Morning Walk in Bali

Bali is a very popular tourist destination for Australians, and one I had never visited.  I had travelled a little in other parts of Indonesia, but out family trip to Bali last year was a first for me.

We stayed in a small(ish) town called Ubud, which is about an hour from the main tourist strip.  I rather enjoyed the place even if it was clear that it was heavily influenced by tourist (like us!)

One morning we took a walk out into the farm lands that surround the town.  These are some of the pictures I took.

The ducks were part of a flock of about 100 birds that were being moved from around the paddy fields to eat bugs and such like from the water.  Bird food, pest control and fertiliser in one go!

Cheers.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 632 - Red-Winged Blackbird

The Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is an abundant bird across much of North and Central America. Across its whole range its total population may be as many 250 million in peak years. I saw this bird in Ontario, Canada, at the end of 2023.

As you can see from the pictures, this bird is feeding on seeds and 'bird food' placed on the fence next to a boardwalk.  The boardwalk passes through an area of wetlands which is a classic habitat for this species.

The male Red-Winged Blackbird is about 23 cm in length, while the female are smaller, at 17 or 18 cm in length. 

A small, but not unimportant part of my enjoyment at seeing these birds is that they feature in the opening paragraphs of one of my favourite books.

'There’s a red-winged blackbird.

I whack Chris’s knee and point to it.

"What!" he hollers.

"Blackbird!"

He says something I don’t hear."What?" I holler back.

He grabs the back of my helmet and hollers up, "I’ve seen lots of those, Dad!"

"Oh!" I holler back. Then I nod. At age eleven you don’t get very impressed with red-winged blackbirds.'

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig, 1974. 

As ever, to join in with WBW, just click on the link below.  SM

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Mammals on Monday 12 - Muskrat

The Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native found over much of North America.

I saw this individual at the St. Jacobs Millrace trail in Ontario, Canada.  It was a cloudy day, and I only managed one burst of pictures before the Muskrat dived and disappeared.

I'm sure this will be a familiar animal to many of you (most of my blog views come from Canada and the USA) - but I was pretty excited to see one - even though it was not a beaver!

Adult muskrats weigh 0.6–2 kg, with a body length (excluding the tail) of 20–35 cm. They are covered with short, thick fur of medium to dark brown color. Their long tails, covered with scales rather than hair.

According to the sources on the internet 'The muskrat's name probably comes from a word of Algonquian origin, muscascus (literally "it is red", so called for its colourings), or from the Abenaki native word mòskwas. Because of the association with the "musky" odor, which the muskrat uses to mark its territory, and its flattened tail, the name became altered to musk-beaver; later it became "muskrat" due to its resemblance to rats'.

Equally interesting is the fact that it is illegal to import Muskrats into New Zealand! 

Cheers.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 631 - Tui

The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an abundant endemic, found in most of New Zealand. It is one of the largest species in the diverse Australasian honeyeater group, being about 5cm larger than a Blackbird.

It's name is pronounced 'two-e' with two syllables.

It is probably one of the most noticeable native birds in New Zeland as it is both abundant and very vocal. The song of this species contains often repeated  'rich fluids melodic notes' as well as coughs, grunts and wheezes.  Local populations of this species also develop regional accents, that contain unique phrases of song.

In the past this bird was sometimes called The Parson Bird: with its while collar its not hard to see why.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  SM

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Another Trip to The Prom

Wilsons Promontory National Park is about 2 1/2 hours from Melbourne, and it's one of my favourite places.  I spend a few days down there last week.  I saw very few other people and the weather was remarkable, and worrying given its still really winter.

I much prefer The Prom in the winter to the summer - its less crowded, the wildlife is more visible and (as you can see) the crisp winter air lends itself to great views.

Wilsons Prom contains the most southerly part of the Australian mainland - and has wonderful granite scenery.

I love the place!

I acknowledge that I am biased, but if you happen to visit Australia you really should include The Prom on your schedule!

SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 630 - Greater Scaup

The Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) - or just plain old Scaup - is a winter visitor to the loughs, lochs and shallow inshore waters of the UK.  I took these pictures in February of this year.

Scaup begin arriving in the UK during October from their breeding grounds in Iceland, Scandinavia and western Russia. Around 3,000 Scaup winter in the UK with the largest gatherings found in Northern Ireland and Scotland. These birds were feeding around the hides at WWT Reserve at Welney.

The males of this species have black breast, medium grey back, white sides, and a bright yellow eye. The feathers on the can show a greenish sheen, but generally looks black.

As you can see from some of these pictures, these are diving ducks rather the dabbling ducks that 'up-end' to feed.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  SM

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Mammals on Monday 11 - Ringtail Possum

The Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) is a common, tree living marsupial that can be found along all of the East coast of Australia.  It is a herbivore - which often brings it to the attention of urban gardeners and home owners when it eats domestic plants!

This possum also consumes caecotropes, which is material fermented in the caecum and expelled during the daytime when it is resting in a nest. This behaviour is called caecotrophy and is similar to that seen in rabbits. So, much to the surprise of people when they find this out, the possum poo that litters many suburban areas has actually passed through the possum twice!

It's common in the part of Melbourne where I live and I regularly see them in street and garden trees.  They also make good use of the aerial highways provided by the electricity and telephone wires that traverse our streets.

The Ringtail Possum weighs between 550 and 1,100 g and is approximately 30–35 cm (12–14 in) cm long when fully grown (excluding the tail, which is roughly the same length again). It has a long prehensile tail which normally displays a distinctive white tip over 25% of its length.  Ringtail Possums are about the same size as a wild rabbit - but are generally weigh rather less.

During the day, Ringtail Possums sleep in nests that they share with their mate and any dependant offspring and immature offspring of the previous year.

This Ringtail Possum built a nest in our garden, and was a regular visitor for a number of months.  You can see the white tip to its tail - and its pink nose!

These are some images of the most recent to visit our garden - they often set of the movement detectors of our outside lights, which alerts us to their presence.

I suspect that this individual was feeding on the awakening buds.

Cheers:  SM

Creeks near The Prom

I spend a rather wonderful three days at Wilsons Promontory National Park at the start of this week.  The weather was unseasonably mild, and the park very quiet.  In other words, it was near perfect.

There is a small town, Foster,  about an hour from the park and I stayed there. 

As you drive from The Prom to Foster you pass over a series of small creeks and their names have always amused me.  I wonder if they tell a story.  I also wonder if the story should be read in the opposite order!

Its either a sad story, or a happy one depending on direction!  

SM