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    WTF Wednesday, er Thursday: Baleen Plate

    backyardzoology / July 22, 2021

    Ever wondered what's inside the mouth of some whales? Wonder no more. Meet: the baleen plate, or the 'hairy curtain' as I like to call it!

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Naturalist, Spider Discoverer, Writer & All round good girl

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When you watch nature closely, when you take the t When you watch nature closely, when you take the time to slow down, to let the sounds wash over you, and your eyes fall upon all the happenings, it becomes clear the sheer amount of lives that end every day. And sometimes you get a dash of good old fashioned cruelty and a dose of brutality added in that, even though I feel like I've seen it all, and understand it's survival after all, rattles me. Look, it might be hormones but there's been a few gut-punches here lately, of the 'nature is a cruel mistress' variety so maybe I'm just feeling a little bit raw from it all. More on some of our recent losses in the next day or two. Now, strangely enough, this wasn't one of those things that unsettled me. Although for this Huntsman, this is surely one of the worst endings you can have. Made worse, of course, by the fact that this is no ending at all. Rather a sort of stasis, a terrible limbo, injected and paralysed by the Orange Spider Wasp, dragged along the ground, over rocks and through grass, up fences, aware but unable to move or to defend itself, destined to become an incubator, the wasp laying her egg on the still living spider, ferreting it away in the burrow she has dug in the ground, sealing the chamber, so the spider waits in the dark for the larvae to hatch and start its terrible feast. #spiderwasp #spiderwaspandspider #huntsmanspider #entomology #ausgeo #natgeo #wasps #australia #australianinsects #inmygarden #inmygardentoday #lifeanddeath #backyardzoology
I’ve been wanting to do this for ages. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to do this for ages. Honestly, at the moment, pretty much everything feels hard but this amazing phenomenon only lasts for around 4 weeks each season and less than an hour each day. Tick. Tick. Tick. And so I was standing in my pyjamas, looking at the time, at Matthew and back at the time before I finally said, “Bugger it. Let’s give it a crack.” He of course had no idea what I was talking about. I do a lot of planning in my head; long detailed conversations weighing up the pros and cons of what I’m considering and only looping Matt in at the end. Poor Matt. But after pulling on some jeans, quickly feeding the dog and apologising for our soon to be absence we left home after 6PM. Unheard of. It was still light when we got to Cascade Falls which was good because we’d never been before. As soon as we entered the rainforest, dusk started to close in on us. Two lyrebirds shot up out of the shadows and across the river, surprised by our arrival and the smell of the warm, moist earth filled the air. This is beautiful country; deep green. The gnarled vines curled and twisted from the canopy while the green catbirds, wailed and shrieked around us. These weren’t the strangled cat calls of our local catbirds. These were the ‘screaming women’ kind that I’d heard about. *shudder* We made it to the waterfall with plenty of time to explore, clambering over lichen embossed boulders, sweaty but excited. And finally, at just after 8PM I saw it: the first bright blinking light, a metre or two in the distance. On. Off. On. Off. I screamed to Matt to come look and then it took to the air- my first ever firefly! It’s so hard to describe these insects. Their flight is silent and they appear to float down from the trees, first one and then another and another until the pitch black is alive with floating, twisting, blinking lights. It is truly magical. I reached my hand out, child-like and watched as the fireflies slip out of my reach, slowly, like dandelion seeds caught on a breeze. #cascadefalls #fireflies #backyardzoology
We had planned to go to Barren Grounds. It was mor We had planned to go to Barren Grounds. It was more of a plan than I'm used to in that the night before we looked at each other, decided where we would go and I made a note to pack some crackers, cheese and hummus and because I was feeling fancy, some gherkins. I'm not great at following through with plans. I need options and having a definite plan, by its very nature, takes away other options. I'm also not great at spontaneity because I like having plans. It's annoying as it sounds. But we got in the car, my husband unexpectedly free mid-week. Somewhere though, between home and the reserve, our plans changed. Or rather my plans changed and it wasn't 'somewhere' it was right at the turn off to Minnamurra Rainforest where I saw the sign saying 'Minnamurra Rainforest' and yanked the wheel to the right. Plans, schmans. We have lyrebirds across the road, popping up occasionally in the cool, dark gully. Some years they dig at the side of the road, sometimes we don't see them at all. One special year a particularly bold individual wanting all the grubby goodness that was living in our abandoned mulch pile, did a mad dash across our garage roof. But it's been a while since I've seen one close and that's what, it turned out, I was after. If you've been to Minnamurra Rainforest you'll be familiar with the thrill of the lanky birds running up and across the boardwalk in front of you. Or sneaking up on one scratching for worms. We had to walk a long way, at such an angle that we were bent at the waist, looking like mimes pushing against an invisible wind, before we spotted one. It was lovely and special but it didn't scratch that itch - I wanted to see a mature male and his beautiful lyre-shaped tail. And so we continued to walk. Until, right near the entrance to the trail 3 birds dashed over the river, navigating the lichen embossed boulders and into the damp of the rainforest. Until, right near the entrance to the trail 3 birds dashed over the river, navigating the lichen embossed boulders. And there they stood. Not for long, and always partially hidden by trees but there it was, that magnificent tail and the cool eye of the lyrebird watching me back.
We've been waiting so long to meet our newest neig We've been waiting so long to meet our newest neighbour and finally she showed her/his (cute as a button) face! We always have new possums being born around here and we really look forward to seeing them out of the pouch. I actually look forward to seeing them IN the pouch - you know, when mumma is walking along and there's this big dangling belly, clearly with a baby nestled inside, a baby big enough to move out of home! Sometimes you even see a foot dangling out. It's pretty hilarious and always adorable. But when they start making their way around on mumma's back, it's the absolute best! They're often this almost golden colour and their ears swivel constantly. I mean the world is a pretty scary place and it's important to be on your A-game at all times. We say hello and we actually let our dog bark at them and act a bit feral (all 10 kilos of her) so they don't get too comfortable around other animals. Our local possums tend to wander around on the ground a bit which is a recipe for disaster so we like to keep them on their toes a bit. It's funny really, the things we do to live in harmony with one another and I wouldn't have it any other way. Brushtail Possum and joey. #australia #australiananimals #brushtailpossum #joey #babypossum #inmybackyard #nighttimewanders #backyardzoology #coalcoast #northernillawarra
Now I know these birds are fan favourites among a Now I know these birds are fan favourites among a lot of you - me included. The call is just so eerie and so distinctive. And those tail feathers 🥰 I got a message, maybe 12 months ago now (maybe more) from some documentary producers, asking if they could use the sound from a video of mine of a Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo calling for a show they were making for Apple TV. Umm, hell yeah you can. They only needed a couple of seconds, just to demonstrate the birds that the star of the show, a Superb Lyrebird, was mimicking. Which is lucky because the whole video wasn't long and most of the time you could hear Matt's camera clicking away in the background! I still haven't seen it because I'm too tight to pay for Apple but I DID get paid for the 2 seconds they used. I had a good belly laugh invoicing for 2 seconds of footage though. It's so funny where this world of nature watching and writing takes you. Thumping and trumpeting whales one day and on your knees dragging yourself through the mud chasing ants the next. Luckily for me, these cockies have been at Bass Point the last couple of times I've been whale watching (or whale waiting). They absolutely love the banksia seed pods and grab them from the trees, pluck them right off with their amazingly strong claws and then eat them like a cob of corn. It is so hard staying home, trying to get work done when you know there is so much out there still to explore. #yellowtailedblackcockatoo #blackcockatooproject #abcmyphoto #visitnsw #natgeo #ausgeo #yourbestbirds #birdsofaustralia #ausgeo #bbcwildlifepotd #shellharbour #australianbirds #birdsofoz #backyardzoology
There can be a lot of time between whales, especia There can be a lot of time between whales, especially as the season is starting to wrap up. And so I've been taking my macro lens with me just in case, because if there's one thing this gal loves, it's having options. After a particularly quiet afternoon I spotted one of my very favourite ants (as in ant species, not as in one individual ant. I'm not over here like, 'oh hi Gary! How's the wife and kids?) And having my macros lens I quickly dropped to my knees and tried to work out where their nest was so I could watch their comings and goings. Green-Head Ants (man, I love a common name, especially a common name that makes sense. Don't come at me taxonomists) live underground, under rocks, twigs and branches or in decaying wood. The nest entrance of this colony was hidden under a couple of fallen leaves and I watched as they busily removed teeny little rocks which had likely come loose from the nest entrance itself, using their jaws to carry the load. They would then drop them a short distance away and head back to the nest once again. Rinse. Repeat. Things were going great, me on the ground utterly fascinated, no whales in sight until I felt the little tickle of a rogue ant and then a very distinct sting. This wasn't one of the Green-Head Ants fortunately as their sting is pretty potent and some people are allergic. I'm a big sook and so a few stings, even itty bitty ones, and I was out of there. But as much as I'm a sook, I'm also a glutton for punishment and so I went back the next day to see if I could get some images. And because I'm the luckiest gal in the world, I found a handful of them feeding on the nectar of the last few tea tree blossoms, at head height. They looked to have as much an issue with sugar as I do. I mean, they were right in there, head down, bum up and... not moving. They were really going to town! But after a relatively healthy diet of arthropods and seeds, sometimes you gotta indulge, right? #ants #ausgeo #insectsofinstagram🐛🐝🐞🐜 #entomology #australianinsects #smallworld #macrophotography #bbcwildpotd #bbcpotd #natgeo #backyardzoology #abcmyphoto
I've been paring things right back, right to the v I've been paring things right back, right to the very beginning of Backyard Zoology and taking photos of things in my actual backyard (and my actual front yard). I'm sure it's been eye opening for the tradies doing renos at my neighbour's house. This is the first time they have been introduced to the pyjama clad, camera wrangling, antisocial photographer and no doubt the first time they've seen someone roll down the hill after not quite getting the balancing part of front yard photography right. There's lots of photos to go through. Lots of little spiders taking up home in my teeny daisy patch. But that's for another day. I've also been trying to walk more. Trying to stretch and bend my body and trying to ensure my heart still continues to beat in the rhythm that it's supposed to. You know, just generally trying to be healthier. I had no sooner started my walk this morning when I spotted two whales in close. I hesitated for a minute, wondering if I should just keep walking and enjoy the show, even though they weren't doing much in a very calm ocean on a very overcast morning. It didn't take long before I decided to race home and grab my camera. I can work on my health anytime but whales are a 'now' event. I got to Woonona and just off from the pool I spotted a couple of backs. I'm assuming these were the whales I had seen earlier and again they weren't doing much but they were close in and that's always a treat. But then the mother launched herself out of the water! Salt water teamed off of her back and out of her mouth as she splashed back down in a head lunge. Her calf joined her once and then breached but it was all about the mumma as she lunged again and again. I'm not sure if it was the impending downpour, the sky dark and moody, the air sticky or if it was just the unexpectedness of it all but gosh was she lovely! Just the most beautiful colours and patterns, speckled with white, her black back steely against the dark ocean. I'm going to miss these animals when the season is done. #humpbackhighway #humpbackwhales #illawarra #abcillawarra #abcmyphoto #southernmigration #welovethegong #backyardzoology #woonona
It's been a long time since I was face to face wit It's been a long time since I was face to face with not one but two snakes simultaneously (and you lot can get your minds out of the gutter right now!). Happy to report I broke my double-snake drought while we were down the coast. There's loads of dog friendly places down at Bermagui. Beautiful beaches, cafes, pubs; there weren't many places that our lovely doggo Mabel wasn't welcome. BUT the famous Blue Pool is one of those places so Matt and I planned to tag-team so that one of us was on dog-duty at the top of the stairs, which is totally fine as it has the perfect view of a pod of local seals, while the other explored the pool itself. Now because my husband is the best human ever, he had only gone down a few steps before he excitedly called me over, grabbed Mabel and pushed me down the stairs (one of those gentle, off you pop, pushes) so that I could see the gorgeous Diamond Python that was coming out of the grass and making its way across the stairs. We get occasional pythons here but it's been a while and so I was a very happy girl. But things got even better when a random bloke pointed behind me, giving me a quick nod and a wink and I turned to find a second python about to also slither down onto the stairs! These two moved back and forth over the next hour. One snake would disappear into the long grass and if you hadn't seen it you would never have known it was there and just as you were turning to leave, the other would turn up somewhere else and suck you back in. It was really cool watching everyone discover them and it reminded me how lucky we are to be surrounded with such incredible wildlife. We finally returned to the car to scoff the amazing cinnamon rolls that we discovered in town, and left the snakes to what I can only assume was some hard earned hanky panky. #pythonsofinsta #pythonsofaustralia #diamondpython #bermagui #bermaguinsw #sapphirecoast #visitnsw #snake #snakesofaustralia #bluepool #backyardzoology
While we were down the coast, I had really, really While we were down the coast, I had really, really hoped to snorkel with the seals off Montague Island. But alas I've been feeling a bit light-headed lately and not overly strong and there's nothing worse than trying to snorkel in the ocean and ending up somewhere off the coast of Tasmania. So after a fair bit of sulking and feeling generally annoyed with myself, I decided that I would have a dip in the famous Blue Pool instead. Now the Blue Pool is one of those amazing ocean pools that are dotted all up and down the coast. I love them because even if you're not a particularly strong swimmer you can still enjoy all that salty goodness and often spot a critter or two while you're at it. How do the critters get in there? Well on one particularly rough day I watched from my floating spot as a full sized sea slug hurtled from the ocean, through the air and plonked with a splash into the water next to me!!! So the answer, obviously, is that they fly there 😉 I don't have a wetsuit and for good reason. I struggle to get out of my full-sleeved cossie as it is (and apologies to the man who was in the toilet next to me as he would have heard a bunch of grunting and swearing and huffing and puffing and not have realised that I was just trying to peel myself out of my wet swimmers!) So, I braved the cold water sans wettie and got my snorkel on. The Blue Pool was more the green pool, with loads of algae and sadly not many critters. I did find a massive eleven-armed sea star but I was determined to spot something fabulous and so after doing another lap as my ears started to ache and my hands got numb, I spotted the most delicious nudibranch ever! I've never seen this species before, and it was decked out in my favourite colour, pink. It was also right at eye level so no duck-diving - luckily as I always just bob back up again. But it really made my morning, and the trip down and then back up the very many stairs, totally worth it! #bermagui #bluepool #bluepoolbermagui #nudibranchs #clownnudibranch #nudis #snorkel #snorkelling #sapphirecoast #sapphirecoastnsw #backyardzoology

Recent Posts

  • Spring has, ah, sprung: Welcome Swallows
    In Wildlife
  • Whose shell is that?: The very lovely Elephant Snail
    In Wildlife
  • Get undressed, for success: Spiny Leaf Insect shedding her skin
    In Wildlife

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