It's 48C on front verandah as I write - about 120F - and not many creatures are stirring, apart from the blue wrens who are chattering away in the shade. I did wonder how these 10 gram feathered creature - and other wild birds - cope with extreme temperatures, so I did a bit of reading and discovered they have quite a few strategies for keeping their cool, which you can see here, but the average birdy body temperature is higher than ours at 40C, so they have a 4 degree head start. And yes, you're right. It's been a bit quiet here on the blog so far this year - because of the heat and because the block is very quiet. Things liven up in the evenings, though, as myriad bugs converge on the verandah lights and I find a few new species to add to the arthropods page. Like this rather large and hairy-footed moth - - and, better late than never, a Christmas Beetle (also hairy, I realised). Apparently they are becoming less common. Will try and find out why - it's just not Christmas in Australia without one bouncing off the fly-screen door, is it?
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December 2020
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