Wildlife mid 2009

[Gunilla]

Spiders are not as good-looking as the goats or as showy as the peacocks and certainly not as sweet as the little Genet (lovely pics all of them)  but still fascinating in many ways.

[Lesley Cox]

They're very handsome spiders Gunilla, especially the one with spikey legs.

David, we've had no waxeyes this year either, not a single one. I think we have so many bellbirds and tuis (8 nesting pairs last spring) because Roger puts out sugar and water for them. We have upturned lemonade bottles in 6 places and it costs a fortune in sugar but I suspect because of the nonstop food supply the adults are maybe raising more babies. And as I said, they are very aggressive to smaller birds. I have seen a bellbird literally murder a waxeye, grabbing it in its claws and pushing it to the ground then stabbing its face and eyes with its beak. When I tried to rescue the waxeye it was too late, already dead and the whole process had taken only about 5 or 6 seconds.

I did see a male chaffinch yesterday on the alder tree and we have larger birds flying over, wood pigeons, hawks, plovers, herons and gulls of course.

Previously the bellbirds and tuis have been winter birds, coming around the house and garden when we've put out their sugar-water but the last two years they have stayed right through the whole year and continued to be fed. They have become quite tame and it's easy to stand and chat to a who is less than a metre away.

[Lesley Cox]

Unfortunately my Teddy has become very adept at catching the little brown skinks which abound here. I frequently find a mangled little body and some he eats altogether. He also brings the remains inside which I wish he wouldn't. We don't have toads in NZ so far as I know and he hasn't started on the recovering frog population yet. In fact, I haven't seen any for months but I am hearing some at night now so they must be around, even if not in their previous numbers.

[Lesley Cox]

John, I don't know Panko so no, I don't use that. We can buy breadcrumbs but I prefer to make my own, whizzing some bread slices in a food processor.

As to the Japanese, I hadn't given them a thought, in connection with breadcrumbs.

[Anthony Darby]

Spiders are not as good-looking as the goats or as showy as the peacocks and certainly not as sweet as the little Genet (lovely pics all of them)  but still fascinating in many ways.

The first is a 'Garden Spider' (Araneus diadematus); the second is the hunting spider Pisaura mirabilis.

[Anthony Darby]

A friend sent me a pic of some jelly, which I can only think is the egg mass of an arboreal  snail? Anyone any ideas?

[Lesley Cox]

Well I wouldn't be offering it with ice-cream

[johnw]

John, I don't know Panko so no, I don't use that. We can buy breadcrumbs but I prefer to make my own, whizzing some bread slices in a food processor.

As to the Japanese, I hadn't given them a thought, in connection with breadcrumbs.

Do try it, you may never go back, quintessential crisp and crunch.  And cheap too.

johnw

[Paul T]

John,

May not be cheap down here though...... a lot of the specialist chinese and japanese food here in Aus is not at all cheap due to the transport costs of relatively small lots being brought in.  Not sure whether the same in NZ or not.

[Lesley Cox]

I'll try it if I find it sometime. A lot of stuff can be bought in Auckland that never sees the South Island. Oatmeal is a good crumb coating too. Or oatmeal and crushed bran flakes.

[Anthony Darby]

What eats toads?

I always thought they were not very palatable but over a couple of days I have found 3 dead toads, all partially eaten.  The first seemed to have part of the head missing but was too dried up to really tell.  The second was minus the head. The third was just legs and bits of skin, too little to be certain it was not a frog.  I know we have a hedgehog and stoats.  They did not die from eating slug pellets as none have been used recently in the areas concerned.  Any ideas?

Brian Wilson
Aberdeen

I found a partially eaten toad up Sheriffmuir last Christmas. I suspect the poison glands around their head may give the perpetrator a "high", which is why this part was eaten? Must investigate.

[Anthony Darby]

John, I don't know Panko so no, I don't use that. We can buy breadcrumbs but I prefer to make my own, whizzing some bread slices in a food processor.

As to the Japanese, I hadn't given them a thought, in connection with breadcrumbs.

I haven't heard of Panko either.

[mark smyth]

Anthony I just caught a huge hoverfly in the garden. I have never seen one so big. I tried many times to photograph it and failed so it is now in the fridge

[mark smyth]

2cm from head to abdomen tip

[Anthony Darby]

Not one I've seen but could be the Bog Hoverfly (Sericomyia silentis)?