Stanley, North-West Tasmania - It’s just after sunset and tourists have gathered to see a popular wildlife attraction - penguins emerging from the ocean. Travelling from surf to sand is always a difficult journey for the penguins but in recent years another hazard has emerged to join the menace of dogs, cats and even traffic on roads adjoining penguin colonies. It is the mobile phone. A craze for “selfies” is riding the waves at tourist locations where the penguins are the … [Read more...] about Penguins under pressure from selfie craze
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Barking up the wrong Octopus tree
It started out as a mission to win a bet and turned into a walk to remember in the wild. The bet with a birding friend centred on whether the Octopus Tree on kunanyi/Mount Wellington is a swamp gum or a gum-topped stringybark. Within a half hour or so tramping the Shoobridge Track, the identity of the tree became incidental. It was the rainforest surrounding the tree, and the birds living within its lush and fecund confines that stole the show. To answer the first question … [Read more...] about Barking up the wrong Octopus tree
Green rosella call helps ease a troubled soul
The haunting whistle of a green rosella cut through the early-morning mist. A Bridgewater Jerry had laid a meandering carpet of pure-white cloud across the Derwent and I presumed the rosella had sought higher ground to escape the mist. The rosella, hidden within or behind a line of ornamental fir trees marking the boundary of the Calvary Hospital in Lenah Valley, was out sight but not out of mind. The parrot’s call formed a portal, a link to the natural world although I was … [Read more...] about Green rosella call helps ease a troubled soul
Rat poison victory for birds
People power has been in play to save birds from being poisoned by lethal rodenticides which also have the capacity to kill pets and harm children. Thousands of animal lovers have in recent year been campaigning to have the distribution of a new generation of rat and mice poisons restricted and now they have a cause for celebration. After receiving more than 10,000 submissions from Birdlife Australia supporters along with members of other wildlife organisations, the … [Read more...] about Rat poison victory for birds
Yellowthroats a blur of radiant beauty
A yellow-throated honeyeater was making the most of fine, warm weather during the autumnal equinox. Instinct honed over the eons told the yellowthroat that equal parts night and day meant winter was approaching. Although the first day of March is on our calendars the official start of autumn, Mother Nature has other ideas. Autumn starts on the equinox, on March 21 this year, and before this date we already had a taste of winter with two exceptionally cold days prompted by … [Read more...] about Yellowthroats a blur of radiant beauty