Humpback Whales

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Humpbacks at Noosa...

When I told my physio
yesterday
about seeing whales
he offered me his photographs
taken last week in his boat
off the Noosa Headland
and said
I was welcome to post them




Not only is he a Physiotherapist
extraordinaire
he is a very generous
and kind man





Humpback whales migrate
from the cold waters of the Antarctic
via the South Island of New Zealand
to the warm waters of Hervey Bay,
at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef
about a two hours drive north of Noosa




They arrive late July for calving
and remain until November
giving birth in the sanctuary of Hervey bay
before returning to the Antarctic





About 3000 Humpbacks
make this annual pilgrimage
and although they are an endangered species
their numbers are increasing





While Humpbacks
are the size of eleven elephants
they are the most acrobatic
of the big whales
They leap and roll and breach
with amazing grace and power
Adult whales have been seen
to breach 20-30 times
within the space of five minutes




The humpback whale
is classified as a rorqual
which means that
he has a dorsal fin on his back
and ventral pleats running
from the tip of his lower jaw
to the navel area

Humpbacks feed on krill
which are small thumb sized
prawn like animals
and also crustacea




They can eat 1-8 tonnes of krill per day
but they only eat in the summer
in the feeding grounds of Antarctica
25% of their summer intake
is stored as fat
for the great winter migration





Mating and birthing
occur in the warm waters of Hervey Bay
Gestation takes 11-12 months
the calves are 5m long at birth
and weigh 1.5 tonnes




The cow's milk has a high fat content of 35%
and 600 litres is produced per day
by the mothers

Whales have the longest
and most varied songs
in the animal world
The sounds are made
by the movement of air
through the body passages




Sounds are organised into sequences
of 10-15 minutes duration
and repeated without pause for hours
The sequences are arranged in cycles
characteristic of each population of whales
so that all of the humpbacks in one area
sing only the local song




Only male humpbacks sing
and only in the breeding season




The songs evolve over time
and each year it is a little different
but every change is picked up
and incorporated into the current sequence




The songs may function as a sexual display
advertise the presence of a breeding mate
and keep the family group together
but the complexity of the songs
suggest that there is more to it than that...





This year
with my broken ankle
I saw no whales heading North
save for a distant glimpse yesterday




I am hoping for some good sightings
in November



One year I was out very early
at 5.30 am
with Beloved,
being put through our fitness paces
on a little rocky outcrop
overhanging a tiny bay
on the headland
when our P.T. noticed
a mother and calf sheltering
directly below us
in the shallow waters...




so I am hopeful...





~

Photographs by Peter Hogg
Information gathered from Discover Hervey Bay
HerveyBay.com.au





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After the Rain

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After the Rain...

After the rain
the air is full of life,
the dust is washed away

and the park sparkles
in the early morning sun

the plants speak
their secret language of green

and the world
that I walk in
listens

both below

and above
are clear and bright











Hello
who have we here

up in the tree

an athletic young fellow
climbs through the gum tree
on the ocean's edge

hungry after
a noisy wet night

when feeding usually occurs

he is keen
to sample leaves

and goes out on a limb

climbing higher

do you think the juicy ones
are way up here...

maybe even higher...

he launches himself

through the tree

in search
of fresh green leaves

newly blessed
by the night's rain






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Another Tapper...

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When I came home from the physio's
I noticed the duck couple,
Maude and Harold,
on the deck
looking very cute and settled
so I rushed to get my camera,
as fast as you can rush in a moonboot,
and headed for the door...

and who do you think was there...

Cousin of Bluey
You may remember a post of mine
about Grandson of Bluey,
this cousin is another Blue Tongue lizard
with beautiful orange markings

He looked as if he too
would like to come inside

I had him cornered
and he didn't like it,
flattening out to appear bigger

and making a little psssttting noise
before he poked out his tongue at me

giving me the evil eye

from both watchful eyes

he tried another glass panel

nosed into the corner

then confronted me

moving down the verandah
checking for an exit

showing me his
beautiful scaly little legs
and toes

and menacing stare
I had the camera too close
for his liking here
he made a tentative strike
toward the lens

Later when my son came by
I dragged him into my study
to show him the photos
of cousin of Bluey,
as the whole family are fond of Bluey
his descendants and extended family,
and while he glanced at the images
I looked out onto the atrium deck
from my chair to exclaim,

look there he is
sunning himself right now...



Cousin Of Bluey




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Murray

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Meet Murray,
Murray the monitor

I was waiting for my friend
to put on her walking shoes
when she called me to her rear deck
to meet Murray

Murray has taken ownership
of a corner of her deck
to sit in the sun
and warm his cold blood

Murray is rather old and slow
He has some torn flaps of skin
on his left rear leg
a battle legacy

My friend's daughter was staying,
trying to get a mobile phone reception
she stood at the corner of the deck
close to Murray
who took objection to the invasion of his territory
and lurched at her

When a goanna
with long sharp claws
lurches at you
you know it's time
to skedaddle

Now my friend approaches Murray
with an outdoor chair
like a lion tamer
and makes Murray retreat to his hidey-hole
underneath the deck
so she can reclaim the deck

But Murray will be back
that is guaranteed -
he needs a daily dose of sun.

Murray is Lace Monitor from the Varanidae family, and is about one meter in length.
He is a carnivore - predator although will eat rotting matter as well. He can be hostile and if provoked may deliver a stinging lash with his tail. His claws are very sharp and his jaw strong. Like a snake he can unhinge his jaw in order to swallow small animals such as rodents.
The monitor is a fast runner and good climber and will normally retreat up the nearest tree if threatened.


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Frilly Camouflage

* Frilly Camouflage *

Take a look at this photo
look carefully...
Do you see anything?
Look closely at that stick in the centre.
What do you see?

Let's come closer
See the legs and tail
of a baby frill neck lizard

He's keeping an eye on us
pretending he's not there
keeping very still

His little eye is following me
as I get closer
and bend down beside him

Look at his beautiful markings
such good camouflage
amongst the rocks
leaf litter and sticks

Can you see that from behind
he appears to have large owl eyes
and that flap of skin at
either side of his neck

can do this
when he is alarmed
and warning his foes off

Photo from abc.net.au/science/articles
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Kangaroos

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Kangaroo Info.

As a follow up to yesterday's post I thought that you might like to know that:

The word kangaroo comes from the aboriginal word gangurru meaning Grey kangaroo.


Males are called bucks, jacks or boomers, while females are named does, jills or flyers.

Babies are referred to as joeys.

A group of kangaroos is called a mob, a troop or a court.

Eastern Grey and her Joey

Kangaroos belong to the large family of macropods - meaning giant footed

My kangaroos are Eastern Greys. The largest is the Red kangaroo which can stand at 6-7 feet and weigh 200lb.

There are over 60 species of kangaroos, the smaller ones you may be familiar with are called wallabies.

The early explorers said of the kangaroo:

"He has a head like a deer (without antlers)
stands upright like a man
and hops like a frog."

He can hop over short distances at 70kmph, (44 mph), and over a 2km distance the kangaroo can travel at 40 kmph, (25mph).

He lives 4-6 years and is a strict herbivore, many are nocturnal.

The huge tail has three functions:

• for balance when hopping
• as a third tripod leg when sitting
• and as a 5th limb when moving slowly

A kangaroo neonate

The kangaroo is a marsupial - the female has a pouch. The fascinating thing about marsupials is that the female has two lateral vaginas and a third birthing canal! The male has a two pronged penis which inseminates the female through the two vaginas which lead to two uteruses.
The female can be permanently pregnant, except the day she gives birth. The embryo develops for only 33 days before being born and making the great walk to the pouch - which actually only takes about three minutes.

The kangaroo baby is born blind, hairless and only a few cms long. His back limbs are just buds but his stronger front limbs allow him to climb through the furry abdomen of the mother up to the pouch where he latches on to one of the four teats and begins feeding. The mother can produce two different types of milk. One for a newborn and the other to suit a bouncing young joey. The young can inhabit the pouch together.


After 190 days the neonate has become a little joey and can leave the pouch.

And after 235 days Mother kicks him out for good! Farewell Skippy...






The Skippy TV series was made in Australia between 1966-1968. The segments were filmed in colour, to increase marketability, even though Australian TV was black and white until 1975.
The series aired in the US and was also dubbed into Spanish and shown in spanish speaking countries.


Oh, and that clicking noise that Skippy made: "thck,thck,thck" is not made by kangaroos.



Information from Wikipedia
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