Garden Visitors

[Palm crazy]

Taking care of this little ferret for three weeks was so much fun. His name is Burkle and he's a very friendly guy.  

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Palm crazy

[Chatta]

We found a nope rope the other day

 

[The Silent Seed]

Chatta - nice to see a large mature coral snake! Are they getting scarce? 

[Chatta]

I'm not sure, this guys been living in my yard for sometime. We've encountered them a lot over the years here. Always big ones too! 
I saw this lil guy in one of my dead palms today! And one of these pretty snakes along my walkway! I have awesome neighbors ;)

[dmc]

[Daryl]

On 5/5/2018, 10:26:57, Chatta said:

I'm not sure, this guys been living in my yard for sometime. We've encountered them a lot over the years here. Always big ones too! 
I saw this lil guy in one of my dead palms today! And one of these pretty snakes along my walkway! I have awesome neighbors ;)

 

Great Shot!

[Daryl]

King Parrot sitting in one of my Ironbarks

 

[Missi]

On 4/28/2018, 6:43:27, Palm crazy said:

Taking care of this little ferret for three weeks was so much fun. His name is Burkle and he's a very friendly guy.  

 

Soooooooooo precious! I'd love to have one but they're riddled with health issues due to inbreeding. 

On 4/30/2018, 4:24:45, Chatta said:

We found a nope rope the other day

 

That's a Nope! Nope!! NOPE!!! Rope for sure!!  Beautiful but it'd be just my luck to accidentally step on it!

12 hours ago, Daryl said:

King Parrot sitting in one of my Ironbarks

 

Stunning capture!! 

[kinzyjr]

A friendly, but shy visitor:

 

[Silas_Sancona]

On 4/30/2018, 1:24:45, Chatta said:

We found a nope rope the other day

 

  Lucky you!.. never had the opportunity of encountering any while living in FL. Our local Coral Snake sp. here is even more elusive. While some people would freak out at the sight, i'd have to sit and watch it pass on by. Like most Rattlesnakes, show some respect when your paths cross, and everyone can get along just fine. Not about to try catching / handling with a Cottonmouth again though.

[dmc]

[dmc]

[Missi]

Green anole (not sure if it is the native green or the Cuban green) on Monstera outside of kitchen window, & baby skink was found on my house. 

Here's an interesting read on native green anoles v. Cuban green anoles: http://www.anoleannals.org/2015/10/11/is-it-possible-to-distinguish-a-carolinensis-from-a-porcatus/

Another little lizard tidbit is, notice the scar on my middle finger in the second pic? That is from one of the times I was bitten by a green iguana! 

[dmc]

[dmc]

[dmc]

[Dave-Vero]

This was a while back at the local botanical garden, but in honor of eastern North America's black racer, the snake equivalent of the gray squirrel, gotta include it.  The big green iguana has disappeared too fast to be photo'd.  

[dmc]

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis

[tropicbreeze]

Darwin Carpet Python, Morelia spilota variegata. This one was only about 1.5 metres long, they can get up to about 4 metres. It was wandering around the garden last night, didn't appreciate getting spotted by torchlight.

[Laaz]

On 6/1/2018, 8:42:32, Missi said:

Green anole (not sure if it is the native green or the Cuban green) on Monstera outside of kitchen window, & baby skink was found on my house. 

Here's an interesting read on native green anoles v. Cuban green anoles: http://www.anoleannals.org/2015/10/11/is-it-possible-to-distinguish-a-carolinensis-from-a-porcatus/

Another little lizard tidbit is, notice the scar on my middle finger in the second pic? That is from one of the times I was bitten by a green iguana! 

 

The blue tail is a juvenile skink, probably a broadhead or five lined.

[dmc]

[dmc]

[dmc]

[Palm crazy]

Hummers and large Bumblebee. 

[Daryl]

I wish we had Hummingbirds here...they are so cool!

Here is the most commonly seen bird in my garden...the  fearless Noisy Miner...enjoying the water in my wheelbarrow...

[steve99]

Had a few Sulpher Crested Cockatoos feeding on grass seeds in my and the neighbors front yard today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by steve99
add pics

[Estlander]

Always have these guys spending time inside my Banana leaves. 

[Palm crazy]

 My garden friend John sent me this email and picture of another cougar in his area. I'll let him explain.

I haven’t been able to keep track of my Big Kitty’s whereabouts.

This picture was taken by my neighbor to the north of me a week ago, through her window obviously. I’ve been only able to determine if the cats are around by the number of deer left in my garden and when the squirrels are giving their warning barks. If the squirrels through my whole little forest are barking then I know at least one cat is in my woods. I have two does still in my garden.

One had twins, then only one fawn, now none. The other showed up with two fawns. Last summer the big cats cleaned out all of that year’s crop of fawns. I don’t necessarily want all the deer gone, but thinning the herd is needed. Many of my neighbors are scared. I wouldn’t be scared but be aware. If I had small children they would be supervised when outdoors. Small pets would also be watched while outside.

One thing I have noticed is that house cats both ferial and neighbors’ pets are still hanging around. It must be some sort of honor among thieves thing going on. Since they are closely related the Big cats leave the little cats alone. Also, no coyotes are hanging around since the big cats showed up. Coyotes are death to house cats.

 

Have a great day,

John  

Edited August 2, 2018 by Palm crazy

[Daryl]

Wow, that big cat is pretty cool! Nothing like that around these parts....

Here's a couple of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos that frequent our little valley regularly...

Through the Coconut leaves...

 

 

Daryl

 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Daryl

[steve99]

A pair of King Parrots flew into my garage today.  The neighbors feed them so when they saw me they just flew over expecting some freebies I think.   It's the first time it's ever happened.

Edited August 30, 2018 by steve99

[Missi]

On 8/2/2018, 6:10:42, Palm crazy said:

 My garden friend John sent me this email and picture of another cougar in his area. I'll let him explain.

I haven’t been able to keep track of my Big Kitty’s whereabouts.

This picture was taken by my neighbor to the north of me a week ago, through her window obviously. I’ve been only able to determine if the cats are around by the number of deer left in my garden and when the squirrels are giving their warning barks. If the squirrels through my whole little forest are barking then I know at least one cat is in my woods. I have two does still in my garden.

One had twins, then only one fawn, now none. The other showed up with two fawns. Last summer the big cats cleaned out all of that year’s crop of fawns. I don’t necessarily want all the deer gone, but thinning the herd is needed. Many of my neighbors are scared. I wouldn’t be scared but be aware. If I had small children they would be supervised when outdoors. Small pets would also be watched while outside.

One thing I have noticed is that house cats both ferial and neighbors’ pets are still hanging around. It must be some sort of honor among thieves thing going on. Since they are closely related the Big cats leave the little cats alone. Also, no coyotes are hanging around since the big cats showed up. Coyotes are death to house cats.

 

Have a great day,

John  

The panthers dine on outdoor domestic cats here in Florida. Here is one doing just that! I saw the original, unedited video footage when it was still available and it is definitely a domestic cat. They later interviewed the homeowner and she said it's one of the cats from a feral colony that she tends to.
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/2018/06/06/florida-panther-attack-golden-gate-estates-familys-cat-caught-video/678162002/

[Daryl]

The rain has eased off finally, after 9 days or so and 225mm (9") in the gauge, which was very welcome after the 5 month drought we just endured...anyway, getting back on subject, all of the birds have come out of hiding again, including this cute little fella, on the lookout for cats, rabbits and small dogs...these Wedgetails can get up to 8ft wingspan

Daryl

 

[Daryl]

Blue faced Honeyeater enjoying one of my Veitchias

 

 

[tropicbreeze]

On 10/20/2018, 10:53:02, Daryl said:

The rain has eased off finally, after 9 days or so and 225mm (9") in the gauge, which was very welcome after the 5 month drought we just endured...anyway, getting back on subject, all of the birds have come out of hiding again, including this cute little fella, on the lookout for cats, rabbits and small dogs...these Wedgetails can get up to 8ft wingspan

Daryl

 

How close to the coast are you? I sometimes see Wedge-tails here but they're quite rare because I'm about 30kms from the coast (very uneven coastline with bays/estuaries). About 60 - 100 kms from the coast they become more common.

[tropicbreeze]

Just recently one of my Corymbia polysciada went into flower attracting lots of pollinators. On this one small tree I managed to photograph:

Bees- approx 20 species;
Ant - 1 species;
Flies - 9 species (including 2 Bee Flies);
Beetles - 2 species;
Butterflies - 3 species (another 3 managed to avoid the camera).

Some of the identified bee species.
Megachile darwiniana

Amegilla aeruginosa

Xylocopa aruana

Brachyhesma sp.

Amegilla walkeri

[Daryl]

9 minutes ago, tropicbreeze said:

How close to the coast are you? I sometimes see Wedge-tails here but they're quite rare because I'm about 30kms from the coast (very uneven coastline with bays/estuaries). About 60 - 100 kms from the coast they become more common.

About 15km inland, in between two rivers, closest being ~2 km away....all of the raptors seem to share the area...also see Sea Eagles very occasionally, plus all of the smaller ones.

[Daryl]

2 minutes ago, tropicbreeze said:

Just recently one of my Corymbia polysciada went into flower attracting lots of pollinators. On this one small tree I managed to photograph:

Bees- approx 20 species;
Ant - 1 species;
Flies - 9 species (including 2 Bee Flies);
Beetles - 2 species;
Butterflies - 3 species (another 3 managed to avoid the camera).

Some of the identified bee species.
Megachile darwiniana

Amegilla aeruginosa

Xylocopa aruana

Brachyhesma sp.

Amegilla walkeri

Great Bee photos...what lens were you using for these?

 

[tropicbreeze]

The lens is a Tamron 90mm F2.8 1:1 macro, but I also have extension tubes. Some of the pollinators are easily spooked so often I couldn't make best use of the extension tubes and had to keep my distance with just the lens itself. Over several days I took well over 1000 photos, deleted most of them, kept around 300. Those were the better ones plus ones that showed diagnostic characteristics which might help in identification.

One of the Bee Flies (you have this species over your way too).

Ligyra    satyrus

[Silas_Sancona]

On 10/20/2018, 9:35:33, tropicbreeze said:

Just recently one of my Corymbia polysciada went into flower attracting lots of pollinators. On this one small tree I managed to photograph:

Bees- approx 20 species;
Ant - 1 species;
Flies - 9 species (including 2 Bee Flies);
Beetles - 2 species;
Butterflies - 3 species (another 3 managed to avoid the camera).

Some of the identified bee species.
Megachile darwiniana

Amegilla aeruginosa

Xylocopa aruana

Brachyhesma sp.

Amegilla walkeri

Great shots!! 

Having chased many around the yard, trying to get good pictures, with a less than impressive camera for doing so atm, i can understand clicking wayy more shots than will actually produce a good enough picture to keep. Butterflies and Hummingbirds can be just as camera-shy..  I can only imagine doing the same years ago with my old, non digital SLR, let alone having the film developed, just to reject 60-90% of the shots on the roll.. Great work, and excellent tips regarding what you're using. 

[Palm crazy]

A friend took this picture of a Buck in his backyard they just stared at each other for about 15 minutes and then turn and moved on. The deer did not charge him just look at him and then wander off back into the woods.