Incredible time lapse footage captures 'week-long feast' in Aussie bush
A couple have captured an 'incredible' scene on a time lapse camera purposefully placed on their rural property. The sped-up footage shows numerous native animals, including honeyeaters, bats and one chunky brushtail possum, enjoying a 'week-long feast' on a uniquely Aussie plant in Dunbogan, south of Port Macquarie in New South Wales.
A total of 10 different species were caught on camera visiting a conservation area on Andy and Nette McCoubrie's land to munch or suckle on the thousands of tiny cream flowers on three tall Xanthorrhoea spikes.
'A variety of hungry visitors, including honeyeaters, gliders, insects and bats, gathered to feed and pollinate nearby grass trees,' the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust posted online on Wednesday. In the video, a young squirrel glider can be seen staring right at the camera as it clutches one of the spikes, while another bent and drooped to the ground after a hungry possum climbed to the top.
'The time lapse footage was taken with loaned monitoring equipment from our Land Libraries project and highlights just how vital this species is to the local ecosystem, especially after fire.'
The Xanthorrhoea's ability to 'resprout and quickly produce flowers after a fire makes them a lifeline for animals living in burnt areas', the organisation said.
White-cheeked honeyeater
Two squirrel gliders — an adult and juvenile
Little wattlebird
Noisy friarbird
Grey-headed flying fox
Common brushtail possum
White-throated treecreeper
Lewin's honeyeater
Rainbow lorikeet
Eastern blossom bat
The presence of the eastern blossom bat, also known as a common blossom bat, has especially excited the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust.
The small nectar feeding bat is reddish-brown in colour and features a very long, thin tongue that has a brush-like tip. They are listed as vulnerable in NSW, according to the state's Office of Environment and Heritage.
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'As their name suggests, blossom bats specialise in blossoms! The extra-long papillae on their tongue, act like the bristles of a paintbrush to aid in the uptake of nectar,' conservation biologist Clancy Hall said in an article posted by the Sunshine Coast Council.
'Their fur also has a unique structure that increases its pollen-carrying capacity. Like their larger megabat relatives, blossom bats perform a very important role in pollinating our native plant species.
'Although there is still a lot to be learnt about the social behaviour of blossom bats, we know that they lead a fairly solitary life and will vigorously defend their feeding grounds.'
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