This morning, lying in bed with my cup of coffee (yes, I get coffee in bed every morning), a mother antechinus ran along the window ledge with four babies clinging to her back, and dropped them into my handbag. A few minutes later, she was back with another lot, and another. In total, there were twelve babies, dropped into my bag. And she was off. Handbag day care.
Outside my bedroom window.
I so love the way the whole gaggle take on responsibility for the goslings. The adults stand guard, watching in every direction while the babies graze. Trevor (the big white male on the right) goes mental if you pick up a baby. He has no real weaponry – no fangs or claws – but he knows his role is to protect them. Jackie, in the middle, sat on the eggs,…
After a torrid season, with goannas stealing most of the eggs, one of last year’s goslings has successfully hatched four little females. But I love…
We are relatively new to geese. The original incentive for trying them was an idea that perhaps they would be territorial enough to ward off some of the predatory wildlife like goannas, and give the chooks a bit of protection. Plus we had, for the first time ever, a secure body of water in a lined dam. And the original pair were so picture-book picturesque.