Wildlife June 2010

[SusanS]

My first go at posting anything.. (Darren is training me up to be his secretary  )

Each of the flower heads on these Alliums has it's own tenant each night. I don't know where they sleep the rest of the year!

[Ragged Robin]

What an amazing sight you have captured Susan - are those bees drunk or sleepy? Normally they would live in solitary nests wouldn't they? forget the secretary Bit I think you should be a journalist 

[christian pfalz]

hi, cetonia aurata on cistus...

breakfast time 

cheers
chris

[angie]

Hi Susan...I find trying to take a picture of one bee is so hard to get , capturing all those together is something special.
Looking forward to see more amazing pictures from you soon.

Angie

[SusanS]

Thank you Robin and Angie, the photos were taken late evening - the bees were very sleepy and not moving at all.  Earlier in the day it was a different story - the bees were stacked in a holding pattern over the chives!    

Angie - Darren and I both loved the photo of your pond. 

[angie]

Susan thanks for your compliment, the pond was put in before the house was built as we wanted to take our fish when we moved, this was our fist mistake the pond had three large trees overhanging it and blocked out all the sun so only three years ago we sadly had them removed, now the pond and fish are happier...we only have three of the original fish left now 20years old but starting to show there age like there owners.

Hope to see and hear more from you on the forum, its nice to have more female friends on the forum. I am not too knowledgeable with plants but just love gardening and flowers .
 
Angie

[Gail]

Wildlife vandalism... who or what?

Angie

Angie, in my garden it is usually the chickens and pheasants who pull flowerheads off for me (particularly snowdrops and pulsatillas).

[TheOnionMan]

Female wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the yard today, with 10 chicks.

[Gail]

Lovely Mark - I've never seen a wild one even in zoos over here.

[angie]

Gail , the same happened again the following day, whatever it is it likes daisy heads... well at least decapitation of daisy's  .

Angie

[Ragged Robin]

Isn't it elegant and slim compared to the domestic turkey, more like a peahen in body shape, and her chicks are so cute peeping out of the grass - they seem quite at ease McMark are you too as she looks around for something tasty?

[Ragged Robin]

Gail , the same happened again the following day, whatever it is it likes daisy heads... well at least decapitation of daisy's  .

Angie

How annoying Angie, rabbits used to do that with my Frits, just when they opened out, and I never knew why.

[TheOnionMan]

Isn't it elegant and slim compared to the domestic turkey, more like a peahen in body shape, and her chicks are so cute peeping out of the grass - they seem quite at ease McMark are you too as she looks around for something tasty?

The female is slim. They all came right into the yard, and only scooted off into high grass when I slowly approached trying to take some photos.  The mother delighted in gobbling down honeysuckle berries.

The toms (males), particularly late in the season, are almost comically ornate and gussied up, much larger than than the females and looking huge, imposing, and almost absurd when walking around in a pack of 20-30 birds, as they do commonly around here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Turkey

[christian pfalz]

hi, a pic from my tufawall, podarcis muralis today by sunbath... , behind primula auricula...

cheers
chris

[Paul T]

Excellent pics everyone.  Nice to see some excellent Aussie finches in there. 

Very weird seeing WHITE swans...... to me they should be black.  I know that it is the opposite way around for you guys, but I still look twice every time I see a pic of a white swan, and I would love to see a family of them myself one day.  The black swans regularly breed in ponds/lakes all around Canberra and the surrounding areas.  The cygnets are just so cute. 

Thanks again for the wonderful pics.