I don’t really need any excuse for posting another story about two of my favourite subjects, the Yellow-footed Antechinus and the Rainbow Bee-eater – so here goes.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been observing a pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters nesting on the edge of the Sandon State Forest. A feature of all visits to the site has been watching Yellow-footed Antechinus hunting across the surrounding terrain. At times I’ve seen four different individuals simultaneously – with one twenty metres up, running upside down along a horizontal Grey Box branch, while another scampered over my feet as I sat quietly with the camera.
On the visit recorded below I watched the reaction of the bee-eaters as an antechinus ventured near the nesting tunnel. Both adults swooped the tiny dasyurid repeatedly until it retreated to a safer distance. I have witnessed this behaviour previously and suspect a common cause of breeding failure is predation of eggs and nestlings by antechinus.
Yellow-footed Antechinus, Sandon State Forest, 4th January 2018
Rainbow Bee-eater, Sandon State Forest, 4th January 2018
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Natural Newstead 
Never enough of pics of the fascinating and cute Antechinus, Geoff. I’ve enjoyed them all, thank you.
We enjoy your posts Geoff. So interesting the nature you capture.
Happy New Year.
You’ve taken some magnificent shots of both the antechinus and the bee-eaters.
Hi Geoff
I doubted your suggestion that the antechinus would prey on birds but i have checked a number of references and sure enough small birds are listed as potential prey. Interestingly they eat the inside of their prey leaving the skin turned inside out.
Allan