authors' picksPaul Whitingtongallery batch 2, batch 6

Images of winter

authors' picksPaul Whitingtongallery batch 2, batch 6
Images of winter

We’re now in the depths of winter.

It’s a quiet time of the year when it comes to insects and other arthropods. Most of these animals are in their larval stages, hidden away in a myriad of places.

But there is a lot of activity of mammals and birds in the forest in winter. As homeotherms they can get out and about even when it’s cold.

Featured
Swamp Wallaby
2 July
Swamp Wallaby
2 July

A female Swampy (Wallabia bicolor), grazing right in front of our deck early in the morning. It’s unusual to see this species so close to the house - they are very wary of people. It looks like she has a joey in her pouch.

2 July
Swamp Wallaby
2 July
Swamp Wallaby
2 July

The open area close to the house has a diverse range of forbs, making it a favourable feeding area for wallabies.

2 July
Swamp Wallaby
10 July
Swamp Wallaby
10 July

This is the same female (we think) 8 days later. Her joey, now out of the pouch, was feeding alongside but bounded off before I managed to get a photo. There has been a macropod population explosion since the January 2020 fire, fuelled by the strong growth of vegetation in the forest.

10 July
Red-necked Wallaby with joey
15 June
Red-necked Wallaby with joey
15 June
15 June
Red-necked Wallaby with joey
15 June
Red-necked Wallaby with joey
15 June

Another female wallaby with young, but a different species (Notamacropus rufogriseus). She is stripping flowers off the stems of Common Heath (Epacris impressa), one of the few plants flowering at this time of the year. They seem to be particularly tasty to wallabies. We’ve seen “swampies” devouring them as well.

15 June
Red-necked Wallaby
6 July
Red-necked Wallaby
6 July

This is likely the same female 3 weeks later. Her joey is now well and truly out of the pouch.

6 July
Red-necked Wallaby
6 July
Red-necked Wallaby
6 July

Here is the joey, standing nearby, sampling various forbs in the undergrowth.

6 July
Red-necked Wallaby and joey
14 July
Red-necked Wallaby and joey
14 July

This is the pair 8 days later. The mother has come to our frog pond to drink.

14 July
Pied Currawong
19 June
Pied Currawong
19 June

Wallabies aren’t the only creatures that enjoy Common Heather flowers. They make a nutritious supplement to the diet of the Pied Currawong.

19 June
Pied Currawong
19 June
Pied Currawong
19 June
19 June
Eastern Spinebill
7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July

Spinebills are also attracted to the Common Heath flowers. But unlike the currawongs and wallabies, they play a constructive role from the plant’s perspective.

7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July

They don’t eat the flowers. Instead, they insert the tip of their curved bill into the opening of the pink corolla, extend their long tongue and lap nectar from its base.

7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July

In the process, the tip of the beak gets dusted with white pollen, which they transfer to the next flower they visit. They play a key role in the pollination of this plant, which flowers when there are few insects to carry out the task.

7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July

The yellow pollen grains on the spinebill’s head at the base of its beak are a sign that it has been visiting the Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa), which also flowers in winter (see Crescent Honeyeater photos).

7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July
Eastern Spinebill
7 July

That beak can get quite messy!

7 July
Common Heath flowers
7 July
Common Heath flowers
7 July

This close up photo of a cluster of Common Heath flowers shows the 5 pollen-bearing stamens near the opening of each corolla.

7 July
Crescent Honeyeater
25 June
Crescent Honeyeater
25 June

A Crescent Honeyeater pokes its beak into the showy inflorescence of a Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa) to extract nectar from the base of a flower. It too contributes to the pollination of this plant species as it gets dusted with pollen in the process.

25 June
Crescent Honeyeater
25 June
Crescent Honeyeater
25 June

“Honeyeater” is a bit of a misnomer for birds like this, as they actually feed on nectar, not honey. It takes a bee to turn nectar into honey.

25 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June

Most forest birds feed on insects and spiders, rather than nectar. The Crested Shrike-tit is a good example, searching for arthropods under peeling eucalypt bark.

21 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June

We spot this attractive little bird infrequently in the forest - in part because it spends much of its time feeding high in the canopy.

21 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June
Crested Shrike-tit
21 June
21 June
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July

The Eastern Yellow Robin on the other hand is an almost ever-present sight right now. A family of these birds made a sudden appearance when I began chainsawing a fallen eucalypt tree.

1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July

They perched on nearby branches and tree trunks, searching for insects disturbed by my chainsawing. They suddenly flew to the ground to take ant larvae and termites spilling out of nests in the cut timber.

1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July

This is the typical stance of an Eastern Yellow Robin searching for food in the forest undergrowth.

1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July
Eastern Yellow Robin
1 July

Two of the family of four birds that profited from my activities.

1 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July

We spotted our first Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) in the forest a year ago and since then we’ve made frequent sightings. We generally get just a glimpse as they scurry off into the undergrowth. But on occasion they can be seen feeding in the open, almost nonchalantly.

14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July

This little fellow was so intent on digging up a prey item that it barely noticed Kerri photographing the proceedings.

14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July

It arched its body to get deeper into the hole it had excavated.

14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July
Southern Brown Bandicoot
14 July

It looks like it had success, chewing on its find.

14 July

Life on the river

I venture out of the forest occasionally to explore the adjacent river. It is currently in good health. I find a wide range of water birds in good numbers hunting for fish in its waters.

Featured
Paddling downstream
24 June
Paddling downstream
24 June

A kayak is my vehicle for exploring the river and its tributaries.

24 June
Further upstream close to the limit of tidal flow
12 July
Further upstream close to the limit of tidal flow
12 July

The vegetation on the banks of the river is recovering well following the January 2020 fire which swept down the river. Seedlings of Black Sheoak (Allocasuarina littoralis) and Port Jackson Pine (Callitris rhomboidea) are gradually replacing the trees killed in the fire.

12 July
Black Swan and Little Pied Cormorant on the billabong
16 June
Black Swan and Little Pied Cormorant on the billabong
16 June

There is a large billabong on the river a couple of kilometres upstream of the entrance to the lake. I’ve seen a large flock of up to 40 Hoary-headed Grebes feeding in its shallow waters on occasion, together with numerous Little Pied Cormorants, Grey Teals and a few Black Swans.

16 June
Little Pied Cormorant
16 June
Little Pied Cormorant
16 June
16 June
Black Swan
16 June
Black Swan
16 June
16 June
Little Pied Cormorants
16 June
Little Pied Cormorants
16 June

Large flocks of cormorants - in this case Little Pieds - perch on fallen trees overhanging the river, drying out their wings.

16 June
Little Pied Cormorant
16 June
Little Pied Cormorant
16 June
16 June
A mixed flock of Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants
24 June
A mixed flock of Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants
24 June
24 June
Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants
24 June
Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants
24 June

They took flight as I drew closer in my kayak

24 June
Little Black Cormorants
24 June
Little Black Cormorants
24 June

Characteristic behaviour, swimming in a line as they search for fish.

24 June
Striated Heron
24 June
Striated Heron
24 June

At several points along the river, I’ve seen a Striated Heron perched on a branch overhanging a shallow stretch of the river. This one flew up into a high branch as I drew closer.

24 June
White-faced Heron
24 June
White-faced Heron
24 June

White-faced Herons are usually seen wading in the shallows near the banks of the river. This one flew into an overhead tree as I approached. This species ventures into the forest on occasion, searching for frogs and other prey.

24 June
Australasian Grebe
24 June
Australasian Grebe
24 June

A different species of grebe - the Australasian Grebe - can also be seen at various points along the river. Unlike the Hoary-headed Grebe, they are usually found in small flocks of 3-4 birds.

24 June
Azure Kingfisher
16 June
Azure Kingfisher
16 June

I frequently see the stunning Azure Kingfisher on my forays along the river. They perch on branches overhanging the river before diving into the water to catch a fish or other prey. An adult pair is said to keep a permanent territory of 200-500 metres of waterfront.

16 June
Azure Kingfisher
16 June
Azure Kingfisher
16 June
16 June
Azure Kingfisher
24 June
Azure Kingfisher
24 June
24 June

A surprise vertebrate on the river!

I encountered this pair of seals while paddling down the river in late July. They were lolling in the shallow waters, holding a flipper erect to soak up the warmth of the sun on this unseasonably mild day.