Townsville - Backyard Critters

We love the birds in Australia, just as much now as 9 years ago when we were here. They’re not just colorful and remarkable to look at, but some of them also make the strangest noises. One almost perfectly mimics the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth. Another sounds like the cries of a child.  Another sounds like the beeping of a garbage truck backing up.  In addition to the following photos I’ve included a few short audio recordings as well (hopefully this works). I’m also including photos of some of the other interesting non-avian critters. All of the photos and audios were taken within the confines of our yard here in Townsville, and this is but a small sample of the local wildlife.



Blue-winged Kookaburra

Click here for a recording of Kookaburras having a loud conversation in our front yard around sunset



Sulfur Crested Cockatoo – a beautiful bird with an awful screech.


Click here for a recording of a Cockatoo flying over our house




Rainbow Lorikeet, also very noisy, especially when feeding on Grevillea


This little guy was quite acrobatic while feeding on Aloe Vera blooms


When they aren't in our toilet bowls we often see frogs outside the house (photo by Deborah). This one doen't even look real.


Stick Insect



Different kind of stick insect catching a ride on my sleeve


Well-Camouflaged Lizard



Well-Camouflaged Grass Hopper



A Couple More Audio Clips:

click here to hear an unknown bird that gets so excited it starts to sound a bit like a neighing horse


Australian Ravens (I don't have a photo, but they resemble crows) are noisy and have a distinct call, which always sounds like they are in distress, sometimes in a rather comical way. Audio sample below.

click here to hear an Australian Raven flying near our house

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Caribbean Cruise

Image
Even before embarking on our Panama Canal cruise, Deborah and I looked ahead to its conclusion and expressed our reluctance to hurry back to the dreary winter weather of Olympia.  To remedy this we rather decadently booked another cruise that was to leave from Fort Lauderdale just two days after our Panama Canal cruise was to end. We spent the two days in Fort Lauderdale between cruises doing laundry, visiting friends, and catching up on computer tasks thanks to our Airbnb’s Wi-Fi.  Our second voyage was a 7 night Caribbean cruise with stops in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; and Key West, Florida; before returning to Fort Lauderdale. Both of our cruises were on Holland America Line (also same as for our Alaska cruise last year), which has a reputation for a somewhat older clientele. The Caribbean cruisers were a bit younger than the Panama Canal ones, but actually seemed in worse shape. Not sure I’ve ever seen that ma...
Read more

Next Stop: Everywhere

Image
It’s been nearly nine years since we started travelling for long periods – up to six months at a time – not just to escape the gloomy winters of Western Washington, but to see what it felt like to really live in, not just visit, another place. Australia was the first, then Fiji, Europe, Mexico, Japan and Hawaii. We did a lot of house sitting and work exchange to moderate the cost and expand the experience.  These trips only deepened our love of travel and whetted our appetites for experiencing new places. But the trip to Hawaii ended with us a purchasing a lot on the Big Island and then returning the following winter to build a house. Designing it ourselves, acting as our own contractor and doing much of the work ourselves, that project stretched to nearly two years. We loved our house and our small community in North Kohala, and made many good friends there. But we always knew our Hawaii stay would not be long term – partly because it is expensive, partly because of the inevita...
Read more

Townsville - Billabong Wildlife Sanctuary

Image
The Billabong Wildlife Sanctuary lies just south of Townsville and is home to an assortment of rescued and captive-born native Australian wildlife including crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, cassowaries, and many others. There are also a number of wild birds attracted to the billabong (pond) around which the sanctuary is situated. We spent the whole day there and had a great time. There were many interesting interactive presentations and wildlife feeding times throughout the day. Because the animals here are generally not candidates for reintroduction to the wild, they are allowed to become quite tame and used to human interaction. So if you want to hold a koala or hand feed a kangaroo you can do that. The crocodiles, however, might best be left alone. Koala.  Interesting fact: A mother koala will smear her feces over the face and body of her joey (baby) - not as some sort of sadistic punishment or Joan Crawford impersonation, but so that the offspring will lick itse...
Read more