My Neck Of The ....Bush

[Brumby53]

Been on the road a bit lately but back home & into some building work around home this morning, dragged out two stacked saw-horses from the shady side of the house, separated them and found this little critter.


A Peron's Tree Frog.... Litoria peronii ...about 50mm long (for comparison the saw-horse is 85mm across)
Pleased to see him, have heard them lots at night lately but first one I have seen in a long while.
When I first came here in the mid 90's it was common to see 6 -8 of them on the kitchen window at night chasing moths & bugs then the long dry came and thinned them out.
It's been a wet winter and fairly good spring so far, so hopefully we will see lots more of them.:_sii:

 

[Tomuda]

Talk about an exposed spot to lay eggs (lapwing) and i love the shots of the Goshawk, fantastic.

 

[Brumby53]

Never tire of watching these Guys - real characters - a shot taken from the kitchen table while I had Breakfast this morning.
We have one we call "Elvis" because he wears a white outfit, struts around and makes a lot of noise. (Actually I think they all take turns being Elvis
They are also coming right up onto the veranda but we will need to discourage that before they eat the furniture :_s: I don't think the "Kitchen Mechanic" would be too impressed:_lol:

 

[Brumby53]

Another morning - The same vista

 

[Brumby53]

My wife spotted this moth early this morning and immediately described it as a "Stealth Moth" which sort of sums this critter up. Beautiful markings and a wonder of nature's design.
Anyone know what it is?

 

[Hairyman]

Looks like a Vine Hawk Moth = Hippotion celerio.

 

[Aussie123]

My wife spotted this moth early this morning and immediately described it as a "Stealth Moth" which sort of sums this critter up. Beautiful markings a a wonder of nature's design.
Anyone know what it is?
View attachment 20606...

Grapevine Hawk Moth (Hippotion celerio) aka Sphynx moth
- the caterpillar is considered a pest on grape vines and taro !

This would be a great addition to the Flora and Fauna Database ( http://bushcraftoz.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?59-Invertebrates ) ?


Edit: PS - "Snap" Hairy !

 

[Brumby53]

Hairy & Aussie Thanks for the Id

 

[Brumby53]

Have been a bit slack up-dating this thread - gone a 'tad' cooler here over night.

 

[Doc]

Wow, looks freezing cold!

 

[Brumby53]

Wow, looks freezing cold!

Sure is Doc and a day later while the snow has gone the rain hasn't as I type this is 2.4 degrees, raining, 30k+ winds and does not look like letting up.
On the positive side... all the tanks are full as are the dams....

 

[Brumby53]

Heavier Snow this time around than last week as I tap this out (around Midday) it is 2.3 degrees the wind is picking up and we are forecast to have 35k+ winds this evening.


Note the weather rock on the left doing its job

 

[Brumby53]

Fox number 7 for the season, taken just on dusk this evening all shot from the veranda (life is tough out here in the bush...:non sono stato io

 

[Brumby53]

The Fox "thinning" has obviously worked - every night we check with the torch several times but we have not seen a fox (not even way off) not one since the 19th of July.
The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos are here in big numbers this year a mob of 40+ and instead of just staying a few days and passing through; this year they have been here several weeks.

And the 'young fella' home for a rare weekend with the Old Man and went flying with a mate of his, capturing this great pic of "Brumby's Run"

Looking good - dams full and the ground soaked - ready for a great spring!

 

[Brumby53]

While we take notice of the birds that live here and pass though “Brumby’s Run” , we aren’t what I would call avid bird watchers so we were lucky today to spot this pair.
Superb Parrot Polyteis swainsonii
This is the first time we have seen them …ever. My “Field Guide to Australian Birds” tells me the migrate from the SW Riverina to the north of Central NSW to the Namoi and Macquarie Rivers in Winter. We are about 15 kms from the Macquarie (as the ‘Parrot’ flies) but it is hardly ‘winter ‘ with 29 degrees here today.
Status… “Declining because of habitat loss… now common only in a few preserved habitats such as the Barmah Forest on the Murray River.”
I drive through Boorowa on the SW Slopes of NSW regularly and they have a well-established and on-going habitat regeneration program there for this Superb Parrot.

 

[remember-the-mount-bread]

Awesome photos mate, really nice to look through, I definitely envy these kinds of property's as a "'burbs" guy. :linguino:
Thanks a lot,
Aidan

 

[Brumby53]

The Luck Of The Irish! According to Wikipedia.... "The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common three-leaved clover. According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally. In addition, each leaf is believed to represent something: the first is for faith, the second is for hope, the third is for love, and the fourth is for luck."
I might have to buy a couple of scratchies (Might also need to buy a duster - excuse the dust on my press.)

 

[peter.robinson]

that's a really nice press