Update 12th Apr 2021

With the exception of Marcel, who hasn't visited for a while (see later), all of the brushtails are visiting regularly and in good health.

Shane is growing up.

Shane - 25^th Mar 2021

Shane is no longer back-riding but still mostly keeps close to Sasha. Occasionally they sleep in different areas in the garage but usually they share a sleeping spot.

Sasha (left) and Shane (right) sleeping on top of Box 7 - 15^th Mar 2021

Sasha (left) and Shane (right) - 19^th Mar 2021

Sasha (left) and Shane (right) - 24^th Mar 2021

The possums have started using the boxes again. Usually Sasha and Shane will be seen in Box 7, Wink in Box 3 or 4 and Pax in Box 1.

Marcel has not been seen for two weeks. He does often leave for days at a time, but this is a bit longer than he usually leaves for. Hopefully, he's alright. One thing that gives me hope is that there have been no other male brushtails seen in the area, and I think if anything had happened to Marcel, other males would be eagerly looking to take over his territory. With three female possums, plenty of trees, several nest-boxes and free food, this must surely be a sought-after location.

Marcel - 29^th Mar 2021

Wink may have a baby in the pouch.

Wink - 8^th Apr 2021

Pax keeps apart from the other possums. Recently, she was angrily chased away by Wink. She normally stays in the Camphor Laurel when she visits, which is less convenient for both humans and possums, but is some distance from the main feeding area and prevents the other possums from being offended by her presence.

Pax - 8^th Apr 2021

A mother ringtail was seen a few times, sometimes with one baby and sometimes with two. Mostly, she was too far away to photograph, but I did manage to get this shot.

Mother and baby ringtail - 10^th Mar 2021

I think this photo may also be of her. She looks young and these may be her first babies.

Female ringtail - 24^th Mar 2021

There was also a male ringtail - possibly Omar - who came close to the house one night. He seemed to be intently following a scent and ignored me. I heard him make a clicking sound at one stage - like make brushtails do but very much quieter. This is called "buccal clicking" and is a placating sound made when a male possum want to get close to a female (either for mating or just to access food that's near the female). I have only ever heard brushtails making this sound. 

A baby ringtail has also been seen near the house by itself. This is probably the one which was seen after the big storm. It's difficult to tell from the photo below, but this ringtail is considerably smaller than an adult ringtail and could even be the same one that's back-riding in the photo above (bearing in mind that the photo above was taken a month before the one below).

Baby ringtail - 9^th Apr 2021

There have been more brush turkey chicks seen, including another pair who are probably not the same two mentioned in the last entry because one was significantly bigger than the other. It looked like this pair were sticking close together and looking out for each other. The older one was leading the way and the younger one was running along behind.

I don't have photos of any of them; usually when I see one I go inside to get a camera and when I return it's disappeared. Sometimes they're still visible but too far away to photograph and I don't want to go chasing them around the garden.