Occupied

No matter how many times we check nest-boxes installed around the district, it still comes as a thrill to find a box with a furry or feathered tenant inside. There have been many previous posts on this blog about nest-box occupants and such posts are invariably well received – cute photos of curled-up critters no doubt help.

So we thought it was worth posting another photo of a huddle of Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) found in the nest-box on our property the other day – one of two boxes occupied by gliders, with two more containing an abandoned egg, egg-shells and stray feathers, probably from Crimson Rosellas.

We also checked some of the boxes installed after the 2009 fires by the Flowerdale Work Engine in Coonans Reserve. Using the Landcare nest-box camera we discovered Sugar Gliders in two boxes, but the photo images were poor. A surprise was in store at another box designed for parrots when a creature, suspected to be a Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), decided to grab the camera probe. After a brief tug-of-war, accompanied by some angry hissing (by the possum, not us!) we decided to abandon the idea of getting a photo.