Comments on: Flying things seen from our flat

By: Nick Edards

Nick Edards — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:41:51 +0000

Hey Justine, the colony of flying foxes in Royal Botanic Gardens has got a fair bit bigger in the last 10 years or so (there’s about 9000 in there at the moment)which is probably why you see more of them now than you did when you were growing up.

Did you see any mums carrying their babies in flight? It’s an amazing sight but can be hard to see. I got a few photos of it (and other batty behaviour) this season http://tinyurl.com/bp32dm

By: Janet Lafler

Janet Lafler — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:29:36 +0000

Hmph. I want to see me some rainbow lorikeets. On the other hand, a few days ago I watched a couple of hummingbirds having a territorial battle in our backyard, and then yesterday I saw a hummingbird unceremoniously chase off a rather larger black phoebe. It was a male Anna's hummingbird; he obligingly turned toward the sun so I could get a good look at his iridescent pink head. Plus, we have acorn woodpeckers. They are not as colorful as rainbow lorikeets, but they have a sort of commedia dell'arte flare.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:08:06 +0000

This must make for some great inspiration for your work. Beautiful!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:22:31 +0000

Actually, my idea of Australian fauna (pre-Justine’s blog) was that there were kangaroos and not much else. Pretty much paradise for five-year-old me.

Fifteen-year-old-in-a-few-hours me prefers the idea of rainbow lorikeets. I mean, Rainbow! Lorikeets! Rainbow lorikeets!

By: Ally

Ally — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:42:29 +0000

They’re so beautiful(:
How easily are they scared? (Like are they used to people)

By: Feywriter

Feywriter — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:03:25 +0000

Gorgeous birds. I am quite jealous. The only squawking we hear in these apartments is that of our neighbors... I have an Award for you!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:36:39 +0000

Stay inside!!!

You and Scott are in grave danger. Outside your window is the Australian Lorikeet of Death! Look at the anger in its eye. And it is poisonous.

Whatever you do, don’t go outside. They have your scent now.

By: Justine

Justine — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:09:43 +0000

Lizabelle: Not at all. USians do have an image of our fauna being all poisonous and scary. They do not know how many gorgeous birds and other fauna we have. I would have made the same comment. Truly. That’s why I posted these pictures. They think we’re all blue-ringed octopuses and funnel web spiders.

By: Lizabelle

Lizabelle — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:15:24 +0000

It occurs to me that the last line of my previous comment sounds very flippant given the current situation in Victoria. Sorry – it was completely unintentional. :-/

By: Lizabelle

Lizabelle — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:19:42 +0000

I love the lorikeets. I was so excited when we first arrived in Sydney and came across some near the Botanic Gardens. Now we regularly get them on our balcony, and I have to remember not to get all blasé about them.

Australian nature: not all scary and deadly.