It was a bit cool (8.9 degrees) and damp (raining, actually) in Lal Lal today. But it was exciting to see lots of evidence of wildlife on the block. There were areas where the grass had been flattened, with droppings that looked like kangaroos had been visiting. In another part of the block, there were lots of what appeared to be koala droppings, including a couple of small ones which may have been evidence of a baby.
Many of the trees are infested with borers, most probably the larvae of a
longicorn beetle. The first sign normally seen is when the tree snaps in the wind, and you can see that the heart of it has been eaten out. However, today there were lots of places where something has been eating the borers:
Chunks of bark have been torn off, and in each case, a borer hole is visible behind the bark. Presumably the borer is no longer there! According to the forestry fact sheet I linked to above, black cockatoos will tear through the bark and wood to get to the larvae. So it looks like we've had some black cockatoo visitors.
2 comments:
You went into the woods today and you were in for a big surprise (sing it).......black cockatoos yes, clever birds. I went back and visited most of your Lal Lal posts, it looks like a beautiful area. How big is the block?
Mum and i used to own 100ac over at Rylstone, wilderness and beautiful.
Seeing how nature works in the bush is wonderful. And this is a fantastic example of wildlife presence. We only get the black cockatoos here once a year for a brief week or so. They are one of my favourite birds.
xt
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