Category Archives: Animals on land

A study in contrast

Posted on Tuesday, 24 August 2021 by Joy Window

The weather has warmed up and snakes are on the move. Here on Bundjalung Country, late July and August are called ‘Coming Out Season‘: Getting dryer and can be strong winds, first hint of northerly winds. Birds starting to sing … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Birds | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The introduced Mexican beetle

Posted on Sunday, 22 August 2021 by Joy Window

This pretty little beetle was in the backyard last week. I couldn’t find it in my reference books or on the ‘net so I asked the ever-helpful Queensland Museum, who identified it as the parthenium or Mexican beetle, Zygogramma bicolorata. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Insects | Tagged | 2 Comments

The reptile and the monotreme

Posted on Sunday, 15 August 2021 by Joy Window

I heard the first boobook of the season the other night, and the first cicada. The mulberry tree’s leaves are growing back, and the whipbirds are going nuts with their call-and-response mating calls. Some frogs are even calling, and soon … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, echidnas, Lizards | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The swamp rat

Posted on Friday, 16 July 2021 by Joy Window

Sometimes it is educational to see a dead body, and sometimes it is just sad. I found this native swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus) at the front of my house. The body was very fresh and just the head had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Uncategorized | Tagged | 7 Comments

Not your average Christmas reindeer

Posted on Tuesday, 5 November 2019 by Joy Window

Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) are endemic to Svalbard and are the smallest subspecies of reindeer – about half the weight of other reindeers. They sure do look small with their short legs and pot bellies. We saw several small … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Travels | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Walruses suck!

Posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2019 by Joy Window

They really do! Let me explain. I’d only seen walruses (Odobenus rosmarus, ‘odobenus’ from the Greek meaning ‘tooth-walker’; they sometimes haul themselves out of the water using their tusks) in TV documentaries, a la David Attenborough. I think Taronga Zoo … Continue reading →

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Polar paws

Posted on Sunday, 13 January 2019 by Joy Window

There are two types of polar paws on Svalbard: those of the arctic fox and the polar bear. I find bears interesting, possibly because we don’t have any in Australia (no, a koala is not a bear),  so I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Travels | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Koala aloha

Posted on Thursday, 8 November 2018 by Joy Window

The local male koala has been creating quite a din over the last few nights, and we finally got a shot of him at twilight, high up a gum tree. You can hear a recording of the call here. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Koalas | Tagged | 6 Comments

In the Arctic circle

Posted on Sunday, 15 July 2018 by Joy Window

After a couple of days in Oslo, we flew to Longyearbyen in Svalbard (aka Spitsbergen, the island of pointy mountains, halfway between the north of Norway and Greenland) via Tromso, but I will leave talk of Longyearbyen, Tromso, Bergen and … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Travels | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Red-legged pademelon

Posted on Wednesday, 12 April 2017 by Joy Window

We see red-necked pademelons (Thylogale thetis), usually alone but sometimes two or three together, in our backyard in early morning and twilight. They are very shy and bolt at the slightest disturbance. The joeys are tiny and very cute. Up … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land | Tagged , | 1 Comment