HAPPY WOMBAT

HAZELNUTS

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WHY HAZELNUTS

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happy_wombat_hazelnuts

It’s so good to see Gang Gang Cockatoos eating t

It’s so good to see Gang Gang Cockatoos eating their natural food. In this case, wattle seed. Around this region they can be a nuisance for orchardists, eating apples. In urban areas they resort to eating exotic berries (like cotoneaster or hawthorn) or bought bird seed and, these tend to be the images and videos shown on social media.

We planted these locally occurring Buffalo Wattle about 20 years ago and this year the seed is very prolific. Crimson Rosellas and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos also get stuck into the seed but nothing beats the charm of the Gang Gang. This is the male with his funky scarlet red head and crest. The female is more elusive and just as beautiful, if not more so.

Sadly the Gang Gang Cockatoo is listed as a threatened species in NSW (Vulnerable category) and federally (endangered category). Populations were declining before the 2019/20 black summer bushfires but took another hit when so much of their natural habitat was burnt.

#ganggangcockatoo
#threatenedspecies
#birdsonfarms
#batlow

After the storm and before the next one rolls in.

After the storm and before the next one rolls in.

It’s over 10 years since we have seen this bird

It’s over 10 years since we have seen this bird on the farm. It’s not to say it hasn’t been here during that period, it’s just that the Buff Banded Rail is so secretive and hard to spot. For all we know the backend of our dam could be a breeding site this year, we hope so. They do nest near water and it’s breeding time from now until February.

And, how did we know the wary rail was feeding in the shallows? It was calling and the sound wasn’t familiar to us. At first we thought is was the Lyrebird playing around with some tunes.

Photo 1 & 2 spot the bird
First video is the bird call.
Second video is the Buff Banded Rail foraging in the shallows.

#buffbandedrail
#birdsonfarms
#batlow

Bird watching is more about bird listening in most

Bird watching is more about bird listening in most cases. In addition to the Shining Bronze Cuckoo who we have heard for several weeks now but not yet laid eyes on, are calls from the White-Browed Scrubwrens, Little Raven, Golden Whistler and Grey Shrike Thrush. Just before I started the video a Sacred Kingfisher was also part of the evening forest sounds.
#birdsonfarms
#australianbirds
#batlow
#snowyvalleys

Hidden amongst the dense foliage, baby hazelnuts a

Hidden amongst the dense foliage, baby hazelnuts are starting to appear.

Every builder should have a tail! Check out this C

Every builder should have a tail! Check out this Common Ringtail Possum on the farm collecting and carrying drey building material like twigs, bark, and leaves.

Pollinator week starts tomorrow so we are getting

Pollinator week starts tomorrow so we are getting a head start, introducing the Gasteruption Wasp preening itself on a snow gum flower after a pollination session.

They are known to parasitise on solitary bee and wasp nests which may be in decaying logs, mud cells or in the. soil.

Limited research suggests the female does this by finding, choosing then pushing her long ovipositor (long stinging tail) through the blocked-up entrance into the nest. There she lays her own eggs next to the bee or wasp grubs. Once the eggs hatch they immediately start to feed on the grubs within the nest. They will also consume the food larder of pollen and nectar, left there for the solitary bees or grubs to feed on.

Australian Pollinator Week
11—19 November 2023

#ozpollinatorweek
#nativewasp

Sunset selfie before the next storm shower. Nice t

Sunset selfie before the next storm shower. Nice to end the week with some rain.

A wombat treat to end the working week. Sometimes

A wombat treat to end the working week. Sometimes we see a healthy wombat out before nightfall. This one was sitting at the entrance to a wombat hole.

Turn up the volume and you will hear several bird calls as well, like the Sacred Kingfisher, Grey Fantail and the elusive Eastern Whip Bird. Anymore?

This week (from 16-22 October 2023), is the @birdl

This week (from 16-22 October 2023), is the @birdlifeoz, Great Aussie Bird Count. Anyone can participate with the very user friendly app.

This year we have submitted two entries from the farm. One closer to the dam /shed area and the second up in the pasture paddock.

It’s more about bird listening than bird watching but have managed to photograph some birds this week. The flowering Waratahs made it rather easy to capture some bird activity. Early mornings and evenings are the times to identify the broadest range of species.

Ongoing fox and cat control paying off.

#aussiebirdcount
#birdsonfarms
#snowyvalleys
#Batlow

Could have added many more photos but here are 9 i

Could have added many more photos but here are 9 images capturing the farm in the last week before the dramatic clouds rolled in. Lots of blooms but the golden Wattle balls have fallen. The Russian garlic is looking damn good too. Meanwhile, cracking and processing hazelnuts continues.

How it was at the start of the day and how it ende

How it was at the start of the day and how it ended.
Sam can look down the row and appreciate the mowing but as for Bess.....

Ripper season for clover.

Very first plunge for Bess this swim season. Sam p

Very first plunge for Bess this swim season. Sam positioned herself well for a good view but I think her reaction sums up the performance.
What’s your rating out of 10 for the jump and plunge?

10 photos from around the farm to say spring has a

10 photos from around the farm to say spring has arrived.
1. Nuts are drying better now with several days of uninterrupted sunshine and a gentle breeze
2. Leaf burst on the hazelnut trees
3. Catkins on the late flowering Contorted hazelnuts are almost finished
4. Boysenberry plants are starting to leaf out
5. Stone fruit like nectarines are flowering
6. Murnong (Yam Daisy) is flowering in the wildflower orchard
7. Aromatic Buffalo Wattle in full bloom. A local species
8. Birds are nesting
9. Propagation underway for more wildflowers
10. Sunsets are slowly making their way from north- west to south- west for summer

Check out this little acrobat bouncing around in t

Check out this little acrobat bouncing around in the eucalyptus foliage. That little white dot is actually a sugar glider. Keep an eye on it and you will see it glide.

Weighing no more than 170g the Sugar Glider uses its long bushy tail for stability and steering to glide up to 50 metres.

#sugarglideraustralia
#wildlifeonfarms
#batlow
#snowyvalleys
#thermalscope

1. It’s Threatened Species Day in Australia so h

1. It’s Threatened Species Day in Australia so here’s Bess in front of some noxious prickly blackberry. (Remember she’s not smart)
BUT
2. If you look up in the trees at this same spot at night, at the right time you might just see a Greater Glider.

3. It’s a slow progressive recovery for this nationally endangered tree dwelling animal following the 2019/20 bushfire but here it is, living along our local road. Let’s hope there are more and the few large hollow bearing trees that exist stay put.

#greaterglider
#threatenedspeciesday
#blackberry
#batlow
#snowyvalleys

Tasty termites in this old tree stump for one of o

Tasty termites in this old tree stump for one of our echidna buddies
#echidna
#batlow
#egglayingmammal

Happy wattle day from our planted Phantom Wattles,

Happy wattle day from our planted Phantom Wattles, Acacia phasmoides. The species is only known to grow naturally from one location in NSW: Woomagarma National Park. They are a threatened species, categorised as vulnerable in NSW, Victoria and nationally. Four of the six we planted survived the black summer bushfires and are thriving. We hope to plant some more if we can source some seedlings or seed.
Sam is smarter than Bess!

#nationalwattleday
#phantomwattle

It’s National Wattle Day, so here’s Bess in fr

It’s National Wattle Day, so here’s Bess in front of the flowering Royal Grevillea. Bess is not smart.
#nationalwattleday
#grevilleaflower

Nesting time is well under way here on the farm. A

Nesting time is well under way here on the farm. A pair of White Throated Treecreepers are taking advantage of the dog fur dispenser to line their nest.
#whitethroatedtreecreeper
#nestingmaterial
#batlow
#birdsonfarms

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