3.11.25
Minnippi
It was a dull, heavily overcast, sticky start to the morning despite a pleasant breeze from the northeast. It didn’t brighten up until I was driving home and the poor 36 species (bird) list reflected the atmosphere.
I did have a nice, two meter plus, Carpet Python Morelia spilota draped over a hay bale beside the lake. I believed the hay bale was left behind by the 'Music at Minnippi' thing that happens on Sunday evenings and the snake had taken advantage of the extra height to gain as much exposure to warm up, as possible. It looked like it had had a feed recently too and moved off very sluggishly.
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| Carpet Python Morelia spilota |
Interestingly, as I approached the bale, and still being unaware of the snake, a couple of Noisy Miners were going off and actually fluttered very close to my head. At the time I assumed they were just being Noisy Miners and possibly I was close to a nest or fledgling, and ignored them. However, I wondered afterwards if they were trying to warn me – obviously they were going off about the snake, but I was not sure if they were actually, basically, trying to tell me something or, imagining further, trying to gain my assistance. I was honestly not sure if Noisy Miners, or birds in general, would behave in that manner or with that level of intelligence.
Butterflies were the usual plus a male Orchard Swallowtail Papilio aegeus on the M1 track. I also saw another Garden Orb Weaver Eriophora transmarina there and had a couple of Yellow-striped Flutterers Rhyothemis phyllis (Dragonflys) on the otherwise very, very quiet Airfield Track.
I set up my trail camera on the M1 track with the intention of collecting it after 24 hours hoping something of interest might show.
