The echidnas are very busy at the moment. I saw three yesterday and two today. Some are quite timid and curl up every time the camera's shutter goes off and others don't care at all.
The echidnas are very busy at the moment. I saw three yesterday and two today. Some are quite timid and curl up every time the camera's shutter goes off and others don't care at all.
The warmer weather means echidnas are wandering about in the daytime again. This one wandered straight towards me and got quite close before deciding to change direction.
It's triceratops season! No, not dinosaurs - Chiglottis triceratops is a tiny species of orchid that grows in Tasmanian forests.
There are any more plants in the forest this year than I saw last year, and they're just starting to flower.
Today's most adorable visitor is this little Superb Fairy Wren.
These tiny birds travel in groups of 5 to 20ish hopping about & hunting for insects. When we cut fallen trees for firewood we leave all the spindly bits in piles, which the wrens love as a sheltered place full of insects. Wouldn't want to be eaten by yesterday's goshawk!
Heading into Spring, the birds are coming back. Today's prettiest visitor was this Grey Goshawk (white form) - Accipiter novaehollandiae. These are the world's only pure white raptors.
#Tasmania #TasmanianForest #Goshawk #Raptor #BirdsOfMastodon #BirdsOfPrey #WhiteBird
Davo and Stevo, the Forest Ravens, were not happy when a Brown Falcon swooped in and stole their rabbit.
Rabbits are feral here, and the birds need to eat, so no matter who wins this is good for the environment.
#Tasmania #TasmanianForest #Raven #Falcon #Nature #Feral #StolenLunch
A while back, I posted these cute little chocolate custard people fungi but couldn't work out what they were. Turns out they are Ascocoryne sarcoides (Purple Jellydisc) and they exist in many parts of the world.
They're tricky little things because they come in two distinctly different forms:
- Purple discs
- Little custard people that come in strawberry or chocolate variety Note: 'chocolate', 'strawberry' and 'custard' refer to appearance, not edibility or flavour.
I found some discs but no strawberry people. Looking at these two photos side-by-side you wouldn't guess they are the same species.
It's always cool capturing a wombat on trailcam & this one was quite a big healthy looking lump of a creature.
Another stinkhorn (Aseroe rubra) has emerged. This one is much more conveniently located a short stroll from the house with no creek crossing or leech battles required.
#Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Australia #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #StinkhornFungus
Fungi and lichens living together on a tree trunk.
#Fungi #Lichens #Mushtodon #Sporespondence #LichenSubscribe #Tasmania #TasmanianForest
It took its time, but the first stinkhorn has finally emerged!
Good thing, too, because it's been getting more & more challenging to cross the creek to see it. It was so cold this morning that it wasn't stinky, so that's a win.
#Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #StinkhornFungus
Shrek's eavesdropping
#Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #Blue
The award for creepiest thing found on yesterday's fungus hunt goes to these things. When I looked at the photos I thought I'd found alien life, but they have been ID'd for me.
What are they? Answer in the second photo's alt.
#Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #Creepy
At this time of the year I can't go outside without finding new (to me) fungi. Today, Jelly Baby fungus - Leotia lubrica have sprung up everywhere.
#Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #Yellow
I learned something! I had no idea that wallabies can sit on their tails. It's one of the things that distinguishes them from kangaroos. This guy had lunch outside our kitchen (not provided by us) then hopped into the forest to sit & chill.
#Wallaby #Macropods #Marsupials #Wildlife #Nature #Tasmania #TasmanianForest
I just went for a walk and found something very strange. Do any of you know what these are? Maybe a slime mold, maye a jelly fungus but I really don't know.
#SlimeMolds #Mushtodon #Sporespondence #Mushrooms #Fungi #Tasmania #TasmanianForest #MysteryOrganism
So, over the past 10 days I've managed to post photos of fungi in every single colour. Alls that left are those without much colour at all. Transparent and semitransparent fungi!
For anyone who's interested, I have published every species I've found on my land at https://www.tasforest.com/intheforest/Fungi/ - currently 200ish species.
By the way, blue was the most popular colour, followed by black/grey and then pink.