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Monthly Archives: May 2011
The hiss and burble bird
Hissing and burbling – that’s the only way I can describe the idiosyncratic noises of the satin bower bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). A female came to the bird bath on the back deck this morning – a privilege, as they are … Continue reading
Woody zoanthids and rolling over rocks
Zoanthids are not actually ‘woody’, but we found some of these soft, squishy animals at Woody Head a couple of weekends ago. These are possibly Palythoa caesa. Zoanthids look like small anemones but they are a different sort of animal. … Continue reading
Beach birds and native rats
In the dunes behind the Flat Rock beach, we saw a family of red-browed firetails (Neochmia temporalis). They live in small flocks, chirping madly and flitting from place to place as finches are wont to do, eating seeds. Females and … Continue reading
Posted in Animals on land, Birds
1 Comment
Park art
I like seeing human art, especially if it’s nature-based, displayed in human-built environments. I have a few statues and artworks in and around my house, and I was inspired further by the art in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It was … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Travels
2 Comments
Alas, poor Yorick
… I did not know him, Horatio. I don’t know the owner of this delicate skull, found on the beach at Flat Rock, except that it looks like a bird’s. Common birds on the rock platform are silver gulls (Larus … Continue reading
Posted in Birds
3 Comments
Colin’s echidna
That’s not the name of a new species, but a young one (short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus) lately spotted by a friend, Colin, on his property. It was probably wandering around looking for food – ants and termites. Colin has two … Continue reading
A sauntering sea hare and a tiny nudibranch
Yesterday I saw this very charming sea hare, Dolabrifera brazieri, moseying across a shallow pond and grazing on algae, again at Flat Rock, near Ballina, northern New South Wales. It’s about 9 cm when stretched out. Sea hares are molluscs … Continue reading
Posted in The sea
Tagged Flat Rock, nudibranchs, pleurobranchs, rock platforms, sea shells
3 Comments
