Small Wonders
A Stroll along the Fence
I had planned to photograph cattle egrets in a paddock, but the birds were not complying. Despite my stealthy approach, they all flew off before I had even raised the camera. So I pretended I wasn’t interested in them at all. Instead, I was wielding this ridiculously heavy telephoto lens to stalk insects and spiders in the weeds along the fence line.
(I must do something about the weeds.)
(Not today, though. It’s raining.)
(In the ‘dry’ season.)
The thickets of tall grass and flower stalks are complex habitats. Inhabited by insects, spiders and fungi (plus lizards, snakes, rats and cane toads), they house residents at every level — from the roots to the flowers. Visitors wander in and out.
On sunny days, Lynx spiders (Oxyopidae) sit in the open. Recognisable by the long spines on their legs, these creatures are ambush hunters, waiting for prey to approach.
