Off Topic Vote for a National Bird (feathered variety)

Fantastic. Can swoop down and take a rabbit or even a hare!
Love 'em.

 

It was an awesome experience marred only by my sissy squeal as I jumped. As I said to Goldie, thankfully only my mutt was there to witness that.

 

Nice to hear, GHR.
If your ever in the Queensland again, let me know.

Northern New South Wales has real quality earth for growing foods, there's many an orchard here and sloping ground for run off.
Coastal Queensland for some strange reason, lack any decent vegitation and land slope.

It does have many birds varieties throughout the rainforests though.

 

where do you live Dids??

 

Northern Goldie.

 

Thanks, Dids, I hope I do make it back there one day. I took a train into the rainforest while up was staying in Cairns. As you say, rich birdlife up there, I remember seeing it out of the train window. Then on to the tablelands where I remember the earth is red, termite mounds are 3 foot high and if you arrive in a village in the midday heat, it's as deserted as a Clint Eastward scene in a Spagetti Western! Beautiful countryside, particularly the rainforest.

 

I was in Cairns, Port Douglas and Townsville in late-1994, Goldie. A really beautiful part of the world. Did you go to Mossman Gorge?

 

Funnily enough, I was in Cairns in about 1994, Ubes, but sadly didn't make Mossman Gorge. I was on business in Sydney, flew Quantas and they threw in a free internal Oz flight, so I went up to Cairns on a short package deal (about 5 days). Went out to the Barrier Reef, along the coast and one trip inland which was the highlight of the trip. The Reef is an amazing place but it takes a while to get out there, and back so a day trip isn't enough. I had friends who honeymooned on an island out there and said it was wonderful.

 

Yes, did a cheeky snorkel on the GBR myself whilst out there. Very beautiful.

I actually got married on Magnetic Island off the coast of Townsville. Two weeks after returning to Blighty she was at it with a co-worker.

 

Gosh, Ubes, the juxtaposition between those two last sentences is jarring. Married in a most beautiful part of the world, and then the proverbial raining down on you soon after. I trust we're still talking 1990's so this is all distant history now.

 

was posted to Townsville for 8 years in the 80s, used to go to Maggie Island most weekends when there was a pub, a couple of motels and bugger all else, great place.

 

Yeah, that one is a distant memory. Going through a second at the moment. All good fun.

 

Sorry to hear it, Ubes.

 

This seems as good a place as any.

We have a very small ornamental pond in our garden, not much bigger than a bathtub, and there are always frogs in it. We've now gone from frogspawn to tadpoles to today, literally dozens of tiny frogs in there. They can't all develop into full-grown frogs, so what happens to them?

 

Your local French community will come and steal their legs leaving them as a nice meal for any animals or birds!

 

Better not invite DT round.

 

The bigger faster developing ones sadly will eat the smaller ones, eventually something or other will eat them all big or small, such is life

 

A quick search (you piqued my interest) reveals that 96% of them die. Shady ponds, late frosts and multiple predators - newts, fish, insects (water boatmen find them tasty), birds, rats, and, of course, French, see them off. Presumably this mortality rate is why there are so many of them in the first place.

I’ve never eaten frogs legs in France, but have in Indonesia. Bit like chicken or rabbit, good the way they serve it, with loads of garlic.

 

Frogs and Tadpoles are carnivores.
As the weaker ones fade they get eaten. Only a few will get through to be frigs

 

I've seen that several times in the past when I used to play golf at Falconwood near South Croydon, the bird would literally hover for some time before just sweeping down and then emerging with the hare in it's talons. Often happened when we teed off early on a Summer morning, really a sight to behold...