Star attraction

A shower of rain last night was enough to bring a star fungus popping out from the leaf litter and it was proving to be a great attraction for a number of flies. This is not all that surprising as the fungus Aseroe rubra gives off a foetid smell of rotten meat or faeces from the slimy spore mass that surrounds the central disc.

I took a few photos but the light was not good with shadows obscuring much of the detail so I have added an earlier photo where the fungus and visiting fly are clearly seen. 

 

Scarlet on white

The peak flowering now of our Callistemons is about a month late this year and although we have had some Scarlet Honeyeaters around for the past couple of months, they have now started to arrive in numbers. Usually they spend most of their feeding in the red flowering Callistemons but I found a pair today in a Callistemon saligna which is a white flowering species. I was only able to get a few photos of the male as he worked over the brushes.

UFM

Found this UFM Unidentified Flying Moth on the floor near the front door so removed it to an outside position for a couple of photos.

However as yet I haven't been able to identify, so would be happy if someone can give it a name.

Osprey overhead

We often hear Osprey calling as they fly over or they rise in the updraft on our hillside and today one was overhead riding the breeze and calling. I was able to get a photo but it was too high for a nice clear shot, so this one is just for the record.

We are lucky to have a few pair that have territories in our area and they are regularly sighted around the lake.