Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: vanozzi on December 01, 2013, 12:59:36 PM
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So nice to see this visitor, now with cub.
Regards
Paul R
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So nice to see this visitor, now with cub.
Regards
Paul R
Only thing cuter than a Koala is a baby Koala, I see! Did she bring her cub to wish you a happy birthday, Paul?
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Aren't koala babies called joeys.
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I suppose since the young of other marsupials, such as Kangaroo and Wallabies are "joeys" that might well be the case - but so many of us think of these critters as Koala "bears" that cub seems reasonable.
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Hi Paul R,
I'll trade you an Echidna! ;) Not quite as cuddly, however.
The rock garden beds are being churned through on a daily basis at present >:(
cheers
fermi
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Better than the mangey hedgehogs we get round here.
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According to the wiki all marsupial babies are joeys.
Saw two dead koalas on the highway out of Adelaide last Saturday.
We have a resident kangaroo and her joey in our garden. No wonder most of the dried aril seed pods were on the ground but luckily most had mesh bags on them.
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While this is from a couple of years ago, still a cute picture (our back walkway):
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While this is from a couple of years ago, still a cute picture (our back walkway):
Who knew that deer could talk Turkey?
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Thanks for the card the other day Maggie.
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''I'll trade you an Echidna! ;) Not quite as cuddly, however.
The rock garden beds are being churned through on a daily basis at present >:(
cheers
fermi''
Hi Fermi, not sure such a trade is entirely legal, however, if it was you would have to chuck in at least liliums souliei, lophophorum and a flowering size yapingense ;D to get my koalas !
The Echidna looks well fed.We have several jack-jumper ant nests here that it would be more than welcomed to clean up
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Christmas lunch?
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some snaps of grey seals from Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth yesterday - young pups still in white coats so still suckling -they do this for about three weeks then have to fend for themselves. December may seem a tough time to come into the world but these seals are doing well - there are now several colonies in the Forth where there used to be none. Even so pup mortality is high as they are vulnerable to storms.
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more showing weaned pups moulted and ready for the sea, then two bulls fighting in the water, finally a pair mating though the pup will not be born for another year.
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Not exactly wildlife but a wild thing in the lavender. Anthony what is it - apart from a very colourful spider?
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Looks like the Christmas spider (Austracantha minax) Pat.
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Thanks Anthony I thought you would know. Well of course it is a Christmas spider! I haven't seen one before and he is pretty fancy. Guess I leave the pruning of that lavender bush for another day now.
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I am suffering from unexpected masochism- I think it was brought on by the seasonal name of the darn thing.....
http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1869 (http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1869)
Yikes! Those close -ups are great photos but give me the heebie-jeebies. Why DID I go searching? ::) ??? :-X
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I am suffering from unexpected masochism- I think it was brought on by the seasonal name of the darn thing.....
http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1869 (http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1869)
Yikes! Those close -ups are great photos but give me the heebie-jeebies. Why DID I go searching? ::) ??? :-X
Maggi thank you for a new word in my vocabulary. :)
As for me the spider is funny.
I hunted for elks family a couple of days ago.
(http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dbf/zrRvb-Gw1iY.jpg)
http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dbe/SaK2bwNXP64.jpg (http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dbe/SaK2bwNXP64.jpg)
(http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dc8/C83tgdZBGRw.jpg)
http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dc7/lDFICIB5Fuc.jpg (http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dc7/lDFICIB5Fuc.jpg)
(http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dd1/OA1okU078WQ.jpg)
http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dd0/kfNh1poxJKU.jpg (http://cs311726.vk.me/v311726879/21dd0/kfNh1poxJKU.jpg)
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You found the same site MAGGI - great shots of the spider and so much better than I could get. It is a pretty magic spider.
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Meanwhile you could listen to the Hee Bee Gee Bees Hee Bee Gee Bees - Meaningless Songs In Very High Voices (Live in Swedish TV) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlWqNl4Yips#)
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While gathering up dry leaves for mulch, one "leaf" suddenly jumped out of the way!
Can the neighbouring Bug Expert identify it?
cheers
fermi
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Could be a Gumleaf Grasshopper (Goniaea australasiae), but I'm not sure? Just back from Rarotonga with Lucy. Here are some fish we saw while snorkelling in the lagoon in front of the hotel.
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Here are some more fish and some geckos. The brown geckos were possibly Gehyra oceanica.
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Some more wildlife. The house geckos were Hemidactylus frenatus. The adult male skinks (Emoia cyanura) have blue tails. I found two female coconut stick insects (Graeffea crouanii) feeding on a variegated thornless screw pine. In large numbers they can defoliate coconut plantations, so Indian mynahs, like those we have in Auckland, were introduced 100 years ago. The last photo is a view from the beach at the hotel. Paradise. 8)
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Aroa beach - looks better than the pre-Christmas view out of the window here! ;)
Nice fish pictures Anthony - did you use one of the underwater compact cameras that are avaialble these days?
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Yes Peter, an Olympus Tough. Takes videos too. I prefer my other Olympus with the waterproof case as I can use the eye piece viewer. Screens are hopeless under water as you see virtually nothing.
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A brown snake killing a young shingle back lizard just now.
PS I have cropped these a few times to bring them closer as I was not getting close myself.
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A brown snake killing a young shingle back lizard just now.
PS I have cropped these a few times to bring them closer as I was not getting close myself.
Amazing sighting!
I suppose there's no escape from that venom no matter how tough the victim's scaly skin is!
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Judging by the tight coils, it seems to be applying a belt and braces approach.
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..... and had I tight coils I might adopt a belt and braces approach too :P
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Watch if you dare: http://www.20min.ch/ro/videotv/?vid=343463&cid=124&fb_action_ids=193886537481769&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B446679772121887%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.recommends%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D (http://www.20min.ch/ro/videotv/?vid=343463&cid=124&fb_action_ids=193886537481769&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B446679772121887%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.recommends%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D)
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I wouldn't like to be walking under that tree and have that come down on you!
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That's one for Maggi...... ::)
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She'll love that one.
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She's lying down in a darkened room, you horrors!!
To quote an old Carry On film ....." infamy, infamy - they've all got in infamy....... "
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Curious web site. They are harvest spiders.
http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/creation-can-be-creepy-you-wont-believe-what-happens-when-this-furry-thing-is-disturbed-video-111736/ (http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/creation-can-be-creepy-you-wont-believe-what-happens-when-this-furry-thing-is-disturbed-video-111736/)
Here's a still pic from Costa Rica. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32362521@N03/5401534939# (http://www.flickr.com/photos/32362521@N03/5401534939#)
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Here (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/terrifying-spider-vine-video-shows-why-you-should-never-poke-unexplained-balls-of-fluff-9031705.html)'s another short video, looped for endless enjoyment ;D
I wonder why they cluster like that.
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I think it conserves moisture.
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They're certainly pretty gross. I remember seeing an aggregation of these opilionids on a tree buttress in Rincon de La Vieja NP in Costa Rica. ......still makes me squirm! At least they don't bite.
I'm not sure about clustering to conserve moisture as the forest at Rincon was quite humid (but not true rain forest).
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Sorry Anthony, I didn't spot that you had already linked to the same video on another site.
Moisture conservation? Interesting, although the pic from Costa Rica suggests that there may be other reasons too.
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Moving on to a lighter theme- here is a video we just recently discovered in a newsfeed. We had no idea that porcupines were vocal creatures. Hope you enjoy!
Teddy Bear the Porcupine Finds a Christmas Treat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDG2cwsndhk#ws)
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Oh, thank goodness for that - something hairy that only has four legs - and is mega cute to boot and a very chatty little soul.
He doesn't seem to have any spines at all- when do young porcupines get their spines? I thought they were born with soft spikes which hardened in just a few days, like hedgehogs- but that chap has clearly got good chomping teeth but isn't spiny......
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Moisture conservation? Interesting, although the pic from Costa Rica suggests that there may be other reasons too.
This paper suggests they don't really know, but offers mating, defence, hydro- or thermoregulation as possible reasons. These aggregations certainly look more vegetable than animal, and would be a protective device. http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=pbdpSKHkKDIC&pg=PA400&lpg=PA400&dq=harvestman+aggregations&source=bl&ots=5b14N5jm0J&sig=bvqVQ1gf5jHYWFFfKFNp-f5SszM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=g03DUoHLMoiMiQenmoDwDA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=harvestman%20aggregations&f=false (http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=pbdpSKHkKDIC&pg=PA400&lpg=PA400&dq=harvestman+aggregations&source=bl&ots=5b14N5jm0J&sig=bvqVQ1gf5jHYWFFfKFNp-f5SszM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=g03DUoHLMoiMiQenmoDwDA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=harvestman%20aggregations&f=false)
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That's a fascinating read Anthony; thanks.
Thanks too Gordon for introducing us to such a charming porcupine 8) ;D I never knew they could be so vocal (or domesticated).
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We had no idea that porcupines were vocal creatures.
Oh yes, we had them moaning and brushing up against our tent all night once while backpacking in Banff N.P. (at a backcountry campsite where they had also eaten the outhouse, attracted by the salt.) Didn't know they were that vocal though! Very cute!
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He doesn't seem to have any spines at all- when do young porcupines get their spines? I thought they were born with soft spikes which hardened in just a few days, like hedgehogs- but that chap has clearly got good chomping teeth but isn't spiny......
Maggi - This little guy does indeed have spines- but not like the European Hedgehog. They are most prominent along the back and hind end. He's called Teddy Bear, and he actually has a facebook page. There is a photo of the leather gauntlet worn by 'his human' while carrying him. The spines that get embedded in the glove are difficult to remove because the tips are barbed.
Three years ago we had one visit one of our ponds for a drink. They are usually not seen around here other than as unfortunate mishaps along the highways.
By the way, Kristl says hello- she stopped in yesterday to pick up some seed (Kniphofia triangularis and Gillenia trifoliata).
Happy New Year to you! Still stuck in 2013 this side of the pond.