Sunday 27 August 2006

Well, I'm delighted. I wandered into what passes for a back yard this afternoon and found the kangaroo apple (Solanum lacinatum) host to a flock of silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis). As the kangaroo apple is only two metres from my back door, I caused a stir among the birds. I didn't try to take a photograph. I'd rather have the silvereyes flitting about in the garden than only a photo of them to post on the web.

Silvereyes are no great deal for most people. They're common in gardens, parks and woodlands. But my house is in an urban area with no large gardens, few parks and you can just forget about the woodlands. I don't know how far the birds roam. Are they nomadic? Perhaps the flock came in from the Maribyrnong River, where there are large gums.

As my garden is only about 100m2 (with a shed and a Hill's hoist in it), the birds were packed together like chooks on a battery farm. Makes bird watching easy, though. And to think I was going to get rid of the kangaroo apple ... Its continued existence is assured.

(For more on kangaroo apples, see this earlier post on A Snail's Eye View)