Wildlife Autumn 2007 (spring wildlife Down Under)

[mark smyth]

LOL does that make you a gull, Maggi? Going by the amount of chat at the auction

[Maggi Young]

Well, I like to think of myself as a fairly magnificent old bird, Mark!

[David Nicholson]

Doesn't take a lot of guessing which is the female, and since I married one and fathered two I should have lots of experience

[Lesley Cox]

When I clicked 19 to go to the following page, the seagull stopped yapping and her mouth stayed wide open. The wind must have changed.

David, did you ever hear anyone mention "Father nature.?"

Cliff, I suppose next time you go to photograph in that area, someone belonging to SRGC or AGS will have planted a very attractive trough. Nothing sinister about that. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't done that already.

[ranunculus]

Couldn't get enough compost in Sue's rucksack Lesley....and how would she have carried three trays of plants in her two free hands?

I, of course, would have looked after both labels and pens....!!!!     

Have to save some energy for watching the SEMI-FINAL on Saturday evening!

[Anthony Darby]

One of my colleagues brought in a very much alive adult male Diving Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis). He lives in Wallacestone, near Brightons, Falkirk and his garden pond is overrun with them (he has killed over 30 larvae this summer). Apparently they have killed all his fish, several newts and all the tadpoles. What a pond it must be, as he also has dragonflies too.

[annew]

Wouldn't like to dip my toes in there. We had a pond dipping session for children at our local nature reserve and the first two things caught and put into the tray for study were a diving beetle larva and a newt tadpole. The children were very quickly educated in the concept of the Food Chain'.

[Lesley Cox]

Have to save some energy for watching the SEMI-FINAL on Saturday evening!

Yeah, yeah, all right! It's rubbed in really deep now so you can stop any time.
I suppose I'd better support the Brits rather than the French.

[Lesley Cox]

Anthony, your note about the diving beetle (have you a pic?) does highlight NZ's and Australia's biosecurity policy. Although we rant and rail at it, pests and diseases are kept out and our flora, fauna, habitats and economy are protected as a result. I think if one brought in foot and mouth disease, as an example, all one could do is go off and shoot oneself (after paying the fines and serving the prison sentence which would result from breaking the rules).

[Maggi Young]

I suppose I'd better support the Brits rather than the French.

But in this case they are not playing as Brits, they're English and I hear my Francophile chum saying loudly, "what about the Auld Alliance".... referring to the old connections between Scotland and France!!  Yup, this is a tricky one and no mistake!

My pond is without diving beetles and I am grateful: I am far too fond of the frogs and especially the newts, to contemplate their wholesale slaughter at the hands ( jaws!) of these monsters

[mark smyth]

what's rugby?

[annew]

Squashed football I think

[Anthony Darby]

To what group of people did Goliath belong? I don't think they played rugby either.

[Paul T]

Nice to see on our news tonight that despite the drubbing the media etc gave the All Blacks they came home to cheering crowds at the airport.  Nice to see that the NZ people have things in perspective, unlike the news media who want to blame everyone.  Some of them when interviewed said they expected to be greated by no-one, or else heckled.  You could see them all look so relieved when they were greeted by cheers and congratulations.  Good on you NZ fans...... great sportsmanship!!

And the crowds were pretty wild.... so you could stretch it to call it wildlife in spring Down Under? 

[Anthony Darby]

Here's a link to Dytiscus marginalis (the Great Diving Beetle): http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_terrestrial_and_freshwater/Dytiscus_marginalis/more_still_images.html