HANGING OUT WITH THE FRUIT BATS

Thousands of fruit bats (Little Red Flying Foxes) came to visit Coco Creek in February 2008. They stayed for a month.

In the daytime they would hang upside down in the tall river oaks, squealing and squabbling amongst themselves. At dusk they would fly off silently into Wollemi National Park to feed on the nectar and pollen of flowering Bloodwood trees. Then before dawn they would fly back again to their roost at Coco Creek.

I tried to count them as they flew off one night, there were about ten thousand of them. After a month they all disappeared off somewhere else, don’t know where.

Flying foxes have a good sense of direction and they follow along water courses to find their way around.

Their favourite food is pollen and nectar from eucalpyt trees, although they sometimes do raid fruit orchards.

Do you know another name for a flying fox roost?

EASTER BUNNIES!

It's Easter and that mean lots of hot cross buns and chocolate! And sometimes you'll even find chocolate shaped in the form of a rabbit. Why? Because Easter is a celebration of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, a time when plants bloom and baby animals are born. Rabbits have lots and lots of babies so they are a symbol of spring and fertility and Easter time.

Rabbits are an introduced species in Australia but they like to drink at running streams too. They've got lovely soft fur.

What do you think we should have as a symbol of Easter in Australia, given that it is Autumn time for us?

Are you having an Easter egg hunt in your backyard? If so, let us know how many eggs you collect!

YABBY-DABBY-DOO

When you go yabbying you should always throw back yabbies with eggs or small yabbies. It helps preserve the species as they can breed or grow up to be caught again or feed a platypus. A yabbie's eggs are small black spheres underneath the tail. The yabbies will be trying to curl up their tail to protect their eggs.

1. What is the minimum size you should catch a yabby at?

2. Where do yabbies go when a dam or creek dries up?