Today I Saw a Native Animal

[Mackka]

Yes we have about 30 odd maggies morning and night plus 3-5 kookas waiting patiently for their tiny pieces of meat, not mince as it rots their beaks. Love em.

 

[Hilux]

Yes we have about 30 odd maggies morning and night plus 3-5 kookas waiting patiently for their tiny pieces of meat, not mince as it rots their beaks. Love em.

We just keep a small container with cat biscuits in the letter box. The vet reckons they are ok for them as a treat and contain enough calcium and stuff.

I caught a large locust eating our franjipani. I took it across the road and gave it to one of the maggies, she had a good time fighting and eating it.

 

[Qlden]

8 or 9 pairs of these Major Mitchell’s where we are camped..

 

[Bora68]

8 or 9 pairs of these Major Mitchell’s where we are camped..

Wow ,what a great sight and photos there. Would have made my day seeing that. A mate and i saw a few Major Mitchells up north of Bullfinch last year but it was only a fleeting glance as they took off from the side of the road.
They make great pets i believe. Met an old bloke who had one for 50 years and they both looked old and worn out. Cheers.

 

[Grey Panner]

8 or 9 pairs of these Major Mitchell’s where we are camped..

The first time we saw Major Mitchel Cockatoos was out at Chamber's Plillar south of Alice Springs.They were a novel sight.
Also of note was the pillar itself. Not only is it a magnificent spectacle in its own right but also a major historical feature bearing inscriptions from early explorers.It's a pity that later tourists think that their names also deserve to be engraved for posterity.

 

[user 22230]

Bit of trivia, Major Mitchell being whom the cockatoo was named after passed thru Expedition Pass at Golden Point Reservoir just outside of Chewton. Monument Hill Castlemaine also for the Burke & Wills expedition. In my day it was also the place that you took the young ladies parking to show them the wild ducks. be more than one or two Castlemanians conceived there I'd reckon.

 

[Grey Panner]

Bit of trivia, Major Mitchell being whom the cockatoo was named after passed thru Expedition Pass at Golden Point Reservoir just outside of Chewton. Monument Hill Castlemaine also for the Burke & Wills expedition. In my day it was also the place that you took the young ladies parking to show them the wild ducks. be more than one or two Castlemanians conceived there I'd reckon.

More trivia.
Athough Major Mitchell's name is well known he doesn't always get the credit he deserves. Unlike Sturt, Stuart and Burke and Wills who endured trerrible privation, Mitchell tended to have relatively pleasant trips. This was largely due to the fact that, as an ex-army surveyor of considerable wartime campaign experience, he prepared his treks with care. He was known as a "heavy" explorer. That is to say he travelled with wagon loads of stores and considerable numbers of cattle and sheep.When favourable reports of newly discovered grazing land were published, pioneers had no trouble following the considerable tracks he left.
When all of his separate trips are put together he had covered all of Eastern Australia from Portland Bay on the south coast of Victoria right up to the Barcoo River in Queensland.If ordered, he could probably have gone the extra distance up to the Gulf of Carpentaria thereby completing the south to north crossing of the continent that killed Burke and Wills and caused Sturt so much trouble.
If his feats of exploration are largely forgotten at least his name is preserved hrough the beautiful bird that bears his name.

 

[Grey Panner]

A short while ago there was an exchange of views on this forum as to whether pure white kangaroos could produce white joeys or whether theywere just a one off feature.
That question has now been answered.
Someone rescued three white kangaroos that were found caged on a farm at Bordertown in South Australia.
They were take to a wild life reserve on the Morninton Peninsula in Victoria where they have grown to a mob of nine.
Although they were not of absolutely pure whiteness, they were definitely "off white" and stood out from a group of normal Eastern Greys.

 

[grubstake]

Bit of trivia, Major Mitchell being whom the cockatoo was named after passed thru Expedition Pass at Golden Point Reservoir just outside of Chewton. Monument Hill Castlemaine also for the Burke & Wills expedition. In my day it was also the place that you took the young ladies parking to show them the wild ducks. be more than one or two Castlemanians conceived there I'd reckon.

It's good to hear that there was so much interest in natural history among the young folk of the town back in the day.

 

[Dave's Office]

Discovered this little fella this morning, all of our coming and going doesn't seem to worry him, he's clearly pretty tired after a hard night.

 

[grubstake]

Discovered this little fella this morning, all of our coming and going doesn't seem to worry him, he's clearly pretty tired after a hard night.

These are cool little critters, but that's a very odd place for one to roost. If you think he may be sick/injured, call an animal rescue group, rather than trying to catch him to take to a vet. I've assisted a uni researcher studying cave bats on the Nullarbor and have first-hand experience that they will bite if handled and could possibly infect you with something nasty.

 

[Jaros]

Discovered this little fella this morning, all of our coming and going doesn't seem to worry him, he's clearly pretty tired after a hard night.

Wouldn't even breathe Bat fart-they are a danger to humanity.

 

[Dave's Office]

He/she seems OK, does a little shuffle every now and then and goes back to sleep. Hopefully will fly off tonight and join the colony

 

[grubstake]

I just came across this article, which sounds like it could be relevant to your unexpected visitor, Dave:

Australians urged to look out for microbats as temperature flux sends them into torpor

Animal rescuers say that the tiny, native mammals might be found taking refuge on screen doors, inside umbrellas, jacket pockets or anywhere they can hide away.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Dave's Office]

How relevant is that story, "they will end up on screen doors" I'm hoping Igor will buzz off in about an hour, by which time it will be dark.

 

[19.3]

Igor is very cute!
Spotted this blue flower wasp trawling through the fallen blossoms from the Crepe myrtle
View attachment 20230326_104417.mp4
- its iridescent wings sparkle brilliantly when they catch the light!

 

[Nightjar]

Discovered this little fella this morning, all of our coming and going doesn't seem to worry him, he's clearly pretty tired after a hard night.

Yes creatures of habit. While living and working on Koolan Island in the 70's we lived in a house built on concrete columns about 2.5 metres above ground. Obviously there were stairs and to keep our toddler from taking a tumble I had a wooden slat barrier on hinges positioned at front door opening. Heading off to work every morning, open front door and hanging from the barrier was a giant bat. I could swing barrier open and close it when leaving and the bat would not blink and eye. Needless to say the other half came and went via back door.

 

[Dave's Office]

I thought I better give an update on little "Igor", unfortunately he passed away today, but a bit of info I learnt thanks to grubstakes link to the wildlife rescue team in Broken Hill, I rang them and they gave me the number for the expert Bat Lady in Adelaide. She told me Igor was probably either old or sick and probably wouldn't survive, she gave me instructions how to look after him/her and help Igor get airborne if fatigue was the only problem, unfortunately it wasn't, but what she told me was if Igor dies it's important that people went out of their way to help and care, thanks grubstake, she's right.

 

[grubstake]

Aw, sorry to hear that, Dave. But you gave him much-needed shelter from weather and predators in his dying hours, so you did good, mate.

Unfortunately, wildlife rescue is often a heartbreaking business and no matter what you do for the creatures, they don't survive. As the lady says, trying to help is the important thing - I guess it's what makes us human.

 

[LuckyPhil]

Saw this fella pretending to be a tree in Durakai.