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Tea Tree Gully-An Afternoon in San’s Garden

12 Jun

Dear Reader:

Sometimes, it is not about four wheel drives, walks in the bush or diving on a reef. Sometimes, South Australia’s wildlife wonders are the common animals and plants that live  right under our noses in the backyard. Last weekend I grabbed a pie and a doughnut from the local shop, pulled out the recliner and watched the antics of the local critters in my friend’s garden. I hope you enjoy the pictures and a few minor, explanatory observations.

Spotted dove snoozing on the garage roof

Spotted dove snoozing on the garage roof

To initiate proceedings, a spotted dove landed on the garage roof, much to the consternation of a local cat, who sat and stared at it for a few minutes, decided it was too much work then nonchalantly strolled off to find easier prey.

New holland honeyeater feeding on orange honeysuckle

New holland honeyeater feeding on orange honeysuckle

Oleander seeds pods

Oleander seeds pods

New holland honeyeater catching insect in mid flight

New holland honeyeater catching insect in mid flight

While the dove dozed the high energy brigade arrived in the form of a squadron of new holland honeyeaters who proceeded to feed on various blossoms, hawk for insects and in one bizarre instance; pull apart the seed pods of an oleander. Fair enough if it was nesting season but a little hard to fathom at the beginning of winter!!

Hover fly grabbing a suck to eat

Hover fly grabbing a suck to eat

Bee on lavender

Bee on lavender

The winter months are not too conducive to insect life but a few ‘die hards’ do persist and the lavender and daisies played host to quite a number of bees and hover flies respectively.

Noisy miner surveys the garden with a bandit glare

Noisy miner surveys the garden with a bandit glare

Whatever the season my little bandit friends are always around with their masked faces and grey plumage. A small flock of noisy miners did the afternoon rounds, harassing the other birds and making their presence felt; arguing as much with each other as the other species.

Singing the team song in the old gum tree

Singing the team song in the old gum tree

Strutting his stuff on the back lawn

Strutting his stuff on the back lawn

Just as I was settling for a little snooze when the warbling (carolling) call of white backed magpies brought me to my feet. I walked around to the front garden to see a trio of the large black and white birds high in the crown of a roadside eucalypt loudly proclaiming their territory. Then, the largest and obviously most confident bird flew down into the garden only a few metres away to search for grubs.

Quinnus muchsuddliusforaging in the fairy garden

Quinnus cuddlius foraging in the fairy garden

Back to recliner, pictures taken, lunch finished; book or snooze again beckoning…when the most active of all the garden’s wildlife toddled in and a restful, lazy afternoon dissipated like an early morning mist evaporating when the sunshine arrives.

Enjoy your own gardens

Baz

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A Morning at the Zoo with Quinn

27 Feb

Dear reader: 

It is a warm Adelaide morning and the shady paths of the zoo are a labyrinth of intrigue for a nearly three year old. Around every turn there is a new enclosure full of sights, sounds and animals that she had only previously experienced in picture books.

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A pair of king parrots provide a suitable backdrop for a tiger striped Quinn

 

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The zoo is situated by the river just over the Frome Road Bridge

 

 

A misty spray of water shrouds the koala and Tasmanian devil enclosures in anticipation of the midday heat. It proves irresistible to our little granddaughter and sends her squealing down the path shouting, “bear, bear, bear!” I stand and watch the ‘really not bears’ as they stoically munch on eucalyptus leaves and fire off a couple of frames. Sometimes the images that can be taken in a zoo are invaluable additions for later projects.

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A koala chews on eucalyptus leaves that would be inedible even toxic to any other species of marsupial

 

 

Half a vegemite sandwich and an ice cream later a little hand tugs mine and a voice whispers, “ Pop, kangaroo”. She is almost right, as a pair of yellow footed rock wallabies emerge from behind a tree in an open enclosure a few metres away. One of the little marsupials has a joey in its pouch; a difficult image for any photographer to catch in the wild.

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A young yellow footed rock wallaby peering out from the safety of its mother’s pouch

 

 

The nocturnal house proves to be a real challenge. Try telling a toddler to be quiet as she goes through a dark tunnel lined with glass exhibits featuring bats and other night time wildlife. Near the entrance there are some aquariums which she finds quite fascinating (translate as…actually stops moving for a few seconds) giving me the opportunity to photograph some purple spotted gudgeons, one of our threatened native fish species. Yet another example of the pictorial opportunities that only captive animals can provide the amateur photographer.

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Purple spotted gudgeon are found in South Australia’s freshwater streams and lakes

 

 

Ironically, our final wildlife moment is not one that the Royal Zoological Society can claim credit for. Just as we are leaving and wandering past the hippos, Nan’s favourite exotic animal, we hear a family excitedly chattering about a spider. And there, strung in front of the hippo pool is last night’s tattered web of a sizeable orb weaver with the resident arachnid devouring a hapless dragonfly. Quinn says “yuck”, Nan scoops her up and I click away merrily wishing that I had brought the DSLR instead of popping the point and shoot in my pocket to ensure hands free, child minding capabilities.

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A large orb weaver makes short work of an unfortunate dragonfly

 

 

By now the temperature is getting into the mid thirties and it is time to leave. She does not want to go. “More animals Pop.” A good sign for the future.

 

Cheers

Baz (and Quinn)

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Quinn and Pop do Cleland

21 Apr

Dear Reader:

Though I have photographed wildlife for over 30 years, I still get excited when I see an unusual bug in the garden or hear the screech of sulphur crested cockatoos on my morning bike ride. However, every photographer needs an extra bit of inspiration; that fresh way to see the world. Mine came from taking two year old Quinn to explore Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills. Seeing a child experience the beauty and mystery of nature is something that no amount of field experiences can ever compete with. With a little hand tucked in mine I was guided along the bushland paths to the sound of……

“Pop come see.”

“Look croos!!”…. (kangaroos, I presumed correctly)

 

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My first wildlife park

Quinn loves animals, she has a dog, a cat and often toddles down the road to the local wetlands where every bird species is still classified as a duck. At Cleland she was overwhelmed by the variety of new animals and ran between marsupials and reptiles then on to the birds (ducks) with ever increasing gusto. The wildlife was not quite as enthusiastic about her energy levels and tended to disappear with a hop, scuttle or ‘flap of wing’ as the two year old whirlwind bore down on them. The combined wisdom of Mum and Nan tried to instil a sense of calm and caution when dealing with wildlife but the concept did not seem to gel with her two year old philosophy.

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Quinn has a puppy too…not quite a dingo

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Stop croo stop

 

Unsurprisingly, the koalas were a particular hit. She probably associated their solid, furry bodies and bear-like appearance with the plethora of animated cartoon characters featured in various children’s programs. Next time we will get the obligatory ‘kid with koala’ image but on this public holiday excursion the overseas visitor line stretched away into the horizon. A few minutes watching the iconic marsupials climbing, snoozing and munching gum leaves, had to suffice; at least she was still for a while.

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An enclosure of cute

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Koala are not bears…a lesson for later

 

After an hour and half of unbridled, two year old enthusiasm we decided/hoped that she had used up her energy quota. Not so: near the gate there is an indoor complex that features species that require individual conditions such as specialised lighting, temperature control and enclosures that safeguard the public from venomous bites. In she went and spent the next 20 minutes staring at these more unusual animals which included: taipans, death adders and a variety of lizards. Eyes wide and somewhat subdued she grabbed my hand and repeated her, Pop come see’ request as we looked intently at each display.

mulga snake

Mulga snake or king brown… she really liked this one

 

Even as we left the park she was pointing and staring into the trees that surround Cleland in the apparent hope of seeing more wildlife. To be honest I was amazed and secretly wondering at what age a child can be trusted with her first digital camera.

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Before I become a naturalist I’ll try art

 

It was an exhilarating day in a lovely bushland setting; without doubt, a place to take the family and experience the wildlife that makes SA such an extraordinary place to live or visit.

Cheers

Baz

 

Footnote

She slept all the way home

Mum hit the sack at 8.00 pm

Nan rubbed in some back ointment

I pored over the camera and laptop to record a Quinn-based blog

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