It may have been a windscreen viper.
Sherbrooke Shire was the first to bring in a cat curfew, and that was 30 years ago. Now part of Yarra Ranges, the curfew ( at least in parts of the shire ) is now 24 hours.
I don’t actually get it, some cat owners actually rejoice in the fact that their cat is a predator, and sort of boast that the cat leaves them a bird or mouse carcase on the mat each morning, as if that’s a badge of prowess, when in fact its just the nature of the animal. They just are predators. A bit like us in a way eh!
I never rejoice if any of my cats or dogs kill anything. Mrs Fox goes crazy and won’t talk to the pet (and me) for hours after a kill is confirmed. Birds I think though are basically stupid; as they fly into our cat park and also tempt by drinking their water. (We have a large bird bath always full in the garden). I have seen our Malmute grab a magpie out of air as it tried to swoop on her.
Cat are very good hunters for food. Though all the years I have had cats, never seen them eat anything they catch. Anyway our cats have a lovely ever growing cat park with a door direct into the house and now a new area in an enclosed verandah.
Its not like we have the only bad record of extinctions and growing lists of endangered species.
In the UK, which is a relatively settled ecosystem, the Red Squirrel, long seen as a desirable species has been largely displaced by the Grey squirrel which was introduced in the 19th century. In large areas of the UK the Red Squirrel is extinct. Acknowledgement Craig Shuttleworth
And absolutely not applied in any meaningful sense whatsoever.
Excuse my ignorance but what are they?
I reckon they’re gang gang cockatoos - male & female. (Fantastic photos!)
@davethedon is welcome to correct me.
No you’re right. Gang Gangs. They are hanging out here recently. The king parrots seem to have got bored and left now that there aren’t many tomatoes left.
Gang-gangs are awesome. Love their ‘creaky door’ screech. One or two usually show up along the Yarra in Richmond over the next month or two, near where I work. King Parrots are resident year-round here now and have been for a couple of years.
flock of Corella-geddons have gone friggen mad in the neighbourhood
the tree carnage is about to begin
Not such a good experience yesty. Was collecting firewood. Had earmuffs on for the saw. Started loading the cut wood and lifted a piece which had an end that went into the soft soil. Suddenly noticed a loud buzzing despite the earmuffs. Just as I realised this was too loud to be normal given the earmuffs were on, I felt something in my hair. Turned my head and realised I had wasps swarming the back of my head. Took the muffs off and used them to flick the wasps out of my hair as I ran the few steps to the car. When I was confident none was actually on me after a bit more frantic flicking I jumped in and slammed the door. Lots of them still outside but luckily none came in with me. Three stings to the head. Could have been a lot worse if the car wasn’t right there as they were still after me like some yogi bear cartoon. Luckily also I don’t react badly; they felt about like bull ant stings. Took 5 minutes for the wasps to disperse, and it feel safe to get out. The piece of wood I lifted had disturbed a nest entrance. Left the wood I had cut there, but got a bit elsewhere.
Googling later, I found that they perceive black as a threat and attack it, and they see red as black. My earmuffs - red caps and black frame and lining… all the bites were adjacent where the muffs had been. So: in wasp country don’t wear your bombers gear! Seriously, it’s better to wear pale colours.
I had noticed a lot of wasps (singles) earlier, but they were not aggressive or swarming. They seemed to hang around the rotting blackberries.
Ps keep some anti histamines in the car…
I have also noticed a rise in the number of wasps around here lately. We will need to find the next soon and get rid of them, before the dogs try and eat one. I found out l had a nest at my house in Mordialloc, the hard way, it was a painful experience, l got stung about 20 times before l could get in the house and away from them.
By tagging it all the way to the bench?