Magpie Antics

Magpies are known for their antics ( and occasional swooping), so I was glad to get these shots the other day.
The post in the picture is a star picket with a plastic tube around it.
Grass is growing through the top.



One magpie stands atop the post, with casual interest to his mate and then seems to keep watch.
The other Magpie flies up and grabs the grass in its beak.
With nothing to hold on to ( the plastic tube is quite slippery) it hangs there by its beak swinging on the grass.
It did this for some time and, if it was attempting to catch a meal, would have found it most unsuccessful with a mouth full of lawn .
It did not attempt to remove any of the grass, nor did it seem to catch anything.

I had the impression it was mucking around.

With young Magpies having flown the coop, I have seen many experimenting with hunting methods.
Perhaps this was play with a purpose.

Environmental Changes afoot

This post is in reply to a comment made by Denis Wilson recently, which raises the subject of shifting environmental patterns - a subject of interest to me, as I have moved to a new set of climatic conditions of late.

The section of his comment bearing relevance to this post is:

"........Its still dry in Robbo (well, mists, but no rain. Hillsides around Roboo have gone brown, would you believe it?
So too dry for much fungal activity here. You must have caught some local thunderstorm activity. Dry to the south (Victoria) and to the north. Interesting." Denis Wilson

I feel it is very interesting also.
Please look at the map provided below.
It comes from the D.T. Brown seed company (hey,I'm using their image..A free add for their seeds is no problem).

Look at the climatic "interchange" on the NSW / Vict East coast ( purple/blue).



It is my belief that this interchange existed, some 30 years ago, around Wollongong.
I believe it to exist around Batemans Bay at the present time.

This interchange does not rely on geographic situations to manifest itself, it relies on weather patterns involving subtleties including, though not limited to, ice sheet sizes in Antarctica and coastal water temperatures.

One important piece of evidence to support this idea, of a shifted interchange, is the spectacular event known as a "Southerly Buster" - a wave of cloud, moving at incredible speeds from South to North, bringing cool air and relief from high temperatures.
It has been 30 years since I have seen a good one in the Wollongong area...whereas, in my new location south of Batemans bay, I have seen 2 good ones in a 6 month period and a handful of smaller events.
Another event sadly missing north of me is the afternoon thunder storm.
As a child in Wollongong you could expect that a huge, though short lived, thunderstorm would give a cooling end to a hot sunny day...not as regular any more, though still a regular event down south.

Why do I believe this interchange to be situated around Batemans Bay?
Move south of there and early summer can be raging NE winds...not so further north.
Observed cloud patterns on BOM showing interchange events.
Temp differences noticeable North and south of that area.
I would even suggest that rainfall in the Batemans Bay area, on average, has decreased less over the last 30 years in relation to areas further north, keeping in mind that rainfall has been decreasing statewide for many years.

There is a red section on the map (in SA and WA)..this is a different climatic condition again.
I believe it to have spread across southern Victoria providing the hotter, drier conditions experienced there of late.

So, what does it all mean?

Climatic changes and less stability within those climates.
Adapt or perish cry the evolutionists.
Sadly much will perish.
New environments are being created all over the world within lifetimes.
With new climatic conditions must come new solutions.
Oh to live in interesting times.

UPDATE (16.02.09):
Recently Robertson, and surrounding areas got some rain (see Post by Denis Wilson)
I was able to monitor this activity, courtesy of the BOM website located here.
I have included a few shots, taken over nearly a 3 hour period, of the storm.
I found it interesting that the activity was limited to a little north of Batemans Bay and that the storm remained basically stationary during that time.
Also look at the way the storm moved at its South Western end.
It seems that an air flow drove the storm, at that point, to the east while the rest of the storm remained stationary. This looks to me like a classic "eddy" with a flow of air to the south, around Batemans Bay, helping to contain the storm within the area.
I would suggest that a similar situation existed above the storm north of Port Macquarie.
Credit, and thanks, to the BOM for the following shots.



I will monitor this area for the proposed interchange event I have suggested and make additions to this post as material supporting this theory presents itself.

Humid weather sparks fungal growth

Humid weather following rain has brought forth a variety of fungi this week and, since it has been a while, I thought a couple of posts on these strange and varied lifeforms would not go astray.

These varieties pictured below are particularly fond of the litter at the base of pine trees, so it is no surprise that I saw them amongst pine bark chips today.



Looking quite decayed, these flies thought it a good place to reproduce.




This form has also appeared after the rains.



Seems that the weather is just right for fungi of many types.

A Mega Moth

As a child I was always getting in trouble for leaving the light on at night.
It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark.
It was that I found if I left the fly screen slightly ajar I could find moths caught there for study in the morning.
Once in a while I would capture a monster of the moth world. The ones with the "eyes" on the wings were particularly fascinating.

The moth photographed below wasn't overly pretty, though it was reasonably large
(around 120mm head to wing end).
Perhaps the largest I have seen in a while.

I have no open wing shots, as it would have required damaging the creature to get them. Never an option.

I have looked on the CSIRO site do deal with all things "mothy", though couldn't get a good ID.
For those of you who share a fascination of these creatures, interesting none the less.

Aliens arrive

Its official..Aliens have arrived!
These shots of crop circles taken today are proof positive of extraterrestrial intervention.



Well, not exactly :)
These strange shapes in the lawn I believe to be caused by spiders



These "nests" are between 300- 800mm in diameter, and kill the grass within the tangle of web.




In the morning dew I have seen such webs from spiders before, though never to such effect.
I feel that a mass of spiderlings have hatched somewhere in the centre and have spread out.
I am not 100% sure on this...and am open to correction :)

So, no need to call the "men in black", 'cause the aliens are terrestrial after all :)

UPDATE 04.02.09:
I have had a few confirmations, along the lines of the comment by Denis Wilson, that the growth is of a fungal nature.
The "outbreak" occurred after heavy rain and humid conditions.
The circles have not grown any larger since this original post, though the grass has died fully, and green regrowth is spreading from the centre.
Very strange.
I have another yellow fungi that has appeared in the garden that is most unusual, and will try to do a post on it today.

Sea waves, Sand waves and Light waves

Last year around June the world powerboat circumnavigation record was broken
by the vessel pictured below. Earthrace.



Built from Carbon fibre, it is designed as a wave piercing trimaran.
Cutting through the waves, the windscreen designed to withstand 7M of water above it, it runs on bio diesel, and is extremely enviro friendly ( and an exiting ride).
Arriving as it did on Jan 19Th this year in Bermagui provided for some interesting shots and discussions with the crew.
It has been touring the world, with over 150,000 visitors on board to date, promoting enviro design through development of ideas.

The following waves are quite different.
The Ant lions trap, pictured in the following 3 shots, is constructed at an angle to allow passing insects to be drawn to the bottom of the funnel through the action of sand flicked at the prey by the Ant lion below.







And yet another type of waves.
The light waves returning from this orchid are no doubt registering in the ultra violet to signal potential pollinators.
It is very attractive in the visual spectrum also.



Does any one know the pollinator?

More good rainfall

Huge storms have kept things green and cool over summer last week.
With not the best lightning shots in hand, I still thought it worth a post due to the great rainfall received.
One storm even dumped a mass of hail in Bermagui that was enough to make it look like snowfall had occurred ( you should ALWAYS carry a camera :P )




With recent trips to Canberra and surrounds, I observed last weeks storms from various areas and noted them all to be small in size though full of potential and numerous.
It was possible to bask in sun and extreme temperatures and watch an electrically charged torrent pass by.
This following picture, though not showing strikes, illustrates well the size of these storms.
As it passes, stars are visible with the clouds lit by the frequent discharges of electricity.

Return from Summer Break

Well this Summer Break proved to be one of interest with friends and relatives over from Europe.
They were all surprised( including my side of the family) to find out that Petra and I had gone off to " tie the knot " 4 weeks earlier up at Carrington Falls in a small personal ceremony with 2 friends to act as witnesses for our great day....hey call it artistic expression.



Congrats to RayRay on the shots...you didn't do bad at all mate :)

...Anyway, once everything had settled down(lol) it was time for a little Aussie tour.
What better place to start than the roof of Australia....



Insects will live almost everywhere, and the warmer months of this Alpine environment are alive with a variety of forms.



It was cool, although the sun was quite hot.
There was even some scattered snow on the peaks...



Another national park we visited was the first such park in the world.
Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, has recovered well from the 90 percent burn of 2000.
The heath lands have greened remarkably from the ashen state I saw after the fires.
Audley is a good spot for a picnic with a friendly ranger pointing out this little guy...An Eastern Dwarf Tree frog. At around 1cm in length, its aptly named.


The Eastern coast of Australia holds many environments, and species...Including birds such as this King Parrot.


... and these huge orb weavers with circular webs over 2m in diameter






Coastal birds..like these pelican... travel way inland top have their young, only to return in warmer months for the great fishing of the far south coast.



Yep...good fishing down here :)



Hoping all had a good Xmas, and a Happy New Year.
May this year be prosperous and safe.

Amphibian Invasion

With Summer more than a week old already, insects of all shapes and sizes have been attracted to my veranda light... and the numbers and variety are on the increase.




Large christmas beetles have arrived (25mm) and I must have seen at least 20 types of moth in all shapes and sizes.
It is these moths that have attracted a number of Emerald Spotted Tree Frogs to my doorstep.
The behaviour they exibit in capturing these moths is fasciating.


Firstly they will climb the brick wall....




Then adopt the strike position.....






It is a matter of launching at the next insect that comes within reach, and landing safely on the decking located often 1.5M below to consume their catch.


Im looking forward to getting a vid of this action, and will post it as soon as I do.

Running on honey (2), a Bell Bird, and a storm

On a walk back home today I got a few more bird shots.

Seems that the profusion of flower species laden with nectar are attracting some attention.

The parrots were a treat with their colourful forms and antics...

..and Finally... a Bell bird.

I have found these guys almost impossible to photograph..

(so if my ID is wrong..let me down easy..ok?) lol

...and just so this blog isn't all about avians (been a few posts lately :)  ) ...here's a shot of the storm that covered a good 2/3rds of NSW last week.

This shot was taken a little out of Quaama on the far south coast of NSW as it arrived.

Little Stinker

Petra and I were on a trip the other day when we stopped, along with a lovely lady from Narooma Sawmill, to rescue some Eastern Long necked Tortoises that were crossing the road.

These ancient reptiles are out finding mates at the moment, and many have run-ins with cars as they cross roads to check out whats happening in the next billabong...you know, the grass is always greener :)

...anyway Petra and I relocated these guys to a safer spot, though not before finding out why they, amongst other more poetic names, are called " Little Stinker".

Seems that, when disturbed, they emit a pungent liquid from glands and groin.

A bloke at a road stop, who was on his way back from NT, supplied some soap. (cheers)

Some tortoises also can carry a thing called "Pentasamids" .. a nasty 5 "legged" microbe linked to the formation of cysts in humans...always good to wash after handling them.

These Tortoises are upside down for the shot with Petra and I ( to capture more clearly the design of the lower shell in relation to the top). It is not recommended to hold them that way for extended periods.

In relation to calling them a "tortoise", the Australian museum has this to say:

"The terms turtle and tortoise are often used interchangeably and can cause some confusion. In the past, all freshwater turtles were called tortoises and marine turtles were called turtles. The more recent convention has been to restrict the term 'tortoise' to the purely land-dwelling species. As such, Australia has no tortoises."

More on the tortoise, and many other creatures, can be found on their site here.