I have to say that this month I have never been so grateful to live in such a beautiful place in the world. I have had the chance to admire some wonderful local wildlife, including this gorgeous little Water vole! I spotted the beauty while walking along the local canal towpath.
On my holiday to Australia in February, I had the good fortune to be able to photograph many different species of wildlife. The colourful and often noisy birds, cute mammals, fascinating lizards and the many species of gorgeous insects I encountered will, I hope, all be blogged about in the near future.
Today it is the turn of the beautiful butterflies and moths – with a couple of caterpillars too!
During my recent trip to Australia, I had been told about a nature reserve in a small place called Wingham. Only a few miles down the road. I thought it was worth checking out.
I was given instructions on how to get there and for a view point to stop at. It looked across the Manning River Valley, rolling hills and lush green farm land. It was worth the stop!
Onwards to Wingham Brush Nature Reserve! I pulled up into the dry mud car park, a little greeting sign and a small wooden gate marked the place. There was something that reminded me of the little nature reserves I visit at home in the UK.
I was more than a little excited about visiting this place, I had been told that there were some rather special inhabitants here … flying foxes!
I walked up the boardwalk and along into the reserve. Bush turkeys strolled around without a care that I was there, I even watched one digging into its huge mound of a nest, clearly preparing to lay! I saw a small colourful moth, listened to the eerie calls of Australian ravens and admired the giant stinging trees the entrance sign warned me about. Where were these flying foxes? I kept one eye on the boardwalk and the other on the tree canopy. I kept walking, trying to take it all in slowly, absorb the sights, sounds and smells around me. But I was a little impatient to find these flying foxes.
I started to be able to hear them, their high pitched squabbles. I was getting near! I caught a glimpse of upside-down bodies in the distant canopy, I hurried along the path and all of a sudden I was in the middle of a roost!
High in the canopy the bats hung restfully, a few were waking up and stretching out their huge wings, occasionally making their squabbling calls at each other. In some areas the resting bats hung, using their wings to fan themselves. In other areas, they were far more lively, clambering over each other and taking short flights.
I could not escape the fact that as I walked quietly along the boardwalks looking up, the bats hung in the roost looking straight down at me. There were many more curious eyes looking down at the two looking up!
I eventually had to leave, I had to drag myself away! It was hard, I could have stayed there the rest of the day and the next. But if nothing else, my neck ached from looking up! The boardwalk opened out onto the river bank, and a short walk up the river bank I was back at the dry mud car park I arrived at. I decided to have a look around the town of Wingham. There was only one shop open when I arrived, not that that mattered to me as my attention was grabbed by the flock of galahs. The galahs were foraging in the grass of the town square. I also stopped to admire a beautiful flowering bush at the edge of the square, on closer inspection I noticed tiny bees visiting the unique flowers.
It was a day packed with fascinating and beautiful wildlife, I returned back to my accommodation tired. I slept deeply that night, dreaming of the mischievous squabbles and curious faces of those fabulous flying foxes!
As you may have seen on my twitter feed, I had the opportunity to visit Australia. I was there for 2 weeks, coming home at the beginning of March. I took this photo on the last day of my holiday.
This large and beautiful lizard called a Water Dragon. It posed fantastically along the footpath Between Manly and Shelly Beach.
lulovelock 