path and used it to try and chase a butterfly for a snap when a lovely Variegated Fairywren stood to attention and began calling loudly. The adult male flew in, bug in mouth, calling and flitting in and out amongst the thick scrub. I suspect there may be a nest nearby such was the commotion but we used the opportunity to get some photos of one of my very favourite birds. These guys are so small, even when compared with the Superb Fairywren but wow they are stunning, those iridescent blue feathers get me in the feels every time. So even though I was hoping to spot the boobook owl, or a grazing swamp wallaby, I'll happily settle for this little family and be happy in the knowledge that there are indeed plenty of insects around - even if they are mainly in the mouths of small insectivores!

Variegated Fairywren
Norther Illawarra

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