Warmer waters, Warmer days

Despite fluctuations, well worn trends are being followed in regards to the weather.
Warmer ocean currents are heading south, and this can be seen by the arrival of the surfers best friend..the Bluebottle.



The beach, with an onshore wind, was covered with them.
At the shoreline I would estimate at least 20 every meter square...thank goodness the surf was nothing special :)
The sting from these creatures is not too bad, though some are affected worse than others. Considering the numbers present in the water, caution would be a good course of action.

With intermittent sun peeking through the clouds, I was able to capture a shot of one of my favorite small insects..The Hover Fly.


Always a challenge to capture well, due to its quick and erratic movements, It was a pleasure to get this shot...one of 30 taken.

My trip to Twofold Bay was not very successful, with a majority of the Whales having moved on south on their way to Antarctica. I will have to await their return around June.

Whale of a time

Whale migration has been well underway for some time now.
Yesterday I got down to the headlands to check the action.
In a 2 hour period I must have spotted 20 or more humpback Whales...many with calf.



I saw a couple of Killer Whales also...and one very carefree seal ( pictured below).


With a trip planned to Twofold Bay next weekend perhaps I will have more shots on offer...with a good breach shot on the wish list.

Bites and parasites

Many snakes have been out and about with the warm weather of late and it seems Charlie the dog may have found one of them.
Charlie was suffering from a wound on his leg, pictured 1 week after the event.

A blood test was inconclusive when taken, though showed the possible presence of venom next day.
The bite location was possibly a lucky one.
Considering snakes give "dry" bites more often than not (no venom injected), perhaps his survival was a decision of the snake.
Either way he was quite sick, though has pulled through well.
Today I found one of these guys between his toes....a tick

Using methylated spirits on the area made it back out a little, with careful removal using tweezers.
UPDATE: I have recently found out not to use metho to make the tick back out.
This old school practice has been found to make the tick deliver more toxins as it backs out.
A pen like device is available for removal of ticks that has a loop at its end that can be tightened.
Once placed around the tick ( between head and body ) removal is easier.
These devices are available at most vets and some chemists :)
A deeply embedded tick is still a task to remove though.

Seems the onset of summer can be a dogs life in Australia.

Poverty has two sides

This video is my comment for the Blog action day on poverty

Poverty is part of a two sided coin.
While some are starving, others are throwing out insane amounts of food in attempts to maintain buying contracts.
The system needs to change.
People must come before money.
Watch this video from start to end.
The system is corrupt and money hungry.

The two sides of poverty

This video is my comment for the Blog action day on poverty
If you cannot view it from the embedded link, you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD2C77TRrFs#"

Please watch this video from start to end.


Poverty is part of a two sided coin.
While some are starving, others are throwing out insane amounts of food in attempts to maintain buying contracts.
The system needs to change.
People must come before money.
The system is corrupt and money hungry while the people are suffering.

Orb Spider building a web

An Orb Spider uses its back legs to extract silk so as to complete a web.
The radials are in place and it is in the process of fixing down the circular sections.

Second year of blogging

Well, Its been two years of blogging.
I hope all those who have visited this site have enjoyed the photos I have uploaded... I have plans for many more to come.
I am working at getting some photos soon of the Whale migration ( on at the moment), as well as some good snake pics.

Spiders have been out and about for the last few weeks, with a variety of orb weavers including a very colourful Snt Andrews Cross.
This little spider was thoughtful enough to allow me to test my skills with a rather tricky shot....



As I have been celebrating my second year, I thought a pic of my bourbon and cola, with appropriate ice cube, would be apt. :)



Thanks to Jill for the ice cube tray ;)
Thanks to all for taking the time to visit my site.

A Tree Frog

After a recent rainstorm I found this frog on the veranda railing.
I am reasonably sure it is Litoria peronii ( The Emerald Spotted Tree frog )

It seems this amphibian can change colour depending on the time of day, the temperament of the individual, and with temperature!
It's finger and toe pads were large, with the fingers half webbed and the toes were almost fully webbed.
It measured in at an impressive 60mm.

Its registered habitat is in line with my surrounds: forests, grasslands, and open ground.
I have a dam nearby, and It is commonly found near rivers, creeks, lagoons and flooded areas over large sections of eastern Australia.

Bird stealing Insects from a spider

I was able to get this footage recently of a bird who has learnt that a quick meal is to be had removing small insects from spider webs.
It would hover for some time, collecting as many insects as it could.
I was able to see it collect some 20 in one attempt.
Although the video is quite quick...so is the bird.
I hope to get some more footage of this behavior soon.

Amphibians make a splash

Frogs of many different species have been calling for some time now at the nearby dam, though of late it has been deafening.
I have managed to make out at least four types of calls, and managed to photograph this little one after disturbing him while working on my greenhouse.



I believe it to be Crinia signifera (The common eastern froglet), though it is hard to tell as this species has a large range of colour variations. The size (30mm) and the lack of webbing between the toes are distinctive characteristics though.
A good site to check frogs out is here.
It includes calls to help with identification.

A Black Soled Frog ( Lechriodus fletcheri) may have taken up residence in my carport.
The call is quite distinctive (and loud). These amphibians apparently do not need water to breed, preferring damp shaded conditions. I am hoping to get a picture soon as I live a little south of its recorded habitat.

End of the world...or a brave new one?

Well yesterday saw the much celebrated first test of the Hadron Collider ..and we are all still here.
That's a relief :)
If you are not aware of this new scientific toy (costing around $Au 11 billion) perhaps you slept well last night.
Located at the French/Swiss border, it is the largest particle accelerator ever built and should be able to move atomic particles at 99.9999991% the speed of light...impressive eh?
The concerns over it operation relate to, amongst other things, the spawning of mini black holes that could swallow the earth.
As only basic operational tests have been performed we are still yet to feel the ramifications, scientific or otherwise, of this mammoth undertaking.

Why blog this info on a nature site?
Because the very nature of the very universe could be unlocked

It is possible, from one of the particle detectors that record the microscopic collisions, that 100,000 CDs per second of information could be recorded.

It seems small things amuse large minds.

If you wish to know more, check out this link.
I found some interesting facts on the make up and size of the accelerator...as well as the photo I used. :)