I just took the dog outside, walking up the drive, I saw juvenile Yellow Robins everywhere. I have never had as many as this year.
The one in the photo let me get so close, I had to make sure I got the tail in the picture.
Last night there was also a Wallaby that wasn't scared either.Enjoy.(when you can see it)
Now I know where they got that saying from;- bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Regards
Shane
Brilliant close-up. Is that your reflection in the eye? :)
Laurius
Don't you love it when they let you get close?
I wish all birds did :)
Laurius
Lovely to see birds and animals so close. Do you see any paddymelons around? I've only ever seen them once and not very close at that.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
What's a "paddymelon", please? Can't tell you if I saw one, if I don't know what it is. Sounds a bit like an old man with a pot belly.
M-L
A paddymelon is like a very small wallaby. I have photos but they tend to hide, so all I've got is a bit here, and a bit there, and you'd just think it was a wallaby anyway. Actually, it is probably spelled "pademelon". This is a quote from one page I read:
"This pademelon is one of the smallest of the macropods, standing 40 - 55 cm when upright. Their small, compact bodies make them well adapted to movement through the dense rainforest understorey. Disguised by a thick grey/ brown fur and creamy/ pale underbelly, their name refers to the rusty colouration of the limbs, cheeks and tail."
This link shows some of the many types of macropod we are lucky enough to have in this country, including a pic of the pademelon which is sort of squat and fat and very cute.
http://www.immigration-2-australia.com/about-australia/animals/kangaroo-wallabies-paddymelon
And the description of an old man with a pot belly is very apt.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Thanks so much for that information. Hmm, I have seen some very small ones, but they looked a lot darker, I will pay more attention to them and ask my friend who knows what is in the bush around here. But my husband has seen the joey of the girl in the photo grasing next to Mum. Still very skinny with long legs.
M-L
I know nobody has asked, but the wallaby is a Swamp Wallaby and a very good picture too. We have them around here but they are very shy, also they have no road sense and get run over much more than the other local wallaby- The Red Necked Wallaby. Ray
Thanks Ray, they are very shy, but this one has come for some time now. I have seen the male too, but he is much more careful. The girl started to come together with the wombats at dusk, but sinse we had to shoot the poor one with mange, she comes on her own. There is nothing threatening them here. We keep our dogs behind fences and bring them in at dusk, there are no cars. Sometimes I feel, the wildlife around here know they are safe at our place, I would stand infront of a truck to protect them. I just stopped traffic on the road, because an echidna crossed very slowly. It took some time, I was called strange for a while, but neighbours are beginning to understand me now.
M-L
Thanks from me to re the ID, Ray. It just reminded me of the pademelons we'd seen up north. They were small, but not all that fat really.
M-L, so glad you saved the echidna. They can move when they want to, silly things. I once stopped traffic for a koala. Luckily, everyone stopped, and some laughed at the sight. It ambled across the road then sat right in front of my car and had a scratch. Finally took off into the bush. Sadly, too many don't make it. Mt. Cotton is like a slaughter house for native animals on the roads.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Here is a photo of Mum and joey, taken from further away, I didn't want to scare them.
M-L
Lovely pic. You must have a good camera to get it that clear. I've never seen one of these before.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Thanks Karen, I do have a nice ( Sony) camera, but as I said ,she knows me.For the first picture I was very close, the photo is only cropped a little. The second one ,I was not more than 15 m away. We have Wombats I can get close to, I could touch them. I think it's like all animals, if you are patient and meet them on their own terms, just sit and wait for hours, days (weeks), they will get close. It's respect I think, I have turned agressive horses around by just waiting for them to get close to me, you have to earn nature's respect.
M-L
Yes, I believe that too. I don't get much of a chance these days with animals, but the birds still know how to train me.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Thanks from me, too, for the ID, Ray.
Araminta, I agree about being patient in enabling native animals to feel unthreatened by us. We used to have lots of western grey kangaroos on our place (until the neighbour, who couldn't live in harmony with them, shot them) & it got to the point where I could sit on a rock with my back to a mob about 10 metres away & one or two of them would come within a metre of me. It's an awesome feeling to know that by doing nothing apart from being patient we can earn the trust of these beautiful but much-killed animals.