Brisbane Short-necked Turtle

This is a Brisbane Short-necked Turtle that I spotted in a local creek near where I live.  I took these photos on 14 March 2009. 

The Brisbane Short-necked Turtle (Emydura signata) is a freshwater species that inhabits standing water bodies and permanent slow-moving streams.  Its carapace (upper shell) is approximately 20-23 cm long.  A distinguishing feature of this turtle is that it has a white stripe along the side of its face.

This particular turtle has its shell coated with algae, giving it excellent camouflage.

Echidna

This is a short-beaked echidna, also known as a spiny anteater because of its diet of ants and termites.  I spotted this echidna on the side of the road while holidaying in northern New South Wales back on 24 August 2011.  I just had to stop to take some photos.

They roll into a defensive ball when they feel threatened

The echidna is a monotreme, a mammal that lays eggs as opposed to giving birth to live young.  Among living mammals only the platypus and the echidna are monotremes and both are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea.

 You can see the face in this photo

Did you know that male echidnas have a four-headed penis?  During mating, the heads on one side "shut down" and do not grow in size; the other two are used to release semen into the female's two-branched reproductive tract. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal copulates.  Fascinating.

It's not often one gets the chance to get this close to an echidna in the wild so I felt quite privileged.  

Oh, and before you ask, I didn't roll him over to check out his four-headed penis.

Hot Slug Sex

Here's some gastropod porn for you. I noticed these two Red Triangle Slugs getting it on at the rear of my house this morning. We've had a couple of storms over the last few days and these slugs tend to come out after rain.


Slugs are hermaphrodites, having both male and female genitalia. These two have followed the normal Red Triangle Slug sex position (they only have one) by encircling each other and exchanging sperm through their protruded genitalia. In a few days they will lay around 30 eggs in a hole in the ground, or beneath the cover of an object such as a fallen log.

The hole you can see in the distinctive red triangle marking is a breathing pore.

These slugs feed only on algae so you don't have to worry about them eating your plants. I find them not only beautiful to look at, but also helpful to have in my yard.

I've blogged about Red Triangle Slugs in a previous post.

Common Brushtail Possum

This is a Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in one of the palm trees in our front yard. I took this photo on the evening of 26 March 2011.


The Common Brushtail is a nocturnal marsupial native to Australia and the largest of all possums. These possums thrive in cities and have a love of fruit trees and vegetable gardens.

During the daytime, brushtail possums take shelter in dens which may be located in tree hollows, logs, dense undergrowth and even roof spaces of houses.

Pacific Black Duck

Here is a pair of Pacific Black Ducks I recently spotted at Marchant Park at Chermside.


The Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) is a dabbling duck found in much of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Indonesia and many islands in the southwestern Pacific area. The Pacific Black Duck is one of the most versatile of the Australian ducks. It frequents all types of water, from isolated forest pools to tidal mudflats, and is found in all but the most arid regions of Australia.

The Australian Museum fact sheet for this bird says that this duck is mainly vegetarian, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants. This diet is supplemented with small crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects. Food is obtained by 'dabbling', where the bird plunges its head and neck underwater and upends, raising its rear end vertically out of the water. Occasionally, food is sought on land in damp grassy areas.

Patting a kookaburra

It's not every day that a kookaburra lands on our back deck. This one in particular seemed relatively unafraid of humans and even consented to me giving his head a little scratch.

Check out the video I took below.



I'm not sure if this is the same kookaburra that sheltered here for a while during a rainstorm back in January.

Magpie and rainbow

It was showery this morning. I was soon alerted to the fact that there was a rainbow in the sky by my excited 4 year old daughter Georgia. I joined her on the back deck and noticed a lone magpie on our neighbour's roof. With the rainbow in the background I thought it would make an interesting photograph.

Common Tree Snake

It's not everyday you see a snake in suburbia. I happened to find one on the road just outside our house this afternoon. Unfortunately it was dead, run over by a car.


I must say I was shocked to see it. My first emotion was fear, fear for my young children. You just don't expect to see a potentially deadly creature so close to your home. However, as I'm very interested in all our local wildlife I just had to take a closer look to see what I could learn.


On looking closer at it I noticed it had beautiful bluish-grey colouration on its dorsal scales and a lovely pale yellowish-green colouration to its ventral scales. It was approximately one metre (3 feet) in length. I took these photos so that I could possibly identify it.


Through my research on the Internet I'm fairly certain that it's a Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus). Also known as the Green Tree Snake, the Common Tree Snake is apparently quite common in South East Queensland and is one of only two types of tree snakes found in Australia. It is non-venomous and preys mainly on frogs and small mammals. The Common Tree Snake is diurnal (active during the day and resting at night). During the day it looks for food in trees and shrubs and on the ground. Come the night it's usually asleep in tree hollows, crevices and foliage.

Although it's unfortunate the snake was killed, I'm pleased to know that we have such a beautiful, non-venomous species in our locality.

Here's a picture of what a live Common Tree Snake looks like.

Image courtesy of www.snakecatcher.com

Red Triangle Slug

Last week, shortly after the storms , I noticed a large slug on the road. It was about 10 cm (4 inches) in length and had a bright orange-coloured triangle on its back. As I had never seen a local slug of this length and type before I just had to take a couple of photos. All photos can be clicked on for a larger image.

It's quite beautiful in its own way.

Through a quick Internet search I was able to find that this is a Red Triangle Slug (Triboniophorus graeffei). It is Australia's largest native land slug and grows to a size of up to 14 cm. The distinctive red triangle on its back contains the breathing pore.

The Red Triangle Slug is found along the east-coast of Australia and is most commonly found in heath, woodlands, forests and urban areas. It's diet consists of microscopic algae growing on the surface of smooth-barked eucalypt trees. Apparently, if given the chance, it will also remove bathroom mould. Imagine that. An environmentally safe way of keeping your shower clean - just adopt a Red Triangle Slug as a pet!

In this photo you can clearly see the open breathing pore in the red triangle.

I understand that Red Triangle Slugs come in a variety of colours depending on the location of their habitat. They can also range in colour from pink to bright red to a beautiful mango-yellow colour.

Dusky Moorhen

Back on 20 October 2008 I took a day of leave from work to care for Maddie as it was a student-free day at her school. We decided to head down to Teralba Park at Mitchelton to see what we could see. Kedron Brook flows through the park and is an important habitat for many species of plants and animals.

One of the highlights was sighting of a pair of Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa). Here are some photos I took. As always, click on any photo to enlarge the image.

These birds are mainly a dark grey-black colour. They have a red frontal shield and a yellow-tipped red beak. Their noisy call is a distinctive kruk.

Dusky Moorhen are omnivorous and thrive in wetland habitats, favouring freshwater marshes. This environment is perfect for these birds as they quickly dart under the overhanging foliage if they feel threatened.

A lot of work has been done over the last decade to improve the quality of Brisbane's suburban waterways and being able to see such wildlife is a sure sign that the work is succeeding.

Australian Magpie

The Australian Magpie is a medium-sized (37–43 cm (14.5–17 in) in length) black and white bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It is a fairly common bird and has adapted well to human habitation, being mostly seen in suburban backyards, parks and playgrounds.

The Australian Magpie

The magpie is notoriously territorial during its breeding season in Spring and many a pedestrian or bicycle rider has been swooped upon by these birds.

Two magpies on our rear deck

Australian Magpies have a musical, warbling call. For me, the call of the magpie (followed closely by that of common crow) is the quintessential sound of the Australian bush or outback.

If you want to hear the call of the Australian Magpie, click on the video I took in the YouTube link below. These are a couple of fairly tame magpies that occasionally visit the deck at the rear of our house.

Laughing Kookaburra

The Laughing Kookaburra is a large carnivorous type of kingfisher native to Australia and New Guinea. It is one of two types of kookaburras native to the Australian mainland, the other is the Blue-winged Kookaburra.

Laughing Kookaburras are known for their unmistakable call which sounds like human laughter. If you want to hear what kookaburras sound like you can download an MP3 file here.

I was recently very lucky to spot one sitting on my neighbour's wheelbarrow. I ran for my camera and took this photo.

The Laughing Kookaburra

Kookaburras use their strong beaks to catch a wide variety of prey, including fish, small snakes, lizards, rodents, worms, beetles and other insects. I remember late one afternoon in the city, it was almost dusk and I'd been working late at the office. I stopped on my way to the train station to admire a kookaburra sitting on a lamp post in Anzac Square. Suddenly it leapt from its perch and swooped down to the base of a tree, caught a small mouse in its beak and flew back to the lamp post. I was suitably impressed.

Kookaburras are one of my favourite Australian birds.

Jellyfish

This afternoon I took Deb and the girls to Suttons Beach at Redcliffe for a walk along the sand and a paddle in water. It was low-tide and one of the things I noticed was several types of stranded jellyfish.  The one in the image below appears to be a Blue Blubber Jellyfish (Catostylus mosaicus).  The sting can be painful but generally poses no risk to humans.

Australia has many species of jellyfish which can affect humans. The Australian Box Jellyfish is the only proven lethal species but there are many others which can give you bad stings.

In the images below is another type I found.  I have no idea what it is.  I decided to pick it up, wash the sand off it, and take some 'arty' photos. Enjoy.

Red-rumped Parrot

I spotted a beautiful parrot on the back fence at my Dad's home at Caboolture. I've never seen one of these before but one of Dad's neighbours informed me it was a Red-rumped Parrot.

A male Red-rumped Parrot

Red-rumped Parrots are medium-sized, slender parrots. The adult male is bright green, with a blue-green head, a red rump, and yellow shoulders and belly. The female is a duller, olive-green, with a green rump and faint yellow or light green scales on the belly.

Unfortunately, in the photo I took above, you can't see the small flash of red feathers that gives the parrot it's rather odd name. For such a gorgeous bird it does have a pretty lame name. Then again, I guess Red-rumped Parrot is much better than being called the Cherry-assed Parrot, Scarlet-butted Parrot or the Ruby-bummed Parrot.

St. Andrew's Cross Spider

In mid-March this spider took up residence under our front porch. It could have picked a more scenic location but I guess it chose the spot because it was well sheltered from the weather. I was instantly drawn to the colourful body of the spider and the unusual cross pattern it created at the centre of its web.

Note the cross pattern of the web

Luckily Maddie had a book on Australian spiders that had somehow (?) made its way into her collection of Bratz, Dr Seuss and other kiddie books. We were able to confirm that this was an Argiope aetherea, more commonly known in Australia as a St. Andrew's Cross Spider, a harmless garden spider. In North America, similar spiders are commonly known as "black and yellow garden spiders" or "writing spiders". In England and Europe spiders of this genus are known as "wasp spiders".

The egg sac

We noticed that behind the web was suspended what we believed to be an egg sac. Apparently, these egg sacs can contain between 400 to 1,400 eggs. I decided to check the egg sac every day to see if any spiders hatched.

New arrivals!

Sure enough, about 2 weeks later in early April, I awoke early one morning to find a mass of baby spiders surrounding the egg sac. By this time the mother had disappeared.

Aren't they cute? Click on the picture for a larger image.

It was lucky that I took this picture when I did because by that evening all the baby spiders had gone. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to see some of them and their striking web designs around our garden when they have matured.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Back on Saturday 15 March I took the family to Shorncliffe for a lunch of fish & chips by beautiful Moreton Bay. After lunch we stopped in at Moora Park where I took some photos of these gorgeous Rainbow Lorikeets.

They seem to be enjoying the nectar of these flowers

Rainbow Lorikeets are common where I live in Brisbane, Australia. They are a species of Australasian parrot famed for their beautiful plumage and energetic and playful nature. They are not a particularly large bird with heights ranging from 25-30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, with a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). Their diet consists mainly of pollen and nectar.

We're very lucky to have such beautiful wildlife

Huntsman Spider - A Closer Look

Back on 28 November last year I blogged about a huntsman spider I found on a wall downstairs. Well, last weekend I found a dead huntsman spider. Like most dead spiders all its legs were curled up and it looked fairly small. I was about to pick it up and throw it in the bin when I became curious and decided to have a closer look.

I carefully teased its legs out to see what size it was when it was alive. It must have only recently died as the body and legs were still soft and pliable. Looking at it closely I found that it had a certain menacing beauty.

This one had a 10 cm (4 inch) legspan

So I had to take the spider to show my wife and the girls. I resisted the urge to scare them, tempting as that was, but instead used the opportunity to educate them. After I assured them it was dead they trusted me enough to come and have a closer look.

It has a lovely pattern on its legs

My wife is scared of spiders but did comment that it was pretty when you looked at it is closely. Maddie at age 6 is also fearful of spiders but was curious enough to spend a lot of time peering at it. Georgia at age 2 wasn't scared of the spider at all but we explained to her that she shouldn't normally touch spiders but it was OK Daddy was holding it as it was dead. "Dead? Dead?" Georgia kept repeating as she pointed to the spider in my hand.

I had to show the girls...

I want to instill a healthy respect for spiders in the girls without making them hysterical with fear when they see one. They already know I don't believe in killing spiders and that I will normally catch any in the house and let them go again outside. The only spiders I'll consider killing are the poisonous redback spiders and only then if they are in a place where the kids may play (and even then I feel bad).

Redback Spider

The redback spider is a potentially dangerous spider native to Australia. Here are a couple of photos I took of one which we found underneath our letterbox. It is an adult female with a body roughly the size of a pea. As you can see it is protecting three large egg sacs.

The redback spider is a member of the widow family of spiders. It is one of the most dangerous spiders in Australia having a neurotoxic venom which is toxic to humans with bites causing severe pain. There is an antivenom for redback bites commercially available and it is interesting to note that there have been no deaths reported since the antivenom was introduced in 1956.

Redback spiders are found all around Australia. They are often found close to human residences. Every summer we find them in our garage and near fences.

Blue-faced Honeyeater

The Blue-faced Honeyeater is a large (growing to approximately 30 cm or 1 foot) black, white and golden olive-green honeyeater with striking blue skin around the yellow to white eye. I spotted this one on our next-door neighbour's banana tree. Not surprisingly, Blue-faced Honeyeaters are also colloquially known as Banana-birds.

Finished with that flower it spots another...



Hmm... how to get at the nectar within?




Sharp claws latch onto the outside of the flower...



Mmm...nectar!

Huntsman Spider

Huntsman spiders are fairly common where I live. This one was on a wall downstairs and at only about 5 cm (2 inches) in length is only a baby. Adult males can attain a legspan 25 - 30cm (9.8 - 11.8 inches). My understanding is that although they are venomous a bite will only cause local swelling and pain but I'm not in any hurry to test this out. They tend to be most common in the garage and around trees in the yard.

Huntsman spiders don't build webs because they hunt and forage for their food. Their main prey are small insects. These spiders are very fast and are also occasionally found on walls and ceilings in the house much to the horror of the females in my family. I'm the one that captures them and lets them go in the garden (while having a quiet chuckle at the hysteria one little spider can cause).