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Oh Rats - a happy story. About a Downs Rat
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 148795" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Apart from our chooks (domestic chickens are an introduced species, Gallus gallus) all we get are native to Australia, apart from the deer. These are Rusa deer imported from Java so the early colonialists could "ride to hounds". They also released foxes but haven't seen any of those for a long time. The deer - a couple of large herds wander through the village most nights. If we didn't have a front fence with gates we shut every night, we wouldn't have a garden. They wander right down into the heart of the village, near the shops and through the school. </p><p></p><p>The yard is full of small skinks no more than a handspan from nose to tail tip. We get the occasional Blue-Tongued Lizard (aka Blue-Tongued Skink or Tiliqua scincoides). These can be quite big, about as long as from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow. They eat slugs and snails. And LOVE banana! Lots of frogs ( we hear them mostly, especially on these wet nights). Our pond has plenty of tadpoles.</p><p></p><p>Birds - loads of birds. Amazing, noisy, wonderful, colourful. We have our pet budgie who we let out of her cage during the day, although we don't let her outside. They're native to Australia - budgerigars. But outside the house are hundreds (more?) Rainbow Lorikeets, very colourful and noisy. They're green, orange and purple with red beaks and love to play in water. They're also cheeky and even wild birds can be hand-fed.</p><p>Other birds - in the parrot family we have two pest species here, the Galah (pink and grey, quite pretty if you're not a wheat farmer) and the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo (also in thousands). The cockatoos eat timber houses. They can also strip a fruit tree in minutes. Between them, the lorikeets and the cockatoos stop us from ever harvesting any peaches or nectarines.</p><p>Other parrots - the black cockatoo ("gang-gang cockatoo") which has a beak like garden shears and can bite through the cone of a Banksia serrata tree to get the seeds. Amazingly, they don't try to eat houses. The Eastern Rosella (haven't seen any here for years) and the Crimson Rosella (red and blue, absolutely beautiful) have been chased away by the lorikeets, I think. </p><p></p><p>Other birds - crows, magpies, various honeyeaters, Eastern Blue Wrens (I nearly hit one in the car on Saturday). Kookaburras, of course. We have several flocks of them, they make a lot of noise round sunset and just after dawn. They are amazing to watch them hunt. If you're having a barbecue near kookaburras you have to watch the food closely or they'll steal it. So will magpies, but kookas can steal heavier pieces. They fly with it to a tree branch then holding it in their beak, slam it into the branch to kill it. Watching them do that with a searingly hot sausage is very funny, as long as you have more sausages.</p><p></p><p>We have a pair of White-Breasted Sea Eagles which live somewhere on the clifftop to the south of us. And sometimes just inland we've seen a Wedge-Tailed Eagle, but there is a smaller hawk there too. Not many predators in our area which is a healthy sign.</p><p></p><p>We occasionally get Fairy Penguins, other parts of Sydney have colonies but not in our area. </p><p></p><p>Other animals - not many roos, sorry. We have no larger Macropods in our area at all. They're further away from Sydney. But we have a lot of Swamp Wallabies and Red-necked Wallabies (aka pademelons). Echidnas and wombats - yeah quite a few but we don't see them often. No koalas in our area at all, but one got tagged and released up near the highway. No emus here. Again, further out of Sydney.</p><p></p><p>Other marsupials - loads of Brush-Tailed Possums (very cute, mostly welcome until they eat the roses). They also love banana. And mango. Ring-Tailed Possums are more scarce and more timid but we have them too. Just down the road there is a small colony of Pygmy Possums (very high cute factor). While a "brushie" is the size of a cat (and could beat one in a fight) the Pygmy Possums could curl up in the palm of your hand, or in a teacup. They have very big eyes and soft grey-brown fur. A bald tail, which is prehensile. They are nectar feeders, they love flowers especially waratahs.</p><p></p><p>We get bandicoots, which are like large rats only they eat roots, grubs etc. They dig small holes which makes them unpopular with gardeners. They are now protected but when I was a kid and they were very common, people used to shoot them. A pity. Nobody does that these days.</p><p></p><p>In the bay we get whales (when migrating) and dolphins. We've seen the occasional shark but nobody's been bitten by a shark anywhere near here in the 30 years we've lived here. Rays, eels, lots of fish, octopus (including blue-ringed octopus, which are only deadly if you really annoy them then hold them in your hand or on your arm so they can bite you). Lots of shellfish, hermit crabs (the kids pick these up by the dozen in summer). The dolphins follow the ferry, especially the school ferry. Or maybe the schookids are more observant.</p><p></p><p>What we see every day - the small skinks. The deer. The lorikeets, cockatoos, magpies, galahs, crows, honeyeaters. Almost every day - add in the possums (brushies). Kookaburras. Gang-gang cockatoos. Everything else - occasionally. Most of the wallabies we see are road-kill.</p><p></p><p>That's about all I can think of. husband may stick his nose in and mention any I've missed. It's a wonderful part of Sydney, here.</p><p></p><p>In the centre of Sydney, you would see - no roos or wallabies. But lorikeets, cockatoos, galahs, magpies. Yes, maybe not as many. Lots of Grey-Headed Flying Foxes (fruit bats). They live in Sydney Botanic Gardens, next to the Opera House, and you see them rising up for their night flights, just on sunset. Like smoke. In the city you can still get brushies, especially near parks. They love to scavenge near houses and even a wild brushie can often be hand-fed. But if cats & dogs are around, they get very nervous.</p><p></p><p>We love to see the reaction on the faces of friends who visit from overseas. One of the best things about living here is sharing it.</p><p></p><p>The whole time I've been typing this I've been hearing the lorikeets outside. They're never silent, but they always seem to be on the move.</p><p></p><p>If ever you visit, you will love the wildlife.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 148795, member: 1991"] Apart from our chooks (domestic chickens are an introduced species, Gallus gallus) all we get are native to Australia, apart from the deer. These are Rusa deer imported from Java so the early colonialists could "ride to hounds". They also released foxes but haven't seen any of those for a long time. The deer - a couple of large herds wander through the village most nights. If we didn't have a front fence with gates we shut every night, we wouldn't have a garden. They wander right down into the heart of the village, near the shops and through the school. The yard is full of small skinks no more than a handspan from nose to tail tip. We get the occasional Blue-Tongued Lizard (aka Blue-Tongued Skink or Tiliqua scincoides). These can be quite big, about as long as from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow. They eat slugs and snails. And LOVE banana! Lots of frogs ( we hear them mostly, especially on these wet nights). Our pond has plenty of tadpoles. Birds - loads of birds. Amazing, noisy, wonderful, colourful. We have our pet budgie who we let out of her cage during the day, although we don't let her outside. They're native to Australia - budgerigars. But outside the house are hundreds (more?) Rainbow Lorikeets, very colourful and noisy. They're green, orange and purple with red beaks and love to play in water. They're also cheeky and even wild birds can be hand-fed. Other birds - in the parrot family we have two pest species here, the Galah (pink and grey, quite pretty if you're not a wheat farmer) and the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo (also in thousands). The cockatoos eat timber houses. They can also strip a fruit tree in minutes. Between them, the lorikeets and the cockatoos stop us from ever harvesting any peaches or nectarines. Other parrots - the black cockatoo ("gang-gang cockatoo") which has a beak like garden shears and can bite through the cone of a Banksia serrata tree to get the seeds. Amazingly, they don't try to eat houses. The Eastern Rosella (haven't seen any here for years) and the Crimson Rosella (red and blue, absolutely beautiful) have been chased away by the lorikeets, I think. Other birds - crows, magpies, various honeyeaters, Eastern Blue Wrens (I nearly hit one in the car on Saturday). Kookaburras, of course. We have several flocks of them, they make a lot of noise round sunset and just after dawn. They are amazing to watch them hunt. If you're having a barbecue near kookaburras you have to watch the food closely or they'll steal it. So will magpies, but kookas can steal heavier pieces. They fly with it to a tree branch then holding it in their beak, slam it into the branch to kill it. Watching them do that with a searingly hot sausage is very funny, as long as you have more sausages. We have a pair of White-Breasted Sea Eagles which live somewhere on the clifftop to the south of us. And sometimes just inland we've seen a Wedge-Tailed Eagle, but there is a smaller hawk there too. Not many predators in our area which is a healthy sign. We occasionally get Fairy Penguins, other parts of Sydney have colonies but not in our area. Other animals - not many roos, sorry. We have no larger Macropods in our area at all. They're further away from Sydney. But we have a lot of Swamp Wallabies and Red-necked Wallabies (aka pademelons). Echidnas and wombats - yeah quite a few but we don't see them often. No koalas in our area at all, but one got tagged and released up near the highway. No emus here. Again, further out of Sydney. Other marsupials - loads of Brush-Tailed Possums (very cute, mostly welcome until they eat the roses). They also love banana. And mango. Ring-Tailed Possums are more scarce and more timid but we have them too. Just down the road there is a small colony of Pygmy Possums (very high cute factor). While a "brushie" is the size of a cat (and could beat one in a fight) the Pygmy Possums could curl up in the palm of your hand, or in a teacup. They have very big eyes and soft grey-brown fur. A bald tail, which is prehensile. They are nectar feeders, they love flowers especially waratahs. We get bandicoots, which are like large rats only they eat roots, grubs etc. They dig small holes which makes them unpopular with gardeners. They are now protected but when I was a kid and they were very common, people used to shoot them. A pity. Nobody does that these days. In the bay we get whales (when migrating) and dolphins. We've seen the occasional shark but nobody's been bitten by a shark anywhere near here in the 30 years we've lived here. Rays, eels, lots of fish, octopus (including blue-ringed octopus, which are only deadly if you really annoy them then hold them in your hand or on your arm so they can bite you). Lots of shellfish, hermit crabs (the kids pick these up by the dozen in summer). The dolphins follow the ferry, especially the school ferry. Or maybe the schookids are more observant. What we see every day - the small skinks. The deer. The lorikeets, cockatoos, magpies, galahs, crows, honeyeaters. Almost every day - add in the possums (brushies). Kookaburras. Gang-gang cockatoos. Everything else - occasionally. Most of the wallabies we see are road-kill. That's about all I can think of. husband may stick his nose in and mention any I've missed. It's a wonderful part of Sydney, here. In the centre of Sydney, you would see - no roos or wallabies. But lorikeets, cockatoos, galahs, magpies. Yes, maybe not as many. Lots of Grey-Headed Flying Foxes (fruit bats). They live in Sydney Botanic Gardens, next to the Opera House, and you see them rising up for their night flights, just on sunset. Like smoke. In the city you can still get brushies, especially near parks. They love to scavenge near houses and even a wild brushie can often be hand-fed. But if cats & dogs are around, they get very nervous. We love to see the reaction on the faces of friends who visit from overseas. One of the best things about living here is sharing it. The whole time I've been typing this I've been hearing the lorikeets outside. They're never silent, but they always seem to be on the move. If ever you visit, you will love the wildlife. Marg [/QUOTE]
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