Gone potty? Plants gardens and lawns .

[Auriel]

HE'S/she's SO CUTE @johnsalmon
(one of our cats caught a bat once,
it was very much intact and fine and soooo small like a little mouse. That was untill he/she opened his/her wings! Then oh boy , he/she wasn't so small anymore

 

[Harpy]

we have many types of bats mostly very small but flying foxes are a real problem down here - they set up colonies in town completely destroy their nesting trees and foul up the ground around the colony - basically they are protected down here but as they destroy the area most councils try their hardest within the law to get the colonies to move on - year ago these flying foxes would come down from queensland following the fruit harvest and then return back but over time they stop going back - they carry the Hendra virus which can affect horses and then humans and they can carry Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV) which can kill humans so flying foxes although they are important to the native vegetation are generally hated down here. Bats are different I used to have a verify small bat shelter in a tin can I would place over the exhaust pipe on the tractor I would have to remember to remove the tin and shoo the bat off before starting the tractor - generally the small bats we have one would never see even thro one may be roosting on the back veranda.

View attachment 4806​

this is our smallest bat and our smallest mammal

Hi John, my daughter has these bats, she found they were called micro bats. Hers live up inside a folded outdoor umbrella, she opened it up to shade the end of her pool. As she did it a few flew out , she caught one to show us , hard to believe how small they are. She put it back up in the umbrella and moved it to the fence. They’re still there.

 

[Harpy]

I have been keeping myself busy. Finished my potting area. Totally my little space. I call it my pot spot. So many pots. Lol
I have made a few things to add to it.
Below is part of a frog hotel. With its residents looking very content.

 

[SBee]

@Harpy I love your little frogs. I keep wanting to add a shallow wildlife pond into our gardening the frogs and roads enjoy a wallow in the many bird baths I have sorted around. I keep a ' ramp ' in them all in case mouse falls in and they can climb out. Last year it was quite not ( for a total of about 2 1\2 days and an found two tiny froglets swimming in the water I put out for passing dogs!

I also had to look up elkhorn, look a pretty thing, here they are used as an indoor plant, but I am tempted to see if I could grow one and leave it in a sheltered spot in warmer months here.

@johnsalmon those flying fox look a bit scary. I much prefer the little one in the photo. More the size I am happiest with. We did have 2 colonies in the house when we lived in Scotland, amazing to see them stream out at dusk. I think all species are protected here.

@JayCS thank you for saying I am in good company with all my waffling on. I love the way conversations in real life of forum life can meander from one subject to another.

I am now thinking of our chiffchaff as a zlipzlap! I have a beautiful book about UK birds which includes local dialect names for each species. I enjoy words and we often look up what language words derive from or their true meaning.

Peregrines are so hard to spot here, though due to modern human life, some adapted to nest on church spires or tall buildings and cameras have been put in so public can watch with out disturbing them. One of Cambridge colleges I think has a nest site now. Folk patrol so if a chick takes a tumble they are returned to the nest.
We get sparrowhawks too, red kite and buzzards. Weird dawn chorus this morning with a bkackbird and tawny owl competing !
Spring such an exciting time

 

[sunkacola]

I love bats. They are fascinating little animals.

 

[Auriel]

I so loved the story about your daughter and the bat's brolly (she .must get her beautiful nature towards animals from you) ️️

 

[Auriel]

I found something out just now that surprised me!, tulips are toxic to dogs (some flowers are toxic to cats and dogs) right now I'm actually glad I can't have pets in property I live (though I'd love one) but my tulips are WELL out of reach anyway (so there's no munching for them) flowers and pets both be safe

 

[SBee]

Some of the animal rehoming charities have a list of plants and flowers that are toxic to pets. A friend gets me some flowers by post on special occasions and they ask if pets are in the home to ensure that they don't send anything nasty.

I grow catnip in our garden and one year I saw what I thought was white mould all over it.... Looking closer I realised next doors white cat had been rolling on it in ecstasy and left his fur on the squished plant!

 

[johnsalmon]

Hi John, my daughter has these bats, she found they were called micro bats.

g;day - they are called little forest bats - they are grouped into microbats In Australia we have approximately 68 species of microbats, 35 of which are classified as threatened species. and most aussie would never know they are living and sharing the house with them.

 

[Auriel]

Why are they threatened @johnsalmon? (are people cutting the trees down?) Makes me sad when things are threatened

 

[johnsalmon]

Why are they threatened @johnsalmon? (are people cutting the trees down?) Makes me sad when things are threatened

Little Forest Bats are vulnerable to loss of roost sites in tree hollows and loss of feeding grounds by forestry activities, clearing for agriculture and housing. AS housing estate increase tree hollows are becoming less however most of these micro bats have no problem finding roost sites in houses and farm structures and tend to live there without their landlords knowledge. A lot of the so called threatened species have changed their habits and live with humans - I had dunarts living in my shearing shed for years these are nocturnal, carnivorous marsupials

I also had regular visits of a family of Quolls to my house area usually to raid the garbage bins - Quolls are listed as Endangered. Quolls have a pouch but as the young ones grow there is not enough room for 5 or 6 kids so they travel on the back of the mother holding on to her fur to get into the yard they had to go under the front gate which only had an enough clearance for the mother so all the young ones would be pushed off her back and they had to run to catch up to her and get back on the back - used to be fun to watch

 

[Auriel]

What interesting little creatures maybe we can sign something so their habitats aren't ruined all the time

 

[SBee]

@johnsalmon I immediately took to google to look more into these little creatures. Laughed at the antics of the baby quolls scampering after their mum. They look wonderful even if the ( rather harsh?) description made them a cross between a fox, a squirrel and a cat.

I love all wildlife and try to respect it in all it's forms, and their ever dwindling habitats, thanks mostly us humans.
I am finding the range of creatures from the international blend of forum members so interesting. The little dunart looks a bit like a larger version of the shrews in the UK I think. It's badger time around here, so we make sure all the
gates are locked as the one time we forgot they visited and wrecked much of the garden going after the bird seed! That'll teach us.

 

[johnsalmon]

I love all aussie animals except the wombat - as much as I look I cannot find any reason for this animal to exist - it can tear up large areas of pasture during the night worst then a wild pig. It builds tunnel that would put Hamas to shame - they collapse when you drive the tractor over them.

 

[SBee]

I do understand,I mean some creatures make you just think " why " ? We used to live in Scotland,near lochs and rivers so midges were everywhere... And I am one of those people insects just love to bite, and react in huge welts while they left everyone else alone.

I heard that marmite or my preferred Vegimite, ( thanks for that Aussies ) helped keep them at bay because of the vitamin B 's in the ingredients? don't know if there is scientific basis in thought I am on B12 supplements so let's see how I get on bite wise this summer.