Silvereyes
The smallest creatures have their place. Silvereye, zosterops lateralis, an occasional pest to some, performs a valuable service in gardens and orchards, eating insects harmful to produce, including aphids and scale insects. Image: Jen Stevens
Every summer, cicadas make their presence felt in the Bay. They can be deafening. Every creature is food for other creatures. Cicadas avoid being food for predators by staying underground for most of their life cycle. When cicadas do emerge they are vulnerable to predators. Phascogales,phascogale tapoatafa, which we rarely see, have a feast and make their own presence known. Stay tuned …
Quendas, Nature’s gardeners in the Bay
A single quenda, Southern brown bandicoot, isoodon obesulus, can dig around 45 holes per day, resulting in the upheaval of almost 11kg of soil per day; nearly four tonnes of soil per year. Paul Kelly comes to mind. “From little things, big things grow”.
Quendas are common in parts of the Bay but rarely seen, although diggings are common in their preferred habitat.