Mui Wo Python

I caught this beauty last year.   All afternoon the dogs next door had been making a right old racket  running and barking and generally making it very obvious something was not right.   I had a look about a couple of times but never saw the snake.   By the evening the dogs had quietened down and it was the turn of our neighbours to start making a racket.    The python had ended up on a concrete yard and found not find its way out.    Someone had brought out a rice sack that was obviously far too small to put it in and none was brave enough to go near it.   I grabbed a wheel bin and laid it on its side next to the by now very pissed off poor snake's head.   Luckily it went in side and when enough of it was in I stood the bin up and the snake was safe and out of harms way.   Eventually it was carted away by the cops.   Hopefully it was released back into the wild and did not end up in some police canteen's hot pot.

The swallows are back

Summer must be on the way as there are swallows and swifts zooming all over the place.   They were not here yesterday.   I wonder if they are en route to somewhere else or have reached the end of their journey?

More bugs and lizards at Man Kok Tsui

Lantern Bug

Lantern Bug

Lantern Bug

Paris Peacock Butterfly

Gecko Chinensis

Gecko Chinensis

Spring is definitely in the air.   A magnificent buzzard was patrolling the hillsides, occasionally calling and then dropping down like a stone.   Not sure if it was displaying / trying to impress a mate but it was great to watch.  Alas no photos though.

The butterflies were definitely out in force.  These two certainly had things on their mind as they got down to business in the bushes.  The photo does not really do their colours justice.   Brilliant greens.

Meanwhile down in the fruit trees we discovered the branches to be literally crawling with these horny critters. Apparently folklore dictates anyone bitten by one of these will die unless they have sex within 24 hours.   Will report back tomorrow.   In fact they do not bite and the strange shape is their mouth that they use to suck spa from lychee and longan trees.

Then my instant tattoo appeared.   The gecko was lucky to live as I first thought I had a cockroach on my leg or some other less attractive beasty and just managed to stop myself swatting it.

Spiders from Mars

This little fellow was sitting in our water jug in the kitchen this afternoon. An odd spider as it only had 5 legs. It was like that when we found it honestly!

The picture's a little blurred as it was taken using an old mobile phone camera. The spider is in the bottom of a 1 litre measuring jug.