nature on Jayeless.net

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 19:51:50 +1100

Vivian and I made it back to Sherbrooke Forest today for a 2½ hour hike 😊 The weather was perfect, and the scenery was beautiful. We’re both exhausted and aching now, of course, but it was well worth it!

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 17:08:45 +1100

Link: Altruism in birds? Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices

During our pilot study, we found out how quickly magpies team up to solve a group problem. Within ten minutes of fitting the final tracker, we witnessed an adult female without a tracker working with her bill to try and remove the harness off of a younger bird.

Within hours, most of the other trackers had been removed. By day 3, even the dominant male of the group had its tracker successfully dismantled.

Thanks to Miraz for making sure I saw this! Magpies are awesome 😃

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 11:29:31 +1100

I’d been perplexed and even a little concerned the last few days, because our magpie friends who are usually such reliable visitors didn’t turn up for maybe a whole week! I knew they’d been having territorial disputes with the ravens in the park behind our place, so I wondered if they’d been pushed out 😔 However, today they came back, and I was able to chuck them a few walnuts more.

Well, or at least the group overlapped with the original magpie group, I think. In the original group there was one of them who was really greedy, and would squawk his head off at you if he thought you’d delayed by even one millisecond in giving him his walnuts, and he’d also shove the other birds out of the way if he thought they weren’t leaving him his fair share. None of the birds who came today acted like that 😆 And one of the ones who was there today didn’t seem to understand the concept of catching walnuts out of the air, which the old crew was all pretty good at. Still, the speed at which the first magpie to arrive summoned the others suggested to me that they were familiar with me as someone who gives treats to birds, at least to some extent. Maybe they have been jumbled up through the territory wars.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 11:36:58 +1100

Woke up this morning to find this magpie watching me sleep!! This chair it was perched on is effectively right next to our bedroom window. I guess he wasn’t satisfied with the amount of walnuts Vivian put out for them 🤣

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 18:18:33 +1100

We survived our walk at Werribee Gorge! We only did the “short circuit”, which at 2½ hours took long enough – maybe in late autumn or winter weather I’d consider braving the “long” route. The scenery was lovely, too, although you can definitely tell the climate is more arid here compared to the temperate rainforest to Melbourne’s east. The only downside was the long and unpleasant drive it took to get there (thankfully a bit better coming back). Plus the inevitable patch of sunburn on my neck where I must’ve left a gap in my sunscreen… but overall, a rewarding experience 😁

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 11:44:32 +1100

The magpies have come to appreciate our small walnut treats so much that early in the mornings, they’re gathering on our back fence to sing us a lovely “rise and shine” song 😆 What great birds!

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 15:10:22 +1000

Recently I’ve taken to throwing some walnut pieces out towards the local magpies when they stop by my house (which is not every day). Yesterday, four of them swung by (yes, one is not pictured), and they even sang a little for me (or to discourage other birds, who’s to say)! 😄

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 11:47:23 +1000

I got the chance to try out the “Merlin Bird ID” app that Miraz mentioned yesterday when I took Gidget outside this morning. I thought that the bird squawking at us angrily was a wattlebird, and even with my dodgy silhouette picture the app confirmed my thinking: its best guess was “little wattlebird”! 😄 Cool stuff.

Sat, 31 Jul 2021 17:34:14 +1000

Today we walked all the way from our local beach to Red Bluff. To actually get across to the south side of the cliff, there were some really steep sections making for an unexpected challenge in the middle of our walk 😅 But exhausted as we now feel, it was totally worth it.

Mon, 03 May 2021 09:57:00 +1000

Some very dramatic skies about for our regular Sunday beach walk.

Sat, 03 Apr 2021 17:26:00 +1100

To further enjoy the perfect weather this weekend, Viv and I made it out to Sherbrooke Forest and did a 2¼ hour walk there. Beautiful scenery, and we finished early enough to get lunch at the café on site. Awesome day 😁

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 12:22:00 +1100

The other day when I was walking along the driveway, I looked up and noticed these avocados growing in the tree outside my neighbours’ flat! 🥑 Last year the tree produced only one avocado all season long, but this year seems to have been more fruitful 😊

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 19:12:01 +1100

A few years ago, my grandma came and helped me plant some things in the flowerbed at the front of my flat. Some of them died, and after some point, I’d thought this orange flower was one of them. With this year’s La Niña summer, though, it’s surprised me and come back alive 😊

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:04:00 +1100

Today Victoria is still in lockdown, although the good news is that’ll end at midnight tonight, on schedule. Another piece of good news: no further sign of those dang wasps!! This photo was taken from what was under their flight path 😎 #mbfeb

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 15:51:50 +1100

I’m not sure how I’ll do, but I thought it’d be fun to participate in Micro.blog’s Feb 2021 photoblogging challenge 😅 Today’s Day 1 prompt is close up, so have one of those of a pretty flower I saw in Sherbrooke Forest when we went there two weekends ago. 🌼

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 19:51:56 +1100

Today Viv and I drove out to the Dandenong Ranges on Wurundjeri land to do the Eastern Sherbrooke Forest Walk. We went a slightly long way round, so it was about 10km through temperate rainforest, a bit hilly with one really steep section. (The more direct route has two really steep sections, so I felt like we went the better way.) The weather was warmer and sunnier, but the forest was as beautiful as when we walked through it in June 😊

Not only is it a scenic walk, but I find the sounds of the birdsongs and chirping insects really peaceful and relaxing. We saw a number of native species that we don’t often see in the city (but kept our distance, so I don’t have good pictures) – a wallaby, who kept an eye on us from a distance, probably hoping we’d leave it food (we didn’t…); two kookaburras, and a few crimson rosellas (we do have rosellas in our suburb, but they’re the Eastern variety).

Viv and I have been talking about slotting bushwalks into our routine more often, and today’s experience – exhausting but fulfilling – has made me even surer that we should. It’s great to get out into nature sometimes.