Lobellia species?

Posse of Brush-tailed Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) at Mallacoota, Victoria, #Australia, checking out if any seed left by the birdies. I got to sniff them 🤭 their fur smells like Eucalyptus wool wash.
#nature #wildlife #mammals #marsupials #ozwildlife #wildlifephotography

‘Shocking’ signs of damage in plastic-eating chicks Proteins in the seabirds’ blood reveal markers of neurodegeneration and multiorgan dysfunction

Signs of dementia in seabirds that eat plastic

Plastic pollution consumed by sable shearwater chicks seems to cause dementia-like brain damage, stomach lining disruptions, and liver and kidney dysfunction.
@nature.com
@cenmag.bsky.social

cen.acs.org/environment/...

#birds #pollution #plastic

Credit to Australian Museum - The Royal Spoonbill is a large white waterbird with black, spatulate (spoon-shaped) bill, facial skin, legs and feet. During the breeding season, it has a distinctive nuchal (back of head or nape of neck) crest, which can be up to 20 cm long in male birds (usually shorter in females). The crest can be erected during mating displays to reveal bright pink skin underneath. Breeding adults also have a creamy-yellow wash across the lower neck and upper breast and a strip of bright pink skin along the edge of the underwings which is obvious when the bird opens its wings. The facial skin is black with a yellow patch above the eye and a red patch in the middle of the forehead, in front of the crest feathers. Females are slightly smaller with shorter legs and bill.

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) are large wetland #birds, sweeping their spatulate bill from side to side to feed on crustaceans, fish, frogs and small insects. This bird at Western Treatment Plant, Melbourne #Australa is wearing breeding plumage off back of its head.
#nature #wildlife #photography

Credit to Birds in Backyards - In breeding season, the male Golden-headed Cisticola has a golden-orange head, which is crested when calling, with a paler chin and throat, and a boldly streaked black to dark grey and golden body. The tail is black, with paler tips, and is shorter during breeding season.

Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis) is a small warbling #bird found in #Australia and some Asian countries. Breeding males have the bright golden-orange head. It feeds mainly on insects and inhabits grassy areas. Taken at Western Treatment Plant, Melbourne.
#wildlife #nature #photography

2 terms is bad enough, and i dont even live in usa.

Queensland has had a reputation for voting for Coalition's lack of action on climate change for decades; forgive my #fafo attitude.

Wikipeida - Welcome Swallows live mostly in eastern, western, southern and central Australia. The nest is an open cup of mud and grass, made by both sexes, and is attached to a structure, such as a vertical rock wall or building. It is lined with feathers and fur, and three to five eggs are laid. The female alone incubates the eggs, which hatch after two to three weeks. The young are fed by both parents. The fledglings stay in the nest from 18 to 23 days and become completely independent around 35 days.

Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) were very welcoming #birds at Tamar Wetlands, #Launceston #Tasmania, nesting on the security camera above the door into visitor centre. Love the fledglings yellow lips that let the parents know where to feed me, feed me!
#nature #ozbirds #wildlife #photogrpahy

And here i was happy to reach 100 followers, after only having 7 or so on that other platform that shall not be named. Congrats, your pics are lovely.

A Blue Banded Bee using its jaw to clamp onto the stem of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra).

A Blue Banded Bee feeding on it's preferred blue flowers, in this case a Salvia with silvery foliage.

A Blue Banded Bee flying towards the blue flowers of a Salvia.

Chasing Blue Banded Bees (Amegilla species) is a mindful experience, listening to them buzz quickly around, waiting patiently for them to be still long enough to take a photo. A native bee in #Australia with buzz #pollination.
#nature #ozwildlife #insects #bees #pollinator #wildlifephotography

This male Superb Fairy-wren is in breeding plumage with a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, contrasting to his black mask and black or dark blue throat. He is perched on the brown fronds of some dried-out bracken, with his tail held erectly, and probably looking for insects to eat.

Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) are sublime little #birds, especially the males with their blue feathers. They are know to pluck and display yellow petals to their mate as love tokens, and to any promiscuous on-the-side chickee-babes.
#nature #ozbirds #wildlife #birdphotography #biodiversity

The hoary-headed grebe is a fairly small dark grey and white wetland bird. It has a brown eye and a black patch under the chin, and a narrow black streak down the back of the neck. During the breeding season the adult's plumage has white streaks over its entire head, giving them the common name of hoary-headed grebe. The hoary-headed grebe is found in all states and territories of Australia, except for the arid interior, living in large open waters that may be estuarine, brackish or freshwater.

Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) from a gorgeous wetland near Bakers Beach, in Narawntapu National Park, #Tasmania. Showing breeding plumage with white-streaks on its head and a buff-coloured chest, as they breed in Tasmania.
#ozbirds #wildlife #nature #photography #birdphotography

Long-nosed Potoroo, with its grey-brown fur and pointed nose, are found in the forests and shrublands of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. It has an omnivorous diet, scratching up fungi, tubers, seeds and insects. Due to its small size, with a body length between 34 and 38 cm, it is now highly threatened by introduced predators including foxes and cats.

A female Long-nosed #Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) with a joey in her pouch was not on my #Tasmania holiday bingo card. Hanging around my cabin at Stewarts Bay Lodge, Tasman Peninsula. Happy evening finding a nocturnal #animal!
#mammal #marsupial #nature #ozwildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlife

Yellow Wattle birds can measure 37-45 centimetres in length, with heavier males weighing in at 168 grams, but up to 260 grams and the lighter females around 123 grams. They have short, sharp back beaks, with yellow-orange wattles hanging from white cheeks, and a black streaked crown. The upper parts of their body and wings are a dark brown to grey, with paler chests and yellow tinge to the belly.

Yellow Wattlebird (Anthochaera paradoxa) are the largest #honeyeater in #Australia, but are endemic to #Tasmania, favouring Eucalyptus and Banksia trees. Their name comes from the long yellow-orange wattles hanging from their cheeks.
#birds #wildlife #nature #photography #ozbirds #biodiversity

Common Fringe Myrtle (Calytrix tetragona) is a widespread #Australian shrub, with narrow leaves and masses of white to pink star-shaped flowers in spring.
#flowers #flora #nature #naturephotography #plants

Buckle up for a 4-year marathon. Best advice - eat healthy, get some exercise, implement sleep hygiene, do digital detox, get out into nature, and connect with those people you care about.

The Tessellated Pavement at Pirates Bay on Tasman Peninsula, #Tasmania is a very interesting #geological formation, where the marine rock shelf is divided into polygons by systematic fracturing. Concave pans are eroded and hold water, salt, or algae.
#landscape #nature #photography #coast

Cup Ringtail (Austrolestes psyche) are dainty #Damselfly, found near wetlands. Their wings fold along their back; how to distinguish Damselfly from #Dragonfly, whose wings are instead held out to the sides of their bodies.
#Odonata #nature #wildlifephotography #insects #invertebrate #biodiversity

Wikipedia - Chiloglottis gunnii is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with two leaves 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in) long and 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) wide. A single green to purplish brown flower 20–24 mm (0.79–0.94 in) long and 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) wide is borne on a flowering stem 60–100 mm (2–4 in) high. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped to spatula-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 20–24 mm (0.8–0.9 in) long and 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and taper towards their tips. There is a glandular tip 0.5–1.5 mm (0.02–0.06 in) long on the end of all three sepals. The petals are lance-shaped but curved, 15–17 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long, 4.5–6 mm (0.18–0.24 in) wide and spread widely apart from each other. The labellum is broadly egg-shaped to heart-shaped, 10–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long and 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) wide with a line of pillar-like calli about 3 mm (0.1 in) high with large swollen heads up to 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The column is 15–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) wide and curved with narrow wings.[2][3]

Wikipedia - Chiloglottis triceratops, commonly known as the three-horned bird orchid,[2] is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has two broad leaves and a greenish brown to purplish brown flower with a few column-like calli near the mid-line of the labellum.

Tall Bird Orchid (Chiloglottis gunnii) and and Three-horned Bird Orchid (Chiloglottis triceratops) are both endemic to Tasmania. You have to be walking around looking at the ground to see them.
#nature #orchids #flowers #flora #photography #biodiversity

😪😭 A young Black Swan that lives in a nearby wetland was recently euthanised as in such poor health. Feeding bread is bad for water birds. With "full bellies", they then don't eat their natural plant diets and get all the nutrients they need. So starve to death on bread!
#bIrds #wildlife #nature

Grass Triggerplant (Stylidium graminifolium) has a rather ingenious pollination method; 2 stamens form a rigid column which is triggered when an insect lands on the flower to dong pollen on it's head. The triggers can be reset.
#nature #naturephotography #flowers #flora #biodiversity #ausplants

Yellow-throated Honeyeater in Freycinet National Park, Tasmania. Love the birdie share!

Widespread across Tasmania, this one seen at Kunanyi (Mt Wellington), and often living a solitary life unless has a joey.

Eating mushrooms at Inala Nature on Bruny Island, Tasmania, while hiding out in the Bracken Fern.

Whitish cheek strip and eyebrows, darker black face and paws, with reddish fur on its back and paler grey fur on its belly. Only stands about 50-70cm tall, with the males being somewhat larger than the females. This photo taken at Bruny Lighthouse near the car park.

#Mammal Monday! But which Bennett's Wallaby pic to post from Tasmania collection? Also known as Red-necked Wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) on the Australian mainland.
#nature #wildlife #auswildlife #wildlifephotography #marsupial #macropod #biodiversity

Dusky Robin only live in Tasmania and are early dawn singers, otherwise fairly quiet. Found in open woodlands and forest, living near edges to clearings, but also live in coastal heathland, gardens and orchards. Both male and female birds are a fairly sombre brown all over, with paler bellies - not as eye-catching as the other 20 or so Robins living across Australia.

2025, a year for more #birdphotography! Here's a Dusky Robin (Melanodryas vittata), another endemic Tasmanian species. I got all 12 endemics #birds so I had an absolutely fabulous trip in Nov-24, as only expecting to find a few of them. Happy New Year to you all.
#wildlife #nature #ausbirds #robin

Swift Parrots have bright green, slender and sleek bodies, with patches of red on their forehead, lores, and throat (bordered in yellow) as well as at the shoulder to their wings, and tail. Dark blue patches also on upper forehead, and along the top edge of their wings. Mainly feeding on nectar of flowering gums (blue gum, yellow gum, box-ironbarks), along with lerps, seeds and flowers.

A very fast flyer, often in small nomadic groups weaving through the canopy, with a distinctive call of a loud "chit chit" in flight, and more musical, mellow chattering when feeding.

Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) is #CriticallyEndangered, feeding on nectar from flowering gum trees. They breed in Tasmania from Oct to Dec, and migrate to south-eastern Australia for winter; the longest migration for a parrot in the world.
#birds #nature #wildlife #birdphotography #ausbirds

Tawny-crowned Honeyeater are found in honey-rich coastal and semi-arid heathlands across southern Australia. There was lots of species flowering at the Bruny Lighthouse, at southern tip of Bruny Island, Tasmania.

Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (Glyciphila melanops), adult plumage, is a new lifer for my photo collection - rapt to get a good shot at Bruny Lighthouse, Tasmania. So so so many different honeyeaters in Australia to look for!
#birds #nature #ausbirds #birdphotography #wildlife #biodiversity

The changing depth of focus is brilliant too

This Tiger Snake was kindly hanging out near the beware snakes sign at Inala Nature on Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. There are lots of native rats and frogs in the garden there, so plenty of food for snakes and this one did look rather thick and well-fed. I spotted it twice and it was very quick to move to cover.

Close-up photo of the head of a Tiger Snake. Thankful for telephoto lens as can stay a safe distance away from this highly venomous snake. Can see the golden bands closer to the belly.

Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) tend to be much darker in Tasmania, than mainland Australia, so they can absorb more heat in this cooler region. But you can still see their stripy golden bands closer to their belly.
#nature #auswildlife #addHerper #herps #snake #wildlifephotography

Mountain Ash or Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus regnans) can grow up to 100m tall and is the tallest flowering plant in the world.

Wet Forest at Mt Field National Park, with moss covering the ground and fallen timber, while tree trucks and covered in lichen.

Beech Myrtle, Soft Tree Ferns and hanging lichens.

Forest bathing amongst giant #trees, #moss covered everything, and Ent-like beards of #lichen is the ultimate in nature's divinity for me. Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia.
#nature #landscapes #plants #naturepositive #biodiversity #naturephotography

Male Pink Robin with pink chest and belly, and dark grey upperparts and head. Lives in dense shrubs of wet forest (Eucalyptus) or rainforest (Nothofagus) vegetation communities of Tasmania and Victoria, Australia.

Female Pink Robin in Tasmania have warmer brown upper parts and head, with more greyish brown chest and belly and occasionally a pink blush, with tan to rufous brown bars on the wings as main characteristic for identification purposes.

Pink Robin (Petroica rodinogaster) are a delight to find, and photograph. This male shows off his eye-catching pink chest, while the female is rocking the brown plumage. Forages on the ground, gleans from bark, or sally-pounces from perch.
#birds #nature #wildlife #birdphotography #ausbirds #robins