Wildlife Wednesday - Velellas

Velella velella

What the heck is a Velella?

This is the exact question I'd be asking if I hadn't googled to find out what on earth I saw last week!

I went down to the beach and there were heaps of 'airless bluebottles' washed up. That's what I called them as I took photos and puzzled over what the heck they were (you know, as I so often do!)

There were a few 'aired' bluebottles there, but they were far out-numbered by the airless ones.

Velellas with a Bluebottle

Normal blue bottles have a stretch of tentacles, or a wound up ball if them (the bright blue, stinging part), and the others didn't have that. They had a blue tinge of colour but no tentacles that I could see. But I wasn't getting too close as I had no clue if they stung or not - and if they did, woudl it be worse than the regular blue bottles? I found out later they don't sting...but I wasn't testing it out!

When I googled 'airless bluebottles Australia' I came across newspaper article written a few days earlier on the NSW North Coast, describing exactly what I was seeing on the south coast. The fab journo had identified the mystery buggers for me. Then I went to my books with a name, so much easier than going with nothing.

Lots of Velellas washed up

But there's not a lot written about these. Dakin's seashores had a drawing and mentioned them but without any information.

The Australian Museum also mentions them here, about halfway down the page, and  also calls them By-The-Wind Sailors.

Then I found a reference on a CSIRO website, here, which also mentions Purple Bubble-raft Snails (also on the beach on the same day and next week's wildlife post).

The CSIRO site says this,

"Out in the open ocean where blue bottles live, each armada (the collective term for blue bottles) has both left and right handed forms. But when a breeze kicks up and drives them toward shore, only those with the crest facing the right direction to catch that particular breeze will sail toward their death. It seems that this is nature’s way of ensuring that some survive.

Blue bottles are strikingly beautiful. The air bladder is pearly blue, while the tentacles are intense peacock blue or dark teal. This shade of blue is common in animals that live at the air-water interface, and is thought to protect them from UV damage and possibly aid in camouflage.

Other creatures that live in this unusual habitat include the By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella), the exquisitely beautiful Purple Bubble-raft Snails (Janthina sp.), and the highly unusual Sea Lizards (Glaucus and Glaucilla), which are actually sea slugs that consume and store undischarged stinging cells from jellyfish such as blue bottles for their own defence."

As much as I've searched for the beautiful Glaucus, I've never found one. But that day on the beach, all the others were present. I guess I keep searching!

Have you ever seen Velellas?

Sunday Story - Writing Workshop

If you're interested in writing, and live near the south of Sydney, you might be interested in a Romance Writing Workshop at the Wollongong Writers Festival on 24th November. You may know the presenter!

If you're not interested in romance, the Sci-fi and Grant Writing workshops will be awesome - just in case you were wondering!

Why not stay for an awesome Romance Panel on consent, on Sunday 25th November?

Book all tickets here - https://www.wollongongwritersfestival.com/2018-events/

Phallic Friday - perimenopause

The ABC had a great article about perimenopause - you can find it here.

For me, it's one of those things I've had to go through before I heard anything about it. And my mum's not alive, so I couldn't even ask her about it. I did ask Dad, but since Mum had cancer before her death, all the cancer and treatments had wiped out any hormonal issues. So, I had to stumble along myself, asking people along the way.

Which keeps making me ask, "Why didn't I know about this?"

My sex education wasn't great as a kid, and as an adult I did biology at uni and quite considerably broadened my knowledge...but I still thought menopause just 'happened'.

I didn't understand that it wasn't like a tap turning off, more like a slow, run down of hormones! :) It's been a struggle to manage all the changes, mentally as well as physically. Sleeping patterns for me are challenging. At the moment, Mr E had a single doona on his half of the bed, while I have three blankets that come on and off as required. And that's something that changes through each night. I may start off with 3 and chuck 1 off, then another, then pull one back on, or two, or throw them all off. How on earth can you sleep properly when your thermo-regulation is screwed!?

Anyway, if you're struggling with your body, and aged between 35 and 55, start thinking hormonal changes. And start talking to people so you don't think you're going crazy! It seems anything can be 'normal'.

Wildlife Wednesday - spur-winged plovers

The annual plover breeding at my place has occurred. Once again, they hatched their chicks on our roof. They're used to me now, so I don't get dive bombed every time I go to the bin or walk in the yard ... but they're still very protective when it comes to other birds and possums!

They moved the chicks to the school grounds across the road not long after hatching. During term, I often heard the teachers asking kids not to go near the plovers, which made me smile. I loved hearing adults educating kids and protecting wildlife.

Then in the holidays, one morning there was a huge kerfuffle with the plover adults. Screeching awfully. I went out to investigate. There were kids with sticks, and I heard one say, "I just want to see the chicks." Maybe they only wanted to look, but these kids were brandishing the sticks like weapons and it wasn't only the plover parents who were worried.

I turned into a shrew, and yelled at the kids. I just told them to go play somewhere else and leave the birds alone. Nothing happened. So I went closer and yelled more.

I was one side of the plovers, the kids on the other side. I was sure the plovers were going to start attacking me, but I held my nerve and stood my ground and waited for the stick wielding kids to go.

I tweeted and got so much support from people, which calmed me down. I was feeling a bit crazy for yelling at kids...but these plovers are so much part of my annual cycle I didn't want to see the babies hurt.

The kids came back, and I went out and watched. They soon left.

Later that afternoon, another screech from a plover had me going out again, but this time a parent was in my birdbath and splashing happily. I'd never seen them do that before - they usually use puddles beside the road. So I took it that they were thanking me for my help :)

I'm so glad the plovers no longer swoop me and see me as non-threatening. It makes me even more protective of them.

Do you have plovers near you? Do they swoop? How about magpies?