It has several significant national parks around the harbour and the native wildlife includes (far from an exhaustive list):
Water dragons (big lizard > 1 metre, can be hand fed, fond of raw sausages), blue-tongue lizards are common in the parks, as well as assorted snakes (red-bellies blacks, browns and tiger);
There’s a fairy penguin colony in Athol Bay and Bradley’s Head - for many events these are also prime viewing locations and it’s amazing to see their little heads bobbing in waves as the Sydney-Hobart yacht race gets under way;
Possums are common, wombats, wallabies (yes, in Sydney), koalas in the north, quolls, the marsupials Sydney doesn’t have are big kangaroos, platypus and Tasmanian Devils (thankfully).
Flying foxes flap around all night feeding on the native Port Jackson fig trees and are terrified by the fireworks;
Assorted birds - the larger ones include brush turkeys (quite common), sea eagles (in the parks near water), kites, parrots, magpies, currawongs, and several large squadrons of pelicans live on the harbour;
And for what it’s worth, rabbits and foxes.
I live in the north of Sydney and each morning we have a dawn chorus of birds - no need for an alarm clock ... in the late afternoon the odd wallaby can be spotted grazing our front lawn, I regularly chase the brush turkeys out of our back garden and the local bunnies are breeding like, well, you know... and there are at least 2-3 foxes that can be spotted around midnight when all is quiet. Possums are a constant problem (raiding the veggie garden) as well as the flying foxes ...
There’s probably more wildlife here in the north shore than you’ll see in the countryside due to the gardens that provide food, water and shelter for them.
Wavytone, indeed, you are right.
I stayed in Kirrawee, 20km south of CBD in 2018 and saw lots of wildlife, e.g. a possum and very nice birds like lorrikeet, kookaburras, etc.
But I thought in the direct neighborhood of the Harbor Bridge where the fireworks normally happen (not this year ?).
Has anyone heard from Steve (Unipol) or Ivan (GusK) hopefully they and their families are safe up there in Blackheath/Medlow Bath...
Smoke here in Canberra has eased today, we are lucky here. I was at Tahmoor/Buxton when the fire tore through there and turned day into night.
Very sad to see the destruction.
Hopefully those fighting these horrendous fires (Ian Fry et al) get some relief soon.
Tbh those fireworks used to upset all the local wildlife anyway.
The fireworks have gone so far over the top that they're verging on poor taste imo, even before the fires. A smaller, more elegant or inventive display would be preferable.
The fireworks have gone so far over the top that they're verging on poor taste imo, even before the fires. A smaller, more elegant or inventive display would be preferable.
I agree, it would indeed be very poor taste to spend a million dollars on fireworks when that money would help out so many families who have lost everything just before Christmas......
given the weather conditions perhaps it will be a Total Fire Ban anyway
given the weather conditions perhaps it will be a Total Fire Ban anyway
I'm kinda hoping it is.
I've just spent the afternoon researching air purifiers on account of the last couple of days when I've been coughing inside the house. Unfortunately, the gas heater flue can't be sealed easily and smoke eventually makes its way inside.
But can anyone figure out how big the air purifier would have to be to put upwind of my 'scope?
Have tried to upload these images several times tonight and the orientation goes all topsy turvy. Have never understood why an image upright on my iPhone wants to rotate 90 degrees here when the image next to it doesn't. Anyway I drove to my childhood home today and these are the scenes I was met with North of Sydney on the Pacific Highway and the Bucketts Way near Tinonee.
