Do you remember how I told you before of some of the natural history we see when we go to Moorunde Wildlife Reserve to work? I called them our rewards for the work we do. Here are a few more seen by various people.
Watch a string of caterpillars in a procession across the ground.
Work away at hammering stakes into the ground and look up to see a kangaroo about 20 feet away, watching you. You walk a little way to get your camera and there is another curious kangaroo looking at you, too.
After a shower of rain, sit quietly and watch a flock of wood-swallows, on the ground feeding.
Turn over a piece of bark· and discover two large iridescent green beetles.
Find a gecko in an old log. Hold it in your hand while the camera is prepared and find that this small, indignant lizard is trying to defend itself against a human giant by biting you. Quite ineffective of course, but he tried.
As you walk along, see the numerous wolf spiders popping back into the security of their underground homes.
Sit around the campfire at night and look at the stars, much brighter when not in competition with the city lights.
Walk quietly on to a wombat warren and disturb a mother wombat and her baby. The mother dashes for her burrow but the bewildered baby walks straight towards you and you are able to pick him up and cuddle him before putting him back with his mother.
Why don’t you come up when there is a working bee and see if you can add to our list of enjoyable experiences in the field of natural history?
Berna Clements
Natural History, November 1979