Is it a bird? Is it a… possum?

A few nights ago we were sitting in our lounge room reading. The sliding door leading out to the back veranda and back yard was open because it was a pleasant evening. Our attention was suddenly attracted by a loud hissing from nearby outside.

I immediately thought it might be a nocturnal bird, something like an owl for example. I grabbed the torch and within a minute had located the source of the noise. Two Brush-tailed Possums were in a tree near the house having a territory demarcation dispute, hence the loud hissing.

I raced inside for my camera and clicked off half a dozen shots before they disappeared out of range up separate trees. I was very disappointed that the photos were very blurry. I need more practice taking photos at night, I think. This is the best of them:

Out of focus photo of a Brush-tailed Possum in our garden

You can see a much better photo of a Brush-tailed Possum here.