Wildlife in the suburbs – Canberra's Green Spaces

August 31, 2024

Spring Time…. Birds, blossoms and blowing a hooley!

Yesterday, it was blowing a hooley (a phrase I learnt from a blogger in Cornwall)

We have many very big Eucalyptus trees all around Canberra, and it is nerve wrecking watching the wind blowing through the trees. Today, apart from plenty of fallen branches and leaves, everyone but me is out raking leaves!

On a lighter note, we always know spring has arrived, when we see the bright yellow blossoms of the Wattle tree (Acacia family), all over Canberra.

These flowers herald the beginning of spring, and sunshine, they provide food for birds and insects, and they can re-generate after bushfires. For this reason Wattle trees are often seen as a symbol of renewal, hope and resilience.

Many years ago we planted daffodils along the path to our house. They have endured windy cold days and they continue to blossom cheerfully.

***These Daffodils always look upright and smiling***

Spring is also time when birds appear from everywhere..

This tiny bird is an Eastern Spinebill and he flies into the Pineapple Sage shrub as soon as it begins to flower. He has been visiting us for a long time now, and we call him Spiny.

Despite his acrobatics, he is always on the alert and disappears as soon as he sees another bird.

The King Parrots are having a wonderful time because the Camellia bushes and flowers are in abundance….

This year many birds have been nesting early, and some even have young chicks, (way too early!)

These young parrots, are making their way into the world, they all have a Juvenile look about them I think..

For many years, the local birds have been flying to the high electrical post in the corner of our back garden.

This juvenile cockatoo was watching us as we were gardening, and I wondered if it was the fledgling cockatoo that found its way into our garden before it could fly. (just before Christmas) Hopefully so. Despite not flying, his mother was very diligent in feeding him daily. He looks well and he did manage to fly to the highest post in the garden.

As spring continues we will be able to see some of the growing plants from our windows and the deck. Two of my favourites in this part of the garden are, the bright yellow flowers called Bulbinella …it is a haven for the bees and turns bright yellow in the morning light.

A fellow blogger, Anne ( Something Over Tea) has mentioned the Bulbinella, and its healing qualities..

Another favourite plant of mine is a Leucadendron. It is part of the Proteaceae family and tolerates drought and frost! Perfect for our garden!

We live in a quiet street, and know most of our neighbours. Our close neighbour, Lois, and I often find ourselves chatting as we stand in our quiet road. As time goes on we move a little towards Lois’s garden as she has such good views of the sun setting over the mountains. We always find reasons to talk about the mountains….they change colour in accordance with the weather, and the time of day. If a bird flies across the landscape we guess which one it is , the distant cockatoos look like shiny silver trails in the sky.

***The Brindabella Mountains at sunset***

This photo was taken at sunset….time to get cracking and catch up again another time!

Best wishes to everyone, and may the sun shine where ever you are in the world…

June 16, 2024

Does it get cold in Australia?

This is Canberra on a cold wintery day, with a dusting of snow on the Brindabella Mountains and the Australian Parliament House in the foreground.

Fog is more common than snow in Canberra, and this is often very stressful for politicians flying into Canberra, or indeed, Canberrans flying out to Queensland to get some warmth and sunshine!

Paul and I go to the markets every Thursday, but it has been a cold night, so Paul is checking the birdbaths, and removing the ice.

The birds are very dependent on us for water in these icy conditions…

The cockatoos are socialising and drinking from the neighbourhood’s gutters.

The lovely King Parrots are always here in winter..

They love to feed on the leftover leaves from the Japanese Maples..

The markets are very quiet this morning. In summer these corridors are full of people in shorts and T-shirts by lunch time! The markets specialise in food and lunches for all nationalities.

Today we are buying fresh vegetables, nuts, milk and yogurt and a few nice sauces for casseroles.

We had a chat to a new person at the cash register. She is from Germany, and has not long been in Australia. Today, everyone in the market is in coats and warm clothes, I asked her if she was expecting this cold weather…. her reply “I never thought it would be this cold in Australia.“

The good news is that although Canberra has cold winters, it often has clear blue skies, and four seasons, so you know spring is coming.

This is often a good time for riding around the lake, or walking along the bridge..

Before long the Manchurian Pear trees will start to blossom, a real sign of spring!

This photo was taken at the beginning of spring, more and more people venture out to enjoy the sun…

Thank you for taking the time to read my post today, and may the sun shine on you today.

May 19, 2024

Marvellous Melbourne, and a flashback to Covid days..

The two biggest cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne, are often compared and contrasted.

There was, and still is, much rivalry between the two..

***Melbourne Royal Exhibition Gardens***

I once asked a gracious old lady what she thought of Melbourne and Sydney….

She said “Well of course, Melbourne is marvellous..…”

‘‘but my dear………. what could compare with Sydney Harbour?”

***Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House***

So never the twain shall meet.

Our family became more familar with Melbourne when our elder daughter and family moved to this gracious city, full of colour and movement!

Melbourne is well known for its trams, they are a novelty for us and fun to take the tram in the city, and watch the world go by…

***One of many Melbourne Arcades, food, coffee, people!***

Melbourne has become a very multicultural city, and is represented by many many different cultures. Needless to say there is a great variety of foods, markets, coffee, cafes and restaurants.

We often visit this café because it is near the Botanic Gardens…

In the older suburbs of the city, it is easy to see the early pioneers and gold rush days… (my father’s family came from Wicklow, Ireland.)

Our daughter and family live in a well kept inner city suburb, with lots of parks and lovely gardens.

The small Eucalyptus trees are perfect for the streets, and the flowers bring the birds too.

The Rainbow Lorikeet feeding it’s young.

During Australia’s Covid Lockdown, we travelled to Melbourne to help out with our daughter and son-in-law, as they were expecting their second baby in September. Lockdown rules still applied, with social distancing, wearing masks and restricted numbers of people socialising together.

The highlight of our day was a slow walk with our three year old granddaughter

Thanks to her we noticed every ant, insect and bug along the path, all of which was very interesting….

Kind and thoughtful neighbours helped by putting toys in street trees, Winnie the Pooh was very popular, and we looked forward to seeing Winnie every day.

The Rainbow Lorikeets enjoy the parks and seem to be everywhere..

Gardening continued through Covid…

Before Covid this park was full of people, playing sport, sitting under trees, having picnics, children swinging on play equipment.

Looking at these photos now, the very quiet and strange life of Lockdowns and Covid seems a long time ago, and what an uncertain, and worrying time it was!

We were very grateful to have an enthusiastic three year old on hand!

However, we realised flying a make-shift kite was harder than we thought..

A bonny baby boy was born, and before long it was Christmas..

The Eucalyptus flowers were decorated by kindly neighbours, and, for us, Melbourne was marvellous..

Some time ago I have written a blog post about the Covid Lockdowns in Australia, and there might be some overlap of photos. My apologies.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post today. I hope you are having a day of sunshine…

January 21, 2024March 19, 2024

Cockatoos, Christmas and Mount Taylor …..

Just before Christmas, we had an unexpected visitor. ..

A group of cockatoos were helping themselves to the flowers on our apricot tree, and when Paul chased them away he noticed that one of birds was walking, rather than flying away.

It seemed to be a young cockatoo, perhaps a male, with a very protective mother who walked along the path with him. (I wish I’d taken a photo of them)

I hoped they would both fly away, and I returned to the house to get on with Christmas preparations.

Anxious relatives waiting on the carport roof..

However, a few hours later, the cockatoo was still sitting under a tree in the garden. He has a mark on his head…..we wondered if he’d had a “crash landing” in the garden while the apricot raid was on..

I decided to call WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue, & Education service.) and I had a chat to a very helpful person called Lyn. She asked if the cockatoo had a tail, (which he didn’t have, compared with the other cockatoos) and this indicated he was definitely a Juvenile.

Lyn then gave me an interesting, and amusing insight into the life of a young cockatoo.

These two photos were taken last year at Rushcutters’s Bay

During the mating season, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos nest high in the hollow of gum (Eucalyptus) trees. The parents share the incubation of two to four eggs and feed nestlings for about 6 -8 weeks. Cockatoos may have as many as four young cockatoos in the hollow for a long time.!

Lyn said, ‘‘as you can imagine they are quite stunned and very reliant on their parents when they leave the hollow!”

Lyn said WIRES members, understandably do not take young birds if they are being fed by their parents. When the parents stop feeding the juvenile cockatoos starts to become independent and usually have developed well enough to fly.

The young mother (on the left) looks almost as young as her Juvenile offspring.

The young cockatoo, settled into one of our Japanese Maple trees. He pulled himself up by his beak and claws, looking a little stunned, but always with his mother close by.

Fortunately our cockatoo family were very quiet (which is VERY unusual). His mother was completely devoted to him, she arrived about dawn every morning, fed him and often spent time preening him, and then she flew off, and came back in the evening to feed him again.. Paul and I sometimes wondered if he was going to be bigger than his mother..

Meanwhile Christmas was just a few days away, and our daughter, son-in-law and our two grandchildren were arriving any minute. They live in the inner city of Melbourne, and so they greeted the idea of a young cockatoo in the tree, with great interest.

Christmas day was a happy family time, fortunately the young cockatoo and his energetic mother had moved to a densely covered Bottlebrush at the bottom of the garden, and we made sure they had peace and quiet there. Our granddaughter made the cockatoo a nest out of paper plates, and thoughtfully left it under the plum tree.

The parents continued to watch over their youngster, and his mother spent time gently spreading out his wings …very poignant to watch.

The cockatoo family gradually moved to another very quiet garden, and we are not sure exactly what has happened to him now, but I hope he is learning to fly..

Once Christmas was over, presents had been opened, visitors had come and gone, there were a couple more things to do. Paul wanted to harvest his abundant bed of carrots, and had two willing helpers. They loved it, nothing like getting your hands in soil!

Once the carrots were harvested and cleaned, we had one more box to tick….we don’t have many traditions in Canberra, but almost everyone enjoys the outdoors.

We have lived on the slopes of Mount Taylor for many years. Our tradition is that when we get together, we make a bit of a trek along the path to the middle section of Mount Taylor .

The following photos have been taken over the span of many years …

When our daughters were young we walked up the path to look at the view, to see if we could spot our house, and to look for the kangaroos.

Lake Tuggeranong and surrounding suburbs

Paul, our son-in-law Anthony, and our grandson and granddaughter walked half way up Mt Taylor. They didn’t see many kangaroos, but they loved the climb, especially our grandson who is three and half years old. He couldn’t wait to tell his Mum ..

“I went to the mountain: and I loved it!”

As they walked down the mountain, guess what they saw…a cockatoo looking towards the mountain..

Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, during this busy time of the year.

In the words of David Attenborough:

It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement, the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest..it is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living...

October 18, 2023

Spring time in Canberra, the garden, the birds and housing for chickens..

Despite the changeable weather, and perhaps because we have had so much rain, all the spring flowers and bulbs were smiling this year..

The wind blows relentlessly across this part of the garden, but the tulips stand firm… I love them!

The Aquilegias are thriving in the garden, which is quite remarkable because the possum (and family, we think) pay a nightly visit to this part of the garden…. they jump into and over the flowers to get onto the plum tree. Very very annoying!

The garden looks a colourful yellow in early spring, the daffodils defy all odds and come up looking stronger every year. The yellow flowering plant on the left is Bulbinella Nutans, which we bought at Lambley Nursery in Victoria.

Australian native plants have their own colour and beauty especially in the early morning light.

This part of the garden has become very shady, with maturing Manchurian Pear trees, Japanese Maples and big and small birdbaths. All birds have their favourites!

This delicate Japanese Maple attracts the tiny Silver-eye birds and the Honey-eaters. These birds come to the tree even when we are sitting under the branches. Our granddaughter says this is because it is a magic tree.

Paul has grown some lovely vegetables this year. He has just cut some Silverbeet and he gave some to our neighbours, Lois and Sandi.

Sandi made four Spanakopita pies and gave one to us. It was delicious and we took a photo of our empty plates, and sent them to him. Spanakopitas is a Savoury Greek spinach pie.

In early spring we noticed this little Sulphur Crested Cockatoo while we were walking up Heartbreak Hill. It was soon joined by a large (noisy) group of Cockatoos. Phew!

We are frequent visitors to Open Gardens, and quite often we see varied chicken coops.

This chicken coop is in the wonderful estate of Retford Park in Bowral. What lucky chickens, it may even be temperature controlled.

I hope you are enjoying spring, or autumn in your part of the world. During this time of turbulence across the world, I am acutely aware of the peace, tranquillity, and friendship we find in our garden, our home and our neighbourhood.

August 13, 2023March 20, 2024

Far North Queensland and Hemingway’s on the Hill..

Canberra is well known for having cold winters (by Australian standards). June to August can be cold, rainy and miserable in Canberra.

Fortunately the temperatures in Far North Queensland are mild and pleasant during these months. Many Australians from the southern states, including our family, go on holiday to Queensland during our winter months.

This year in mid-June, Paul’s much loved mother, at the age of 96, passed away. She had eight children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, and will be sadly missed by everyone.

The last few months have been very busy, and at times very sad. However, we had planned a holiday in Far North Queensland and a few weeks ago, we packed our bags, and flew to Cairns.

Despite the overcast view that day, it is always a pleasure to see the coastline as the plane turns to land in Cairns.

We decided to start our holiday with a few quiet days in the Atherton Tablelands, despite it being a little colder than along the coast.

Paul found us a small cottage in the Atherton Tablelands and it was called Hemingway’s on the Hill.

It was quiet, rustic and peaceful, and just what we needed….a break away from everything.

On the way to our cottage we stopped at a pretty country town called Yungaburra and bought pizzas, a bottle of wine, and a few extra food supplies for our first meal at Hemingway’s on the Hill.

The cabin had all kinds of interesting books and magazines. The owner of the cottage lived on a farm nearby. She had packed the fridge and kitchen with fruit, eggs, bacon, butter, jams, honey and yogurt.

Everything we ate there came from local farms.. what a feast!

Paul lit the fire on the first evening and we sat quietly watching the sun going down …..it was cold, but a very pleasant quiet time…there is nothing like a flickering fire for relaxing.

In the morning we had better views of the rolling hills, and farms dotted across the mountains. The Atherton Tablelands provides food for many parts of Australia, with its rich volcanic soil there are an amazing amount of crops grown in this area. (more of that in another post)

The owner of the property had left instructions for everything, but this little note at the back of the folder made me smile….be warned of noises when you are in the countryside in Australia.

We did hear the Curlew birds in the night….my impression is that they have a rather sad cry, and always late at night. However, my cousin, who lives not very far from this area, says she loves coming home and listening to their long song.

A Bush Stone-curlew bird Photo: Birdlife Australia

We have never had bandicoots in our garden, (thank goodness), but possums are a perennial problem and they bounce across our carport roof quite often in the night, usually looking for fruit and vegetables.

Our three days at Hemingway’s cottage was spent eating good nourishing food, having quiet times by the fire, and reading books…..we slept well, and were completely unaware of any night time activity during our stay.

Before we left for our second holiday house at the coast, I took some photos of the two colourful flowers that were growing in the gardens at Hemingway’s. As with all flowers and shrubs in this part of the world, they are large, bright and cheerful.

There are many interesting parts of Far North Queensland to see and enjoy, and I’ll write a few posts on some very different parts of Queensland.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my post today, and may you have some sunshine where ever you are in the world.

July 9, 2023

Kangaroos, Koalas and the Brushed Tailed Rock Wallaby Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Yesterday Paul and I intended going out to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, until the weather took a turn for the worse, cold and windy and miserable. So, it was definitely a ”stay at home” kind of day.

However I had many photos from previous visits, quite often through winter, so I’ve used these photos and regular readers (over years) will recognise a few.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is a much loved place, very close to Canberra, with walks and views of animals, all living in their natural habitat. The Reserve also has much needed threatened species breeding programs, and conservation of flora and fauna.

More than anything it gives us all the ability to connect in with nature and conservation.

Considering these photos were taken in winter the kangaroos and koalas are looking very healthy. The joey seems to be quite relaxed in his pouch.

The mother of this joey, instinctively protecting her joey before she continues to graze.

Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby amongst the burnt trees

In 2003 we had terrible fires in this region, and also in Canberra. The photo above was taken well after the fires, but still the remnants of the fire remain.

This photo was seen in many parts of the world at that time. Humans and animals desperately trying to survive during this exhausting and fearful time.

Lucky was the only koala to survive the 2003 fires in this region. Unfortunately the only photo of Lucky I could find was one taken just after he was rescued from the fire…all too dreadful to see, but he did survive and thrive until July 2008, and he died of old age.

For five years there were no koalas at Tidbinbilla. In 2013, some koalas were relocated from New South Wales to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. These koalas have been part of special breeding program and have thrived since this time.

***Koalas eat a range of Eucalyptus leaves. .***

The Rangers at Tidbinbilla created a special free-range enclosure which enabled adults and children to see the koalas eating, sleeping, and climbing branches without disturbing them.

This adult koala is tolerantly taking this almost fully grown youngster for a ride.

The brushed-tailed rock wallaby is another animal that survives well in Tidbinbilla. In the mid 1990s there were fewer than 40 southern brush-tailed rock wallabies in the wild and in this area.

In days well past, they were hunted for many years, then lost habitat to feral foxes and feral goats. Tidbinbilla joined the fight to save the brush-tailed wallaby. These days Tidbinbilla has about 70 per cent of the southern Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby’s captive breeding population in Australia.

In the words of Brett McNamara, the Regional Manager ACT Parks and Conservation Service.(2019)

Next time you visit Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, keep an eye out for the elusive shadow as it takes a giant leap forward, back from the edge of extinction.

Congratulation to all the Rangers and volunteers who work at Tidbinbilla, their dedication over the years has made Tidbinbilla a wonderful place to visit.

Best wishes to all readers and may your days be sunny and mild..

June 25, 2023July 17, 2023

Canberra’s winter: birds, kangaroos and walking tracks..

Canberrans often complain about our winters, which are generally colder than coastal areas nearby. However, when I looked through my photos of winter in Canberra I decided to look on the bright side.

Canberra in late autumn, early winter can be beautiful, and for many people it is a time for rowing, cycling, running and walking and taking photos.

One of my favourite occupations is looking out the window into our back garden and taking photos of the birds we often see in winter.

Here are a family of King Parrots who fly in to drink melted water from the gutter of our cabin in the garden. I love watching these beautiful birds because they are very cautious and shy and we hardly ever see them during other seasons.

The male Australian King Parrot has a completely red head, and the females are similar to the males except that they have a completely green head and breast…easier to distinguish in the photo below.

In winter we often go to the Australian Botanic Gardens, there are always a few colourful native plants and an abundance of birds ….especially early in the morning.

New Holland Honeyeater feeding on a Banksia

This is one of many Correas that brighten up a garden in winter.

Canberra is a planned city with many parks and bushland. We often go for winter walks along Coolaman Ridge Nature Track, which has a winding track around a mountain ridge. Quite often in winter the kangaroos are slow to start the day and you can see a little Joey still half asleep enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on the rocks.

The photo below shows the kangaroos in languish mode, along a track near Mount Taylor, near where we live. This photo was taken a while ago (in winter) and since then this area has become very popular as a walking track, and a place to take dogs for a walk. Fortunately there is a fence between the walking track and the kangaroos, who spend time on the other side of the mountain.

We saw these kangaroos at Weston park, and although they are watchful, they are used to people strolling by and taking photos occasionally.

As the winter sun sets, the view from our street is of the Brindabella Mountains…the colours change from hour to hour. The currawongs call is a familar sound in the evening, time to close the curtains, turn the heater up, and be very, very thankful we live in a peaceful part of the world.

Best wishes to everyone, and I hope you are enjoying your patch of sunshine where ever it may be…

April 17, 2023

Canberra in autumn, down memory lane ..

Canberra is the capital of Australia, a planned city, with many parks, bush trails, green spaces and lakes. However as with many capital cities, Canberra is often seen as short hand for federal government rather than a landscape where people live. One quote I’ve read is “”Canberra has too many politicians, too many roundabouts and too much cold weather!”

When I retired from teaching in 2013, I decided to write a blog about Canberra, the beauty of the mountains and the lakes, and also the every day life of people living in Canberra.

Paul and I took a cruise along the lake, stopping at the Governor General’s House and beautiful garden.

Many of the photos of Canberra in this post were taken between 2014 and 2017, when I began blogging, and regular readers may recognise some of the photos…

Canberra in autumn is usually sunny, warm and pleasant, the best season of the year for planning gardens, going for walks, runs and rides, and taking photos!

Lake Burley Griffin in autumn, gorgeous Manchurian Pears and Black Mountain Tower in the distance.

National Library of Australia, a Tourist boat and the Manchurian Pears in full bloom.

Spring in Canberra can be windy and chilly, but the beautiful Manchurian Pears are out in bloom, which lifts the spirits. The National Library of Australia is one of my favourite buildings, often seen in my blog, I know! The small rather quaint tourist boat has, for many years, taken tourists who prefer a gentle slow tour of the lake.

In our early days of retirement, I was so keen to take photos that I dragged Paul out before dawn to walk around Lake Burley Griffin…. always worth it.

Canberra is full of early morning rowers, riders and walkers.

We often walk around the Parliamentary Triangle, and I love this Federal Government building…amongst others.

All along the paths the trees are changing, and the birds are in attendance.

The Cockatoos tend to eat with their left claw, uninterrupted by pesty photographers.

Galahs often feed close to Cockatoos, but today this Galah is with two small Red Rumped Parrots

A young cockatoo attacking the last of the tomatoes.

During summer and autumn we eat breakfast on our deck, overlooking our garden.

At the risk of getting indigestion we often have an interrupted breakfast to chase big and little birds out of the veggie patch..

Thank you for taking the time to read my post today, and may your autumn or spring gardens be full of colour and joy.

February 26, 2023

Sydney’s summer in the suburbs

We recently spent a week in Sydney, house-sitting for Paul’s brother, Martin and his wife Kris.

Paul’s mother is 96 years old this week, so it was a wonderful opportunity for Paul to spend some time with her every day.

Martin and Kris live in a leafy suburb, with many trees, colourful flowers and cool green lawns. Sydney gets a much higher rainfall than Canberra, so we are always somewhat blinded by this bright sunny green city.

We soon found a walking track with a notice saying, “A Blue Gum High Forest in your Backyard”

Some thoughtful planners have managed to preserve land in the suburb to keep a small amount of Blue Gum forest. There is a path through the forest, and it is a bonus for suburban dwellers to have this small forest within reach of walking every day.

The Blue Gum High Forest only occurs in Northern Sydney. It gets its name from the tall Eucalyptus saligna, or Sydney Blue Gum with its distinctive smooth bark and trunk.

The timber of the Blue Gum high forest was valuable to Sydney’s early settlement, and ongoing clearing, farming, development and weed invasion meant that less than 5% of the original forest remains in the world.

Needless to say, all the birds love the Blue Gums, and cockatoos gather amongst the trees every day. ( a mixed blessing).

Paul and I have also been inspired by the wonderful garden Kris has made…

When we arrived the Flowering Pink Gum tree had just started to flower…

and the day we were leaving the beautiful Flowering Gum put on a show for us, and the Rainbow Lorikeets did the same!

We are back in Canberra now, after an enjoyable week in Sydney.

We are so impressed with Kris’s Flowering Gum Tree, we are going to try growing one ourselves.

Many thanks for reading my blog post today, and best wishes to everyone, especially friends and relatives in New Zealand who have been battling the elements for some time.