Off-Topic

VaultBoy

Member
Jul 10, 2011
2,279
673
Gawler, S.A.
I have just read this thread all again. Now that I have a good camera I can agree that its easy to take crap shot with a good camera! Probably easier to take crap shots with a DSLR than it is with a point and shoot camera.

I am so jealous of your macro lens.... the one thing I desperately want for my new camera! I am sick or trying to get macro shots with my 18-55 kit lens!

Good work and keep it up!
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
Let me start by saying it has been a very good year for bandicoots and rabbits this year - mild weather, good rains etc means lots of babies. This makes it pretty hard to have any sort of garden as they have even been eating the tops of my onions :eek

But, it is hard not to love these little bunnies - they only appeared two days ago so they are not very old. I love the little white patches on their heads.

Rabbits.jpg


We also had a little ringtail possum living in some bushes near the house. As I found out last night, the ringtail has been evicted by a very large brush tail possum

Possum-1.jpg


Possum-2.jpg


Now I know what has been breaking the branches in the apricot tree :mad:
 

Agent M

Member
Oct 21, 2011
3,536
1,586
Melbourne
Awesome pics as usual - that rabbit pic is like the scene from a horror film for me! "It was the fastest spread ever recorded of any mammal anywhere in the world." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia
Interesting markings on the forehead too - do a lot of rabbits in Tassie have those markings as they are usually recessive? Haven't seen any rabbits like that here - see the odd black one.

Your ringtail will be close by somewhere - there will be more than one as they rarely live alone. Brushtails can take over their nesting sites but they don't push them out completely or hurt them. They will often eat in the same tree together when there is a glut, they just don't like to cross paths. Have to say that is the fattest brushie I've ever seen - can't tell if its a male or female but something has been stressing it out for at least a number of weeks by the look of the hair loss on the rump. Probably the reason its moved elsewhere.
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
I thought you might like these pictures Megan :)

I can't say that I have noticed any rabbits around the area with the white patch on their head - I will have to have a closer look.

Yes, it is a fairly large possum - the loss of fur wouldn't just be part of the normal summer moult?
 

Agent M

Member
Oct 21, 2011
3,536
1,586
Melbourne
They do moult to a degree between winter and summer but they keep a thick coat right through summer too and can handle pretty high temps. If there is a hair out of place on a brushtail, something has happened. That's pretty extensive hair loss on the rump, you can see skin. There are only a few possible reasons - they have had to escape from something and wedged themselves in a fork in a tree for 1 to 2 days, they have dropped fur in defence if something has chased them, or they have stress dermatitis which happens over time - which is what I think it is a mild case of. Can't be sure but I'm thinking its a female from what I can see, especially the way the belly is hanging down, makes me think there has been babies before or possibly one on board and there is no stain on the chest from scent marking. The shape of the face seems female - bit uncertain about those strapping shoulders, that's fairly male. Females tend to stay put unless they have a reason to move, whereas the young males wander a lot. He/She is very healthy - nothing to worry about. It's all conjecture without knowing what the possums been up to these last few weeks. Of course, if you spot a large pair of balls next time you see this possum, you will know :p
 

Sarg

Member
Dec 11, 2011
2,559
926
Cheltenham
They are beautiful but unfortunately a lot of people are scared of them.
Shane-clownfish is superb
I dont mind them in the back yard and will remove without harm from the house but since i have been here i dont think i have seen so many!! Sprayed the window sills the other day for only the second time in my life, we have no screens and we had a spider on a towel i was drying myself with lucky it wasnt the kids but they have had them in there clothes and in there bed!!

Walking out to the car the other day a walked through a web and just brushed it off. I put the kids in the car and jumped in when the kids told me there was a spider on my back. I hoped out of the car all casual like, figured it must have been on the web i walked through, when i looked over my shoulder to see if i could brush it off and there was the biggest $%#^%$#^ huntsman i'd seen in a long time.... casual went out the window lol i was jumping around like on of those rabbits had my shirt of in a split second.... hopefully no neighbours were watching :eek
 

Agent M

Member
Oct 21, 2011
3,536
1,586
Melbourne
I hoped out of the car all casual like...and there was the biggest $%#^%$#^ huntsman i'd seen in a long time.... casual went out the window...
Lol! I call that the spider dance. I have also done that when I had one going up my leg in the car - mirrors, indicator, pull over calmly, handbrake, step out of the car aaand GET IF OFF ME!!!! I got over my fear when I worked in my first nursery - they like to live in the stacks of empty pots and have a habit of running down your arms and legs while you are carrying a huge pile and don't want to drop them everywhere. I thought it would be a horrendous experience, but the first time it happened I was surprised that it wasn't so bad coz they feel soft and fluffy and in a few seconds they are off you and running away. That's not to say I would choose to have one on me, but they're not so bad and rarely bite ;)
 

Sarg

Member
Dec 11, 2011
2,559
926
Cheltenham
MJ your photos are spot on!! Hows the walk in there and where do you stay, i'm guessing it's more than a day trip? We are thinking of taking a trip to explore tassie at some stage. We'll take the boat over so we can have the car and drive around... gotta be able to get to Barnbougle Dunes and The Lost Farm while i'm there too :)