We have chrysalis

Well we didn't have caterpillars for very long, they formed a chrysalis overnight. The caterpillars kept lumping up to the roof of the tank and then attached themselves.

Then in the morning we saw that they had changed and are now tucked into the world of their chrysalis.

Butterflies such as these ones (Lemon Emigrant) hatch from a chrysalis. The chrysalis is a life stage made of a hardened protein. A cocoon is generally spun with silk and perhaps leaves or sticks, by the pupa of moths.

It's really lovely to be watching this process and the transformation into a butterfly.

Bringing nature inside

Well since we have decided to keep some of the frogs for a little longer, we are really bringing nature inside our house. We often have a table covered in gum leaves and gum nuts. I collect loads of these and dump them out on the table to ID when I get a chance. This often means an array of insects and spiders scatter all about the table too. Though having the frogs in a tank in the kitchen, means we are reminded all day long of the wonderful secret life of frogs. I count them all the time and try and see where they are hiding, what they are doing and how they are changing. It's really remarkable to watch the changes in the frogs in such a short period of time. Currently we have 5 in the tank inside. We still have a heap of tadpoles in the tank in the shed, so depending on how we go with these five, we may keep more or decide to release them.

So of the five we have inside, there are four of the same species and one which is distinctly different. Now I am only guessing at this stage, as they are still very tiny and developing but I think all five are of the tree frog family (Hylidae). I think the four which are similar are most likely Graceful Treefrogs (Litoria gracilenta) which I wrote about in the previous post. Their underbelly is a very pale yellow and they have an orange eye. Most of the time they sit on the walls or roof of the tank. Except when feeding of course.

You can see in the photo there is a fork with a rotting carrot on the end. So in comparison to the fork, you can see how tiny these little fellos really are. I have been keeping a bucket of rotting veggie scraps outside. This attracts all kinds of small invertebrates. We hold a small container about the bucket and give it a shake. The Fruit Flies (Vinegar flies I'm guessing, will have to look into that too) fly up and into the container. I release these inside the tank for the frogs. I also use a fork and pick up a rotting piece of food and leave this inside the tank. It has a whole array of live food items such as maggots on the scrap and the frogs can pick whatever they like to eat. A buffet! So they are very cheap and easy to keep. Feeding time is so interesting and the kids just love watching the frogs hunt down and catch their prey.

So back to the species identification. The one which is different, is much larger and darker. Unlike the frogs pictured above (which climb the wall of the tank), this one prefers to stay on the rocks. So I am guessing it is a ground dwelling tree frog. I'd like to think it's Litoria brevipalmata or Green Thighed Frog. It's very hard to tell when they are still so tiny. The features which make me sway are the rich olive skin colour (which gets darker each day), the white lip and slightly pointed snout and the dark band that runs across the face. They seem to be classified as endangered, due to the very small geographic locations they live in but I will do some more research in the coming weeks.

Again you can see how tiny they are against the fork. Each day they are growing and changing and so hopefully I will be able to identify them soon. I'm really fascinated in them and the kids and I just love having them inside. I've written a fair bit about frogs in this blog so far, as it just happens to be what is in our lives at this moment.

My daughter loves to climb trees in our yard (and everywhere actually). Some mornings it's the first thing she does, still in PJ's. I have to get ready early as my kids like to get outside as soon as possible and I often find I'm out there still in PJ's, unbrushed hair and a coffee in hand. While she is in the trees, she often points out various insects etc. This week she collected several caterpillars from the Poinciana Tree. We have them appear every year and it's every noticeable when they are about because the tree gets crowded with Rainbow Lorikeets and Scaly Breasted Lorikeets, which both feed on this caterpillar. They also shred the leaves bare. I'm yet to identify this caterpillar but here is a picture. If you happen to know what it is, please let me know.

They are very well camouflaged on the mid-vein and are really hard to find. I'm thinking they are a moth caterpillar and will do some more research. We have tried to keep them in a cage twice before but they seem very unhappy and so have released them. You can see the Lorikeets feeding in the Poinciana in the photo below.

My daughter also found another caterpillar, which we have identified as the caterpillar of the Common Emigrant or Lemon Emigrant Butterfly (Catopsilia pomona). Of all the butterflies we have at our house, this is the most common. Over the years I have seen huge 'flocks' of them, particularly as I've driven through Western Brisbane. Some years I've noticed hundreds and other years very few. They are a lovely medium sized lemon coloured butterfly. I have tried on several occasions to get photos of them but it's so hard.

These caterpillars were just fine with us putting them in cage with sufficient food, so you guessed it, we are now watching caterpillars in our kitchen also.

We make sure to top them up with fresh leaves daily and I spray a little water into the cage. There are five and so far they seem happy, so we will keep them inside and watch them too. We are all keen to see them form the chrysalis and change into butterflies. So I'm hoping a future post will be about the successful transformation of these lovely caterpillars. Enjoy your weekend.

Discovering, raising and releasing frogs.

We have raised many tadpoles at our house over the years. I've always loved frogs and remember discovering and saving many tadpoles as a child from drying puddles. I think finding, raising and releasing frogs is a wonderful and exciting experience for children.

During rainy periods, we often find big clumps of frogs eggs in a foamy mass in our pond. The goldfish love to eat the frogs eggs, so we have often scooped them out and raised them into frogs in a tank in our shed. Once the tadpoles have morphed into frogs, we let them go. It is legal to keep and raise tadpoles in Queensland but they cannot be moved. So if you raise tadpoles they must be released back where they came from. I've only ever taken tadpoles from areas where I know they will not survived to become frogs. This has been roadside puddles in my street, which dry up rapidly or from my own pond. Here is our tank in the shed among everything else. I'd have a guess that we have raised and released maybe 50 or more frogs.

I highly recommend raising tadpoles but there are a few things to consider before collecting any to raise. You obviously need a tank. It is best to have one with a lid, as tree frogs will climb the walls as soon as the morph. The tadpoles we have raised have taken a few months to morph into frogs. We've had to constantly top up their water from a natural source, as this provides them with food. If you are interested, have a little read up from the many frog websites there are.

It has been raining constantly here for the past few weeks. We have found yet another frog species living in and about our pond, the Graceful Treefrog (Litoria gracilenta). They have this lovely long and drawn out moaning 'aaaaaare' call. They are bright green with yellow underneath and an orange eye. They also have a distinct purple hind thigh, as you can see in the second photo. There are two frogs sitting on the wire mesh in the third photo, all puffed up as they call.

So after all this rain, we have been raising many frogs in our tank in the shed. When they first morph into frogs it's very hard to know what species they are. I can identify which are most likely tree frogs, as compared with marsh frogs etc. Tree frogs have a very sleek appearance and climb the walls of the tank. The other species we've raised prefer to sit on the rocks or partly submerged. They also have a mottled and darker skin colour. We collected many different sized tadpoles recently, so everyday when we check the tank, we've had one or two tadpoles morphed into frogs ready to be released.

I released these two this morning into our garden. I think (but cannot be sure) that they were Ornate Burrowing frogs. Just their body structure and mottled appearance resembled the adults I've seen before.

My daughter was very interested in the tree frog species we have raised, so we have decided to watch them a little longer. We have moved them into a small tank and placed them in the kitchen (as you do!!). This way we can watch them and remember to feed them. We have placed a container with food scraps outside to entice fruit flies. I then capture the fruit flies in a small container and release them into the tank. The frogs love them and we all get a little thrill from watching the frogs catch them. As they grow we will collect a wider variety of insect food from the garden for the frogs to eat. Below you can see two sitting on the wall of the tank, with quite a distinct white bottom lip.

My children absolutely love tadpole hunting. When it's raining, we put on raincoats and gumboots and go searching. Even if you don't want to raise any, it's always exciting for children to discover them and watch them in nature.

Saturday in the Garden

My daughter discovered a snail in the garden today. We rarely get snails here, it's dry. At first the snail was tucked away tightly in its shell and my daughter kept exclaiming it was dead. I told her to get it some lettuce and wait. She did. After quite some time, she ran inside telling me it was finally out. The little snail moved all over her hand and the piece of lettuce. She was fascinated for hours.

I remember loving snails as a child. My Grandmother's garden had lots of them and I'd collect easily 10 or more and have them crawl all over my hands. My daugher asked loads of questions about the snail. She has put it in a container with food to keep overnight and will release it in the morning. I'm glad I could encourage her to hold this creature and share in her joy of discovery today.

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.     Rachel Carsen

Day in the life of a naturalist's child

Rachel Carson once wrote. "For the child. . . it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused - a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and the unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love - then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response . . . It is more important to pave the way for a child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts that he is not ready to assimilate."

I have always aimed to help foster nature connection in my children. There are many reasons why I value nature connection and time spent outdoors. I could write endlessly about this topic but that is for many more blog posts to come. Today I thought I'd like to just share a glimps into an average day here with my children and how rich with nature their lives are.

I often ask myself, what am I attached to here in Western Brisbane? This is a way I can help myself to connect better with nature. I am obviously connected with family and friends here but what else? What about the seasons, the trees, the animals, the landscape, the weather? What gives me a sense of connection to this piece of land I call my home? Only a few years ago, there was not many nature related attachments on my list. Today I have many on that list. Each day I try to help forster these attachments in my children too.

My daughters bedroom window overlooks our pond. We have wire mesh over the pond for safety reasons but it means she can get right up on top of the pond to look. Each night she falls alseep to the different frog calls that come from the pond. I often tell her bedtime stories which I make up about the various animals that live outside her bedroom window at night. Going outside to look in the pond is something she does as soon as she wakes up most days. She is still in PJ's inspecting the pond in this photo.

I have many identification books about the house. They are always out on the table, as I use them each day. I often see the kids flipping through them, looking at pictures, asking me what is that called etc. The first book my daughter starting to bring to me to read, was about ocean animals. It's a hard paged book, with few and simple words but clear photos of whales, seals, sharks and dolphins. I was really surprised to notice that this same book is my sons most loved book also.

It's a daily ritual to find the Tawny Frogmouths roosting about our yard. We have slowly learnt that they favour the Ironbark and Acacia trees. Perhaps because their plumage is most like these trees, they are well camouflaged. They also tend to roost midway down the tree, rather than high in the canopy. Sometimes my daughter gets a thrill to open her blind of a morning and see they have roosted in the Box Bark, which is right outside her window. I'm sure they get a thrill too. We find ourselves always counting them, looking for the three. Lately we are more likely to see two and I wonder if the baby Frogmouth is starting to roost alone occasionally. I also wonder if they are counting us.

During Bush Kindy last year (something I will also blog about), I made up weather charts for the children to take home. It's not something my children use daily, however I like to draw their attention to it occasionally. Brisbane was recently in flood again and we had some severe weather at our house. So the children picked out storm pictures, which was a change from the endless good weather we generally have.

Most days there are drawings and paintings created in our house. Nature is all through my daughters art. Lately there has been a lot of sea animals and she has been asking to visit Underwater World again.

We have spotted Ornate Burrowing Frogs in our pond a lot lately. They are not at all timid but are quite ok with my daughter picking them up. I always encourage my children to handle wildlife. We talk about how to best hold them and how it must feel for that animal. My son is never as keen to hold wildlife but he loves to look while I hold.

Most weeks we walk down the road to the local creek. We pack our bags and head out even in the rain. Due to the severe weather we had this past week, the creek had risen and flooded much of the park. My daughter found this Great Barred Frog, which had a broken leg. We've talked about how animals die and go back into the earth, so she knew to place it somewhere gently and wish it well.

When children become connected to nature, we can expect that a loss of a part of that connection will bring sadness. A favoured part of visiting the local creek, is to build a fairy cove between these Acacia trees. These five trees grew in a circle and at the base, we would build a cove for the fairies to visit. My daughter would leave flowers, moss, special stones etc. During the recent storms all five trees uprooted. She was very sad and stood by the trees for quite some time contemplating the loss. It may seem insignificant compared to the devastating loss the greater flood caused but to a child these special places bring them a sense of belonging. The loss of a special place and how she learns to deal with that loss are important learning processors in a child's life.

 

 

Then new ways of loving and enjoying that special place are discovered. The loss doesn't seem as great. Perhaps a new fairy cove can be discovered elsewhere and a new connection made.

A trip to the creek is never complete, unless we kick off the shoes and wade through the water and puddles. I often initiate jumping like a frog, hunting like a heron or drinking from the edge like a fox.

There are always discoveries in the creek and nearby puddles. This week we have brought home many tadpoles from the puddles that are drying up. We have them in a tank and I'm as excited as the children to eventually see what species they become.

I found this baby Bearded Dragon while I was gardening this week. We were all delighted to hold it and have a good look. I always encourage my children to have a close look and hold wildlife if they would like to. As we look we ask many questions, which prime our curiosities. What would this little fello eat? Wonder why he has long toes? How old do we think it is? What size will it grow to? Wonder if something would eat it? If my children hold an animal, they will learn how timid it is, how quick it moves, how rough it is, how light it is or whatever it is about that animal they notice. They will remember the delight and joy they felt and create a connection to it.  Environmental education cannot come from books, it comes from real connect with nature. Children learn and experience and love by doing, therefore I always encourage a closer look.

This week at our place...

Talk about drough and flooding rain! It has been really dry this summer at our place in Brisbane West. The last few days it's been raining and today it's been torrential. When it starts to rain, we hear the frogs come out, especially around our pond. I went up the front to check on the resident Crested Pigeons, who roost in the trees above our letter box. The pair were huddled together, looking very forlorn. I always think about the animals out in the rain, while I'm all cosy inside. It must be hard for some animals to hunt and forage in this weather and others would find food more plentiful.

Before the rain came, I heard the Noisy Miners alarm calls outside. I went out to see about a dozen flying about near an Acacia. There were also two Grey Butcherbirds making a ruckus. I spotted a Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) trying to protect itself in a rather exposed spot. I've never seen Ringtails at our place (only the Common Brushtails). However I knew they lived in this area, as I've seen one dead on the roadside.

 



When the first rains came, I immediately heard an Ornate Burrowing Frog (Limnodynastes ornatus). It has a deep, nasal 'unkh' and is easily distinguished by the patch behind and between its eyes. I've only seen this species once before, they like to stay well hidden until it rains.

 

I've noticed the lovely Red Triangled Slug (Triboniophorus graeffei) around our garden lately, mostly in areas where the grey water keeps the ground moist. Once the rain came, I spotted this fello moving through the garden. Aren't they amazing looking? These slugs have a noticable breathing hole right inside the red triangle. Look closely at the photo and you'll see it. If I was a bird I'd think twice before eating this slug, the triangle makes it look like a warning against poisen. However this slug (Australia's biggest land slug) is not poisenous. Native slugs only have one pair of tentacles, while introduced slugs have two pairs.

 

 

 Everyday I go over to the sandpit with the children. It's always interesting to see what insects may have climbed in and left tracks. We've even come across the occasional possum tracks in the sand, which is a real thrill. I really liked the pattern this insect made in the sand. It must have felt like it was going round in circles :P

 

 

This past week while driving, I saw a snake on the road. By the time I did a U-turn and stopped, I saw a woman picking the snake up off the road. She saw me there and came over. She was very upset that a gorgeous Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) had been hit and was obviously going to die. My daughter loves snakes. She has a real interest in reptiles at the moment and has been asking me if she can have a pet snake. She was also very sad to see this animal dieing but I think it struck her to see an adult quite upset as well. Snakes are an animal many people would prefer to see dead. As a child I remember seeing people purposely drive their vehicles, so they could kill a snake on the road. A snake in no ones way. I rarely see snakes anymore and wanted to take the opportunity to show my children that I do care about these animals and so I drove back to see if I could help. Then here we were on the side of the road shedding a tear for the death of a beautiful animal and part of our local ecosystem. Then today lo and behold, we spotted a Green Tree Snake out on our pool. We have only ever spotted one snake before at our place, a Whip Snake. So after our episode with the Tree Snake that was hit and killed, it was really lovely to see one in our own backyard. My daughter was thrilled.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 





Haig St Reserve Ipswich

I've been busy this month. We've been away on holiday and it was the Christmas/NY period.

I believe it's very important for children to play in nature. There are many reasons for this (which I will post about another time). Some children (and adults) may think at first, that there is nothing to do out in nature, especially if you go to a reserve or park with no play equipment. Children may not even venture away or may say they are bored. If your children haven't spent time away from toys, play equipment or media, then they may need some encouragment at first. We always love spending time at the local creek. There are fallen logs my children climb on, puddles they splash in, the creek to swim in and trees to climb. Then there are endless objects to pick up and discover. Sometimes my daughter will walk with me and say she is bored or tired. This is when I need to encourage her a bit.

I recently took them bushwalking at Haig St Quarry Reserve in Ipswich. My daughter likes to stop and look at things along the way and doesn't particularly like the idea of just walking. So I often tell her we are going on an adventure and I tell a story as we walk. She loves fairies and so we pick up gum nuts along the way and try and find the one which would be a suitable drinking cup for a fairy. We both think bloodwood gum nuts are the best at Haig Street. We walked the Willy Wagtail circuit which is about 1 km.

At the end of the walk there is a wooden deck which overlooks the reserve and view out to the Toowoomba range. Again we talked about fairies hiding under the decking and waiting for people to leave before they fly about again. We often make fairy coves out of natural items. We collect stones and small twigs and build a little cove at the base of a tree. So sometimes it takes some imagination on my part, to make the trip into nature more appealing.

 

The reserve has the lovely Angophora leiocarpa also known as Rusty Gum. If you didn't know gums, you might think this is a Spotted Gum at first glance. They are quite similar. I have slowly developed an eye for this lovely gum. It's a deeper orange or rusty salmon colour bark which sheds. It also has a finer and lighter green leaf. I think the most obvious thing about the Rusty Gum however is the whole tree structure. The branches have a lovely gnarly look about them. I will take some photos of the whole tree soon but here is an upclose look at its bark. I love this tree.



Termite mounds can be seen in trees at the reserve. There are often hollows made in them from Kingfishers.

We spotted several Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus). They make a very distinct call of four repetitive notes.

 At the end of the Willy Wagtail walk there is an outlook toward the Toowoomba Range.

 



 

We saw a Tailed Emperor Butterfly (Polyura pyrrhus) on the fence and enjoyed a good look at it while we had a rest.



There was also plenty of Wall Skinks (Crytoblepharus virgatus) at our rest stop, basking in the sun. They are mostly black with two wide white lines lines along their backs.



Lastly we completed our walk with a cooked breakfast at the end. There is also a playground at the reserve, so the children had a play before we went home.