Wildlife Wednesday - Long-nosed Fur Seals

Fur seal at American River wharf (spotted on our first day)

Long-nosed Fur Seals (previously known as New Zealand Fur Seals) hang out around Kangaroo Island, which is one of the reasons that calling mobile animals by names that reference a country is all sorts of confusing. It's nice now that there's a push to use the Long-nosed name - and people on KI were quite strict about distinguishing which type of 'seal' you meant when you used that generic name.

These guys aren't the friendly, puppy-like ones. As the dolphin guy told me, these ones might look fun and interact a bit, and then they'll bite you for no reason. He also said these are the ones most closely associated with sharks. He reckoned if you saw a Great White around KI, you were most likely with the fur seals. And this information was good for me, because I'd been tempted to jump in and have a swim with the first seal we'd seen (the day before the dolphins), but there were other people around and I didn't. So that was a bit lucky - I may have been sporting a bite and that would have ruined the whole trip!

At the end of KI, there's Flinders Chase National Park, and the SE corner has Admiral's Arch and Remarkable Rocks. There's a colony of Fur Seals around Admiral's Arch, which is surrounded by rock platforms. So the fur seals do their feeding and then come to these rock platforms for a rest (except for the anti-social one we saw at the opposite end of the island!)

There are mothers and babies, teenagers and bulls on the rock platforms. You could stand there for ages watching them. Some sleep, but there are others who are just trouble. They go around waking up and stirring up trouble. Some play in the waves or the gutters in the rocks. Others climb up and down the rocks looking for a better spot to lie. It was fascinating.

Initially, we saw rocks, then you might spot one or two of the lighter coloured seals, and once your eye got in, there seemed to be hundreds all over the rocks. Little brown blobs scattered in shadows, under overhangs, right on a flat rock that you'd just overlooked. It was funny to watch people come down and go, "oh a seal," and then a few minutes later, "They're everywhere."

We spent some time watching the seals surf onto the rock platform. A couple of them seemed to be just off the edge, playing in the waves, and then they'd take a few waves before they made it up onto the rocks and able to walk higher. I wish I knew if they were playing, or learning techniques.

One seal we watched make his slow way down to a gutter. It took about 10 minutes, and it was like he wasn't sure he was going in (a bit like people at the beach when it's not a hot day). Then he eased his way into the water - no belly flop, but a gentle slide. Once in the water, he was playing - diving, rolling, sticking each flipper up, head up, tail up, rolling, swimming, chasing his tail. It was brilliant to watch and well worth us waiting so long!

I think you can see why 7 days wasn't enough time to see everything on KI!

Wildlife Wednesday - raptors

Kangaroo Island has a place called Raptor Domain. We saw some brochures about it and a private show was advertised where you could hold a wedge-tailed eagle. We were in! There were 3 of us and 3 people were allowed in the private show - perfect.

We saw 5 birds - Australian Raven, Barn Owl, Masked Owl, Pacific Baza and Wedge-tailed Eagle. I think the brochure said 6 or 7, but we spent so much time with each animal we were thrilled with the ones we saw. We chatted a lot to the keeper, Dana, who just loved birds, knew a lot and shared it easily. 

Casper the Barn Owl

The Raven came out first and they’d taught it to pick up rubbish and put it in the bin! It had been rehomed from the National Park where it had been ‘attacking’ people eating at the outdoor café. It was much happier with his new role - and so were the diners. The bird doesn't just randomly pick up rubbish, it came with a 'don't litter' message, which works well with the huge environmental focus on Kangaroo Island.

Matilda the Masked Owl

We then met Casper the Barn Owl. he took a liking to Dad and sat on his lap a few times before Dad was covered and protected by the blanket. And just quietly, Dad was pretty taken by the owl, especially how incredibly soft his feathes were. Casper did a fly by over us to show how soundlessly owls fly. Their feathers are shaped in such a way that they make barely any noise in flight, which is great for swooping on unsuspecting mice. All I felt as he went over was a breath of air. Incredible.

Matilda the Masked Owl was our next visitor and again, softest feathers out. Masked Owls are a lot larger than Barn Owls, and although Matilda have very dark feathers, not all Masked Owls are this dark.

The Pacific Baza used to be called the Crested Falcon.In the photo you can't see her crest very well as it's lying flat while she eats a meal worm. But the crest gave her a bit of a pigeon look. But those eyes...wow... they're big and bright. They're right at the sides of her head and she watched every little thing that was happening. There was nothing pigeon like about the gaze. 

Pacific Baza

She wore jesses, and I asked quite a bit about them. I thought the bird may take some adjusting to having leather straps on their feet but apparently not. Horses are always stupid when their legs get bandaged as they seem to lift their legs ridiculously high, almost as if they're trying to step out of the bandages. Birds don't seem to be bothered at all. And it didn't appear as if they has to adjust their flight either. Maybe raptors adjust automatically because they often use their talons for hunting, so carrying extra size/weight in their feet is instinctive. Some of the owls start with jesses which are removed when they're no longer deemed a risk of taking off. Dana wasn't sure that the Pacific Baza woudl ever be rid of hers.

Jack, Wedge-tailed eagle

Finally, Jack the Wedge-tailed Eagle came out. He was magnificent. The size difference from the owls to the eagle was incredible, not to mention the weight when they're on your arm! Dad held him first and I took so many photos. Then it was my turn.

Jack was seated on my out-stretched left hand and my right hand had to go into my pocket. If I raised my right hand, I might scare the bird (and I imagine he may attack...but that wasn't said, it's just what when through my mind). Since that was in my mind, the first few moments were interesting as Jack and I sized each other up. I could see that massive beak and it was at about the level of my soft nose, and a lot of scenarios went through my head as I battled fear. But we came to some agreement to trust each other. Jack stopped staring, ruffled his feathers, relaxed on my arm, and I relaxed as well.

Me and Jack, when we're relaxed

We've been hand-feeding King Parrots for some years (and sometimes I offer the cockatoos when I'm feeling brave) and I didn't realise how much that would impact my eagle holding. My hand and arm were quite used to remaining relatively still. I could judge what the bird was going to do - Dana gave me a warning before he ruffled his feathers, but I hadn't needed it because I knew he was going to do it just as she did. That's because King Parrots do the same thing. If you flutter your hand when they're ruffling and relaxing, they go. I knew to remain still as Jack ruffled and relaxed. A bird so very much larger, and yet the philosophy remained the same. How very cool.

Dana and Jack cuddles

After we'd all held Jack, Dana then gave him smooches and cuddles. I could never have imagined anyone doing what she did. It was beautiful to see how much they adored each other. In a way, I wish she'd done that first so I had no fear when holding him... but in another way, I'm glad I had to work through that fear to do something completely incredible.

I thought the dolphins were awesome, and this was a very close second.

If you're ever on Kangaroo Island, don't miss Raptor Domain. They have shows through the day where the birds, as well as reptiles and venomous critters are displayed. It's not a zoo or a wildlife park. It's a rehab and education centre, and it's awesome.

Wildlife Wednesday - more bugs

I've been on a holiday - a driving holiday - and I loved it because I got to tick things off my bucket list and I saw some awesome places!

We drove around the coast of Victoria, the state in south-eastern Australia. We didn't do every town and peninsula, but we did something like 3500 km in 9 days. Mr E loves driving - me, I prefer to be sedentary, but I do love to check out new places...and sometimes that means driving lots and lots and lots!

Anyway, along my travels, we stayed in a farm house near Timboon (which is just off the coast, north of Port Campbell where the 12 Apostles are on the Great Ocean Road). I was pretty shattered because me and winding roads are not good friends and we'd done a lot of winding roads that day, so a farm house was perfect (even though it was an extra 20 km of winding road - but there was no room in town!). The farm house was old, and huge, and all for us. They were doing up the gardens and in need of fresh air and space, I went exploring. I'm pretty fond of farms, and gardens, so this was a joy.

There were heaps of these bugs on roses but they hid beneath the leaves and made photos tough. I tried and took a lot, but none were much good. So in disgust, I walked away. A few garden beds later, here they were on gorgeous open blooms, in sunshine, looking spectacular.

I thought they looked like a variation of the Harlequin Bug (Dindymus versicolor) but I wasn't sure. Now I just did a google and it looks like they might be a juvenile instar of the Harlequin Bug (one of the growth stages before it makes an adult). You can check it out here.

So, I had a lovely trip and got a great story idea...might talk about that on Friday/Sunday...and I loved catching bugs with my camera! It made a good contrast to the scenery. Here are the 12 Apostles (named this even if there aren't 12 of them, and never were!), and me being blown away there (with random tourists)!

Wildlife Wednesday - Trevally

Golden Trevally

I think these are Trevally - Golden and Black - but I'm not 100% sure (story of my life, huh?).

On my diving trip to Green Island, these guys hung around the boat because they got a feed. They were impressive fish - both is size and inquisitiveness.

Black Trevally

These photos were taken when the other snorkellers had gone, so the fish behaved quite differently when there was just me there with them. They seemed to have little fear of me and came right up to check me out, check out my camera and see what I was up to.

But they never ventured far from the back of the boat because the crew would randomly throw out food and I guess none of them wanted to miss out!!

The size of them was impressive. I'd say they were 1 m long. In the last photo where you can see the ladder from the boat, there's a pole running along the boat that is 1m underwater. It's the pole that the learn-to-dive people had to hang onto while they did their drills and when they finished the dive before getting out. So if you check out the fish size, I'm not exaggerating :)

The fish feeding frenzy photo I took after I'd had feed thrown on me! The crew didn't realise I was lurking there waiting for the sharks and hurled out feed almost right on my head. First I knew was when I was buffeted by fish and then almost leaped out of the water as tails and mouths cut the surface and splashed. Big brave me thought the sharks had come to get me!! :)

Next time they threw out food, I had my camera ready and I was on the ladder, not in the food pathway!

Feeding frenzy

If you're keen on learning more about these fish, the Australian Museum has some great fact sheets. You can find them here.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Wildlife Wednesday - sea cucumbers

Sea cucumbers are one of the weirdest things underwater - well, I think so anyway! They are many and varied types of them, but they all are kind of slug-like (or in the case of this photo, it could do for a Friday post!)

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms, related to sea urchins, sea stars, brittle stars and feather stars. They have spiny skin, although sometimes the spines are small and unobtrusive. The spines help them move along the sand, acting like crampons when climbing in snow.

They eat by filtering sand through their mouths as they move, extracting any nutrients. Kind of doing a similar job in the ocean to that of earthworms in the soil.

The Australian Museum only has information on one sea cucumber, the Snot Sea Cucumber!! It's not one of the ones I saw, but you can find the information here. National Geographic have some information here.

On the National Geographic webpage, I particularly like this bit - When threatened, some sea cucumbers discharge sticky threads to ensnare their enemies. Others can mutilate their own bodies as a defense mechanism. They violently contract their muscles and jettison some of their internal organs out of their anus. The missing body parts are quickly regenerated.

Sea cucumbers bred sexually and asexually. The most usual is sexual where a large group of sea cucumbers release eggs and sperm into the water and when they meet, fertilisation happens. Romantic, hey? ;)

Sea cucumbers can be eaten and have been for centuries in China. I can't say I'm keen on trying them...but there are worse things to eat!

This one was moving, can you see the tracks to the left of it?

Photo notes: The two cucumbers in the really green shots were at a deeper depth to the other two shots (maybe 10m deep compared with 4m). It makes a big difference to the lighting of the photo, doesn't it?

Wildlife Wednesday - Giraffes

Me, in all my finery, feeding the giraffe

Continuing on from last week with my Zoo themed animals. Today, there are giraffes. Giraffes have always been curious creatures, but they've never really captured me to the point where I am amazed by them - until the other week.

I fed giraffes at the Canberra Zoo six years ago on a Zookeeper for a day tour, and randomly at Dubbo a couple of years ago when a giraffe was happy to eat grass across the fence, so it wasn't the feeding that caught me, although we did that!

It was the quiet dignity, the graceful silence, and the serious intelligence that caught my attention.

Our lodge looked out over the 'African Savannah' where four giraffes roamed with zebra, water buffalo and eland - along with some Aussie natives like kangaroos, rabbits and a host of birds. Quite close to the lodges were the stands where the giraffes feed. Hay is put up high, under shelter, and the giraffes can graze at will. When we left for dinner, and it was getting dark, there was quite a bit of hay left in those baskets. By morning, they were empty. This isn't too surprising except I never heard a peep. I didn't hear them walk by, I didn't hear them chew, rattle the basket, pull at the hay. Nothing. I heard the African Wild Dogs fight, and they were some distance away.

Giraffe saunters past our lodge

I was up at dawn (me, the non-morning person) and sat wrapped in a blanket with a beanie (channeling the Beanie Queen) for at least 90 minutes and if I wasn't looking, I would never have known those giraffes moved.

They were like goldfish. They moved constantly. It was rhythmic, soothing, calm and peaceful. I was so incredibly impressed by the animal that I bought a stuffed toy to remind me of them. To remind me of their complete calm. The way they rhythmically move through their day. The way they let nothing phase them. That they just saunter up to food, nibble silently, then move away. The way they check out something, quietly, calmly, with great dignity.

I want to be like that. I want to develop the tranquility the giraffe showed me. The closest I ever get is the duck analogy, where it all looks okay on the top but underneath the legs are going like trains. And that's not helping me. I want the giraffe, not the duck. I want the complete chill package.

I thought maybe I had been overcome by the morning, and had missed the stress and tension of the giraffe, so I had a chat to our tour guide, Rachel, who happened to be the giraffe keeper. She had been working with giraffes for a few years, she said, and she'd never once heard them make a sound. They had a new baby giraffe and during the birth she never heard a sound. She doesn't hear the mother make any noise to the child. She wondered if maybe their sounds were out of our hearing range, which could be possible.

She also told me of a video of a giraffe birth that the Australia Zoo put on YouTube, you can watch it here. She told me that within 30 minutes, the baby giraffe is up, walking and drinking. The common view is that the giraffe is born and dropped from the mother's leg height (rather than the mother lying down) so that the baby takes it's first gasp of breath quickly, so it gets a quick start on life (you know, before the lions or tigers eat it). She told me that giraffes never lie down, and only sleep for a few moments (maybe 20 minutes, but don't hold me to that because I forget exactly).

So, my mission in life is to be more like a giraffe - calm, collected, and quiet.

Wildlife Wednesday - Moorish Idol and Wrasse

Moorish Idol

Last of the Lord Howe Island wildlife.

I haven't found a lot of information on the Moorish Idol. The trusty Australian Museum has some info you can read here. Their info includes that Moorish Idols have a long snout which they use to feed on coralline algae and sponges in cracks and crevices. They often form pairs but are also in large schools.

The Wrasse are the second largest fish family and the Australian Museum website has lots of photos if you'd like to check them out here. I find they're the fun, friendly fish and I always enjoy diving with them. They include the Blue Grouper, which is one of my favourites.

Green Moon Wrasse

I think the remote beach photo I have here is an unnamed beach at Lord Howe Island. I took the photo from The Clear Place looking towards Blinky Point over Little Mutton Bird Ground. It was kind of wild and incredible. So different to the Lagoon and Old Settlement Beach and even Neds. And all packed into one tiny island :)

Hope you've enjoyed exploring LHI. I've loved 'virtually' going back.

Red and Green Wrasse

Wildlife Wednesday - Kingfish

Yellowtail Kingfish

Last week we saw Neds beach on Lord Howe Island and I mentioned the fish feeding held each afternoon. Some of the fish that visit are the Kingfish. Here are two milling around waiting for the feed. There's lots of information about the fish here at the Australian Museum website, and also a photo of one at Neds Beach where it is clear and stunning (not murky and green!).

On my first trip to LHI, I did a lot of snorkelling at Neds Beach between dives. Once I went out before the fish feeding and swam down the beach from the feeding zone. There were heaps of these big kingies milling around. I was in awe, snapping photos on my disposable underwater film camera (because this was a long time ago!). They were circling around me, heaps of them, it was the most stunning thing I'd ever seen. They came closer and closer and I was more an more in awe. And then they vanished and I was left with a shark swimming around me. Now most of the sharks are reef sharks, non-aggressive, but Neds Beach is open to the ocean so it could have been any type of shark and by now you know how useless my ID skills are! My heart in my throat, I snapped a couple of photos and then I backed up, keeping my eye on that shark, until I got to water I could stand in and I walked very quickly out of there!

One of the Admiralty Islands

What scared me most was that I was alone. Who would notice me gone? Would anyone see me eaten? How long would I be missing before my family found out how I'd gone? It was quite terrifying...not so much the shark, but the way my poor family would suffer.

Anyway, nothing happened and I got back in later to swim behind the fish feeding and there were more sharks, but also more people, so I felt safe (silly huh?).

The other photo is of one of the Admiralty Islands. They lie to the north of LHI and can be seen from Neds Beach, Malabar Hill and Kim's Lookout. There are 8 rocky outcrops in the group and are home to thousands of sea birds (sooty terns, noddies, masked boobies, wedge-tailed shearwaters, grey ternlets, white-bellied storm petrels, tropicbirds and little shearwaters). We dived out here once, when the weather was right, and it was stunning. The water so clear and blue, fish aplenty, and lots of corals. The girl I dived with (who worked for the dive company) was also collecting (and mapping) any crown-of-thorns starfish in the area.

Wildlife Wednesday - Lionfish

Lionfish

Lionfish are one of my favourites because you don't see them often, and they're weird. This is a photo of two of them at Lord Howe Island in 2004. They're all frills and spines, looking a bit like a mane. When scared these spines stand up, threatening predators.

The trusty Australian Museum website has a video of lionfish, if you'd like to see them more clearly than my blurry photo. You can go here.

They have venomous fin spines, that are toxic to humans, so don't be going poking at them :)

Neds beach

Continuing my Lord Howe Island theme, here are some photos of places that feature in Deep Diving. Neds Beach features quite a bit. This is the grassy stretch along the last part of the road before the beach. Neds Beach is the home to the fish feeding which occurs every afternoon. It's a beautiful spot and the first time I went to LHI (alone) I spent a lot of time snorkelling here. The second time I went with Mr E, he's not so fond of the water, and he made me hike hills - something I'd never considered before!

LHI has lots of sub-tropical rainforest. This photo along the road from town to Neds Beach shows some of it. Gorgeous palms and ferns, with lots of other trees and shrubs.

Road to Neds beach

At night, the roads are dark as there are no streetlights on most of the roads. It's gorgeous to walk along with your torch in hand and feel the rainforest, catch the twinkling of the stars through the treetops. I did this when I went the first time. The best thing was that I never felt unsafe. It's isolated, but most of the people I met were there for the beauty of the environment, not to harm others. It made travelling alone a complete pleasure. I could chat to people and walk away, knowing I was safe. This was over 10 years ago - so I hope it's that wonderful still.

Wildlife Wednesday - Mosaic Moray Eel

The Lagoon and Blackburn Island

Deep Diving is set on the very beautiful Lord Howe Island. So I thought during August I'd showcase some of the island and the wildlife.

Mosaic Moray Eel

The Lagoon runs along about half of the island and is a sheltered spot for swimming, snorkelling, diving, boat mooring, canoeing/kayaking, glass-bottom boat tours.

The Lagoon is protected from the ocean's waves. There's a deep opening (channel) for access to the ocean (for boats, but also fish and sharks) so it's not closed off. Lord Howe Island has the southern most reef in the world, and the Lagoon is a perfect place to see it.

There are some deep holes, which are up to 12 metres deep, so you can snorkel and see most of the same fish and corals as you would see diving (you just don't get to spend as long underwater).

At the southern end of the Lagoon, is a place called Lovers Bay. On the northern side of this is where I saw the Mosaic Eel. It was like a little nursery area, with tiny fish and lots of little corals. I was really enjoying the place, loving being in such a gorgeous spot. But the eel wasn't so thrilled to have me there. After I took this photo, he fairly much chased me away! I've never found eels to be aggressive before, although they do have teeth and strong jaws, so I wasn't going to take my chances. When the eel wasn't happy and started swimming at me, I hightailed it away. I was laughing, though, as I left. I couldn't believe that I was being herded away!

Lord Howe Island is the most beautiful place I've been - and you'll probably be sick of it by the end of August...but I'll be still dying to go back!!

Wildlife Wednesday - Fleshy-footed Shearwater

View over Lord Howe Island lagoon and Mounts Gower and Lidgbird

For the month of July, I'm going to feature the wildlife of Lord Howe Island to get you excited for Deep Diving (or to make you sick to death of it, depending on your perspective!).

So today, a photo to give you a picture of the island... then the Shearwater, locally called the Muttonbird. They belong to the Petrel family.

Shearwater or Muttonbird

The first time I went to Lord Howe, it was March 2000 and I'd never seen anything like the flocks of Shearwaters that would fly into the island each evening. It was like they were kamikazes. They seemed to fly straight into the cliff face. It scared the hell out of me. Then I got on a point and watched more closely, and they actually flew into nests along the cliff face. I was so relieved.

I went again in April 2003 and there weren't as many then, or maybe I just didn't spend the time looking at them. The first time I visited I was alone, so I could do all the things I wanted without any interference. The second time Mr E came...and I didn't realise people wanted to do different things to me. What a shock! I couldn't spend every moment of every day in the water. I had to climb the wretched hills!! I had to eat regularly, and do things as regular times. What a shock... but back to the birds.

Shearwaters are migratory and are not found in Australia between April and September. They spend the winter in the north Pacific, somewhere across the Equator. They breed when in Australia. Their nest is scraps of vegetation in a burrow 1-2m long (!!) from near sea level to high on hills...on further reading, some nest in rocky crevices. They lay 1 large white egg.

They take food from the water in flight, while swimming on the surface, or when 'flying' underwater on half-open wings. If feeding is scarse during migration, you can sometimes find them washed up ashore, under nourished and incapable of returning to their site.

Wildlife Wednesday - more emus

I wrote a post on Emus in October here, but we saw so many this past holiday, I thought I'd add them here. Plus, I find them so funny, especially when they run, that I had to share. And I have sitting emus - something I hadn't seen before.

So for your enjoyment - Emus...

Emu and chick at Mungo

Emu and both chicks, Mungo

 

Emu and chicks almost off the road - Ivanhoe to Wilcannia

3 emus crossing - and we're slowing, luckily because...

there were 3 more to cross!

This is the last one - we missed them, but I'm glad there weren't 3 more!

Emus standing

Emus sitting!