How the mighty fall

Though our forest contains lots of trees, really big, old trees are few in number. Without these big trees, generally Manna Gums and Blue Gums (E. viminalis and E. bicostata, respectively), the forest couldn’t support the Greater Glider families (Petauroides volans) that still live on Boundary Hill and that we so love to see when out night-searching.

So, whenever I hear a big tree come down in the forest, I get nervous. After one heavy rainfall event in December 2015 I heard a crashing of branches and heavy thump. What I found was not a fallen gum,

Fancy a bit of crumpet?

Seriously, though it looks a bit like a crumpet, I can’t find this fungus in any of my ID guides. Here are two more images.

New studio-workshop progressing

And now for a story that has little to do with natural history. Earlier this year we started building a serious workshop and studio in our south paddock. Here’s some of the progress, in pictures.

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Flames in the forest

Gorgeous, pretty flames. At this time of year we have a number of Flame Robins on the property, but mainly in the open country. It’s usual to see them on fences and in open spaces, so I was a little surprised that this pair was happily hanging out inside the forest. Of course, as is evident from the pics, this part of the forest has a very open understorey and ground-layer and there are plenty of perches from which to survey for the next snack.

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The snaps don’t really do the bird justice, but the flame-red of the males is striking and immediately recognisabe.

Moths of Feb. 2014

The exquisite beauty of a small, common moth.

Its August and I’m only just posting moths of February! Still, there are some lovely specimens here and a few new species for the property. I have put in multiples of some species/specimens to illustrate variability. I’ll fill in more names when I get the chance.