Night life

[Speccyman]

Has anyone had issues with wildlife during a night time observation?

[phobos27 (Nick)]

Only Mosquitoes, but they are not really a problem early in the morning...

What sort of problems have you had?

[OzStarGazer]

Mosquitoes here too. I just bought a repellant this morning.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Last outing in bush, a 10" long stick insect crash landed on my sketch pad - looked like a freaking alien at first in the dim red light!

Mozzies too, but tiny insect eating bats see to them - no bug repellent needed! Their chirps & clicks can be heard all night.

Found a dead scorpion in one bag a week after going bush.

Roos have scared the holiness out of me as they've snuck up on me so quietly I only knew they were there when I felt their breath & nose on my hand!

Heard plenty of owls. Most terrifying sound though is that of possums having a barney! Damned blood curling sceaming!

[omegacrux (David)]

Because I live about 50m from Bass strait I have had fairy penguin's wander past , harmless but damn they can be noisy !

David

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Had a beetle crawl up my trouser leg last weekend, frightened yesterday out of me....could have been a spider

The neighbours have subsequently asked me to wear a silencer when out late at night

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

Besides the ubiquitous mosquito, I've had experiences with bats flying low while I was eating an apple, possums foraging nearby and ticks when answering the call of nature in bush locations. At the moment at home I often have the resident bandicoots stop and check me out if I'm sitting still but that might be a quick sniff of the shoe or back of the leg and they move on (I'm sure their mind goes something like "food-food-food-nah, that's not food, keep going and find some food..."). And I recall some members in the local society encountering a troublesome fox one night, leaping onto their cars and trying to get into some rubbish. But nothing life threatening - it's usually other humans that cause the most trouble.

[OzStarGazer]

I have seen bats too (but luckily they haven't come near me) and am always a bit worried because sometimes I leave the door of the balcony open... I guess I should close it while star gazing... My grandma once found a bat in her bed after leaving the window open, so it "can" happen...

[Speccyman]

I've been out at night and often hear possums rustling nearby - i've been too scared to walk too far from my scope in case they climb it like a tree!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Possums are my regular companions while observing in my yard, rarely is there not one in a tree or on a fence nearby. Only a couple of scares. One night at the VicSouth star party I made the trek over to the shower lock and the lawn area I was crossing was full of Roos, as there were no light and I only had a dim red headlamp they just kept suddenly appearing. No real danger as they would all be used to humans around but they still give you a start when unexpected!

Malcolm

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Mosquitoes and snakes. I hate snakes.

Anyone know if those bang in the ground electric snake repellents work?

[sheeny (Al)]

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

Mosquitoes and snakes. I hate snakes.

Anyone know if those bang in the ground electric snake repellents work?

No. They don't.

Al.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Originally Posted by sheeny

No. They don't.

Al.

I had a feeling they wouldn't, like those ultrasonic mossie repellers.

[Wavytone]

Yes, in the upper blue mountains it's not unusual to have tiny bats flitting around your ears catching the mozzies attracted to me.

Once at Mt Wilson (cathedral camping ground) where I was on my own one night. Soon after setting I was threatened by large dogs roaming at night as a pack - hopped in the car real fast and left... Had to return to collect the scope before dawn.

Since then found out some landowners consider it routine to turn the dogs out at night.

[Jon (Jonathan)]

I had a bird perch on the counterweight bar and make a ... deposit ... on the laptop screen.

[Terry B]

Ive had roos, horses and bats. Possums make a horrible noise but keep clear.
I found this little guy hiding under the paperwork in my observatory.