Trevor's Birding

Sign in the Cranbourne Botanic gardens Victoria

The sign above was one of several that greeted us as we drove into through the entrance to the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens south east of Melbourne. Fair enough – after all, this is the lizards’ home and we are the visitors. It distresses me when driving our country roads here in Australia when I see dead lizards on the road. It seems to happen far too often. Add to that the huge death toll that accounts for thousands of birds, kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and other animals and you have a sickening statistic.

Some of these deaths are unavoidable; some people would not even be aware that they ran over a lizard or hit a small bird, for example. What is far worse, of course, are those people with twisted minds and no care for our environment who deliberately kill our wildlife for the sheer thrill of it. Perhaps what we need is some nasty kangaroos with the talent to drive a vehicle in order to even up the score a little.

A little more disconcerting was the sign below. We did not see any snakes but it was good to have the warning. Some years ago I experienced a Tiger Snake (very poisonous) slither over my shoe. It is not an experience I am in a hurry to repeat. This is their home and I will always attempt to give them the freedom to enjoy their territory unhindered.

And the birds?

You will have to scroll back through the posts over the last few days to read about them, and to enjoy the photos of birds I posted.

Sign in the Cranbourne Botanic gardens Victoria

Sign in the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, Victoria

2007 Victorian trip report #7

During our short visit earlier this year to the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens near Melbourne our primary objective was to look at the native plants and wildflowers. I was also on the lookout for any birds we saw, taking photos wherever possible. We were a little disappointed with the range of plants in flower but still found enough to be of interest. Likewise the bird life, although a little quiet, was still quite good.

As an added bonus we saw some animals as well. We were amused by the sign shown in the photo above as we drove through the entrance gates and on towards the picnic grounds. It brought back memories of a visit to this area many years ago when the gardens were first being established. On one of our walks that day we came across a Southern Brown Bandicoot wandering along the path. This was the first time we had seen this mammal in the wild. We were so excited that we forgot to take any photos of this interesting creature hopping around our feet. I didn’t make the same mistake this time. I actually had to be careful I didn’t drive over the critter as we left the picnic grounds. Lovely.

Southern Brown Bandicoot, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens