To start of a new thread 4 southern cassowaries have hatched and are being hand raised as the male could not care for them. This is the sixth year that Featherdale has bred southern cassowary.
Joeys of all description are emerging from pouches at the moment... Wedge Tailed and Little Eagles are sitting on nests - can't see if there are any eggs, or know if they are likely to be fertile... I saw a couple of Quolls mating the other week... fingers crossed! I visit Featherdale every second weekend, can give more updates regularly if anyone's interested... T.
Little Eagle and other news The little eagle lost the first egg. It was infertile, but she has laid a new one and it is looking good. Baby quokka out of pouch. The Don the Koala, passed awa on Friday ago years he will be missed. He was such a lovely boy. Swamp Wallabies one new baby.
Not sure about the sex of the Emu chicks, but staff are actually leaning towards female... *grin* They are deadly cute and handling the crowds during school holidays surprisingly well. They are cordoned off where they can't be grabbed at, which makes it a little harder to get good photos, but I got some nice ones eventually. Will post them up once I've sorted through them all, OK? T.
Additional births/hatchings include quokka, banded lapwing and twin tammar wallabies (interestingly one 'normal' and one albino): No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au
I hear they just got several new female Quolls. These orphans came from a wild female Quoll which was found dead. I have not heard what she died of.
Went to Featherdale today for the first time in probably a decade (maybe more!). I can't comment on if anything has changed as I literally don't remember anything from my previous visit, but I would like to say that the collection of birds is especially impressive and the sheer number of exhibits took me by surprise. I noted that the raptor and owl collection included the following species: -barking owl -lesser sooty owl -sooty owl -masked owl -barn owl -eastern grass owl -southern boobook owl -powerful owl -rufous owl -brahminy kite -nankeen kestrel -grey goshawk (white goshawk morph) -black breasted buzzard -black kite -whistling kite -peregrine falcon -little eagle -wedge-tailed eagle -white-bellied sea eagle Species noted in the reptile house include: -pig-nosed turtle/splendid tree frog -black-headed python -red-bellied black snake -centralian carpet python/central bearded dragon/centralian bluetongue lizard -Collett's snake -inland taipan -woma python -sand goanna (Gould's monitor) -mulga snake -common death adder -brown tree snake -rough-scaled python -broad-headed snake -tiger snake -Merten's water monitor -carpet python -perenti -blotched bluetongue lizard/diamond python (also some exterior exhibits that I forgot to note down and saltwater crocodile, lace monitor and sawshell turtle located elsewhere within the park) The only exotics on display are blue and gold macaw (held in two cages), sun conure (held in two cages), (Luzon) bleeding heart pigeon and white-bibbed ground dove. EDIT: There is a bit of news(!): No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au
I was at Featherdale too - we may have bumped into each other at some point... I was the daggy person with the camera with the big white lens on it... *grin* There are some Rufous Owls, and some Nankeen Kites (one pair has a chick) - although the area with the Nankeens was blocked off to allow the new Jabiru they received yesterday to settle. The exterior reptile exhibits are populated with bluetongue lizards and turtles... and don't forget the really big reptile... Ngukuur the saltwater crocodile. Did you get good photos Jabiru96? Seeing as I was made redundant the week before Christmas, I put in an application to volunteer at Featherdale yesterday... fingers crossed! Time for a career change methinks... I want to be a zookeeper... only throwing 30 years of IT experience out the window, but who wants to do a job they loathe, yes? T.
We did bump into each other (you were the lady handing the wedge-tailed eagle a stick haha?)!. I was the (handsome) young man you talked to in front of the peregrine falcon . Of course I forgot the saltwater crocodile . And the nankeen kestrel and rufous owl . My photos were a bit iffy (doesn't help when you/the animals are standing in the shade and the sun is blazing away! Good luck for your zookeeping endeavours (I also want to be a keeper, starting uni this coming year).
Spike is a funny Wedgie... I think he wants to have a piece of me actually... errr! But I always stop and have a chat with him when I am near his exhibit. If you want a real reaction from a Wedgie, you should see how Ralph at Symbio greets me... she definitely wants to have a piece of me! She starts up a cheeping when she sees me coming, then when I'm near the fence, she flies at it and hits it with her feet, making it push out to within a few inches of my face! Great entertainment for anyone else in the vicinity... lol! My fave raptor at Featherdale is the young female Black Breasted Buzzard in the corner exhibit near the BBQ area (next to the Black Kite pair and opposite the gulls) - I squat down at the fence and she comes down and toddles up the the fence to have a chat... too sweet. The pair of Whistling Kites on the other corner are cool too, I can get one of them to call out now - makes for getting good photos that little trick... *grin* One of the Rufous Owls over the other side of the park has been known to fly over to the fence and check me out too... and the Barking Owl in the first enclosure in the wallaby walkthrough area will bark and growl at me too... The Cassowary near the Crocodile is mad as a cut snake, and will try to attack me through the fence, but all the others will happily gently nibble my palm if I put it up against the fence. I can hand feed the female down the back near the farmyard area too. She's a bit of a piggie and snatches, but they don't have teeth, so it doesn't hurt at all... lol! Hand feeding the Brolga is a little more delicate, as he/she is not very gentle... but sometimes will do a dance for food... As for iffy photos... the more you visit, the more chances you will have to get good photos of the animals... lol! You learn which angles will cut down the glare factor the best and all that sort of stuff... it also helps to have a nice expensive piece of glass attached to your camera... *grin* Best $1800 I've ever spent was on that Canon 100-400mm L lens... T.
Hi guys, Several of our wallabies have had young, including one that is only around the 4 weeks mark. We also are introducing an Alpaca into our farmyard, so next time you are back you can snap a shot or two Cheers, AB
Great! I might be going back next week if it is not too hot (which is probably laughable considering it is Summer) so will be on the lookout.
I should be on duty Wednesday. Last week it was around 34-35 but a really nice breeze across the park made it bearable. We also have a large crowd planned for Australia Day.... Cheers, AlexB
I'll be at Featherdale on Sunday... and most likely at least one day during next week... Look for the dag with the big white lens on her camera, and chatting up animals... *grin* T.
I saw Hank the Alpaca in the farmyard a few weeks ago, but he didn't cope very well with the crowds at the time, so he's being cared for behind the scenes until he's a bit older and won't stress as easily. But the Ferrets have had babies - 2 litters - and they are co-parenting them... they are the cutest little things ever! I have photos too! T.
