nesting supply depot
Brown Thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla) have been a regular sight at our frog pond of late, stuffing their beaks with seed-bearing hairs from the ripening Cumbungi heads (Typha sp.). I guess the fluffy fibres make a lovely soft nest lining. It is a rather comical performance ... an avian equivalent of kids with fairy floss!
Scroll to the bottom of the page for a short video of the action.
Brown Thornbill (link to iNaturalist record)
a scented garden
On warm, sunny days the scent from Styphelia is quite glorious ... it smells like vanilla to me. The flowers precede the insect boom, by weeks. I always find that a surprise, but perhaps the earlist visitors are tiny midges and wasps that escape my attention.
Styphelia ericoides (link to iNaturalist record of first flowering ... on 24th July!)
purple peas
Hardenbergia is out in all its glory. The first flowers opened in mid August, and now there are splashes of purple at ground level and adorning the many shrubs seconded by this scrambling climber.
Hardenbergia violacea (link to iNaturalist record)