Whats in your backyard?

I usually have a couple of Huntsmans living on the walls inside the house. You can usually pat them and the worst they will do is run away. Even my 3 and 5 year old daughters dont mind having huntsmans living on the walls in their bedrooms. When one large one which had been living in my daughters room died, she took it to school for show and tell.

Huntsmans do look dangerous and were used in the movie aracnophobia.

I also occationaly have a brown snake come through the back yard. The kids are trained to keep away from snakes so as long as they see the snake and keep away from it they are not a problem either.
 
"the kids are trained to keep away from snakes" . . . I like that. Ah Huntsmans are great, especially if your stupid enough to build your house near a water supply where those tiny annoying light loving bugs breed. hate them, my parents house spends most of the summer full of huntsmans and the windows under the outside lights are covered with frogs.
 
I nearly stepped on a king brown snake not that long ago, surprisingly I was too tired at the time so my 'scared' nerves didn't kick in.
At least one of good aspects of living up here is that I haven't come across as many big spiders as I use to in melbourne, but I have to watch out for barking spiders now and they ain't pretty...
 
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We had a tiger snake in our house once. Luckily mum came home just as it came in the and she saw it and got dad to kill it. (We usually leave them alone but inside is a little to close for comfort.) And you can pick huntsmans up and play with them if they're not to agro and daddy long legs.
 
Sim said:
Summertime in Sydney brings out all the "orb-weaving" spiders, which are prolific web-builders.
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For example, here's a Golden Orb Weaver (I think) which has built a large web (about 1m across - with anchor points up to 4m away) directly across one of my office windows at home. I could literally open the window, and reach out to tickle it on the belly (but it makes me shiver to even suggest the idea - I'm no fan of spiders either!)

[photo=4000;514;2008-03-20_-_40D_6265.jpg]Golden Orb Weaver - Sydney[/photo]

The spider is only about 5cm in leg span - quite small. We have some relatively old and very fat spiders out in the back yard with huge abdomens - those ones really creep me out ... and they build the biggest and stickiest webs.
 
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That is a baby Golden Orb alright. There web is ment to be stronger than steel. They make one of the strongest webs I know of, you realy know when you walk into one.
 
Can someone post a picture of a large 'Huntsman' preferably with something in the picture to compare its size with? I'm happy to view it from this distance(the UK) but not closer...
 
Monty said:
That is a baby Golden Orb alright.
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Later this afternoon when I was taking the rubbish out, I noticed a strong web attached to the fence - in the late afternoon light, it was vividly "golden" in colour ... if I'd not had to go out I would have tried to take a photo of it (not sure how well the colour would have shown up though).
 
I just posted a picture on the taronga gallery of the spiders that are everywhere at Taronga atthe moment. i have tried to add photos in my posts like everyone else but they keep saying that they are to big and i have to make them smaller. don't know how.
 
tsjee, i live in a booring place:P
species that i've alreaduy seen in my backyard:
mammals:
red squirrel
a bat
mice
once a hedgehog

birds:
robin
blackbird
common kestrel
commong kingfisher
winter wren
wood pigeon
eurasian collared dove
tree sparrow
house sparrow
great tit
blue tit
long-tailed tit
european greenfinch
rook
jackdaw
carrion crow
green woodpecker
great spotted woodpecker
white wagtail
chaffinch
European starling
song trush
grey heron
European magpie
Eurasian jay
black headed gull (not in winter)

there are a lot of other birds in the neighbourhood, but nog in my garden:D
 
Mammals:

Grey Squirrels, both the grey and black phase.

Raccoons. Only very occasionally now. They used to be a pain though, and they'd raid our fish ponds. Since we've kept dogs (starting in 1997) they only pass through the yard. I think they don't like the smell of dog urine.

There was a bobcat in the yard in the summer. I caught a few glimpses but smelled him more often :p

Birds:

Northern Cardinals; they often chose our yard to nest in :)
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
House Sparrow
Blue Jays
Common Grackle
American Robin
American Goldfinch
American Crow
European Starling
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-winged Black Bird
Veery
Red Poll
Yellow Warbler
 
On the subject of Huntsman spiders, I came across this interesting article about them:

Huntsman spiders fight over family home - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Battles to the death are taking place across Australia as huntsman spiders fight it out for the family home.

Linda Rayor, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra, uncovered the gruesome family feuds while studying the tree-dwelling Delena cancerides spiders.

Dr Rayor, from Cornell University's Department of Entomology, says her study of of the species has shown it is the only one of the 1,039 known huntsman species that lives a social life with family members.

Among the world's 40,000 known spider species only 1 per cent are social, and this species is one of only two that do not spin webs.

Dr Rayor believes the communal lifestyle has been thrust upon the spider by a lack of suitable accommodation in the wild.

And in travels around remote Australia looking for the spider, she found the arachnid is in the midst of a housing crisis.

...
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Saw today on my dam a pair of Purple Swamp hens with their three black chicks, nice
 
At least we don't have this problem in Sydney ...

Croc in custody after schoolyard visit - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A large saltwater crocodile has spent five days in police custody after being caught lurking around a schoolyard on Queensland's Cape York.

The reptile was apprehended in a trap by wildlife officers, but the problem was the animal was too big too airlift and police had to provide some local, secure accommodation.
Click to expand...

[ame]http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/news/audio/am/200804/20080404am09-cops-crocs.mp3[/ame]
 
In my backyard there is:
Pygmy bluetongues,
blue tongue lizards,
rainbow lorikeets,
sparrows,
honey eaters (not sure what species)
house gecko,
spotted marsh frogs,
brown tree frogs,
sulpher crested cockatoo,
blue winged kookaburras,
koalas
and a pigeon or dove that i cant recognize.
 
Sorry ot burst your buble Rep lover, but you wouldnt have any Blue WInged Kookas, but Laughings, Bluewings have a really blue wing and massive beak.
Honeyeaters are most likely New Hollands (black and white and yellow wings?)

HOw sure are you on pygmy bluetongues?
or is it wishful thinking!
 
Our house is next to a reserve and that is the only one that has been found in that area, a wildlife officer said it was one because they came to the area about a bird. Unsure about what type of honey eater and i think it was a laughing kookaburra. Thanks for correcting me.
 
I mainly get normal british birds: robins, great and blue tits, magpies, pigeons, house sparrows, doves and the odd bat on our apple tree

i have had a woodpecker and a pheasant before as well!

i have just the 1 bird table with nuts and bird seed

i find guinea pigs are a great fascination to magpies, one even bit my gp!
 
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