Archives for July 2014

A battle to save Australia’s last mainland colony of fairy penguins is being fought on the beaches of Manly in Sydney. Where once there were probably tens of thousands of penguins around Australia’s south-eastern and southern coastlines only about 60 penguins survive in a few coves at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. I took a time-out from a family reunion in Sydney recently to visit the threatened colony, and draw comparisons with the similar, but less bloody, struggle to … [Read more...] about Penguin issue in black and white

In the world of birds, lazy bird-watchers describe small and nondescript birds that are hard to identify as LBBs, or little bird birds. I was surprised to learn recently that in the mysterious and arcane world of mycology, fungi fanatics have their own term for similarly coloured, sized and hard to identify species – LBMs or little brown mushrooms. The term in fact does not relate to a range of species but to just one group or genus,  Tubaria. This contains one of … [Read more...] about The beating heart of the forest

THE hot-chip brigade – the gulls that try to steal our fast food on the waterfront – might be viewed as a nuisance but they are a vital indicator of the heath of the human environment. They are certainly not “rats with wings”, to use a pejorative description used by some members of the community who are not gull fans. Such is the regard that birders give gulls that a dedicated team of Birdlife Tasmania members each year conducts a survey of gull numbers far and wide to … [Read more...] about Gulls enjoy the good life

I camped out on the Domain at dusk last month to witness the amazing Dark Mofo light show spreading across the city – only to find the birds putting on a winter spectacle of their own. Birds were definitely not on the agenda after I lingered outside the Aquatic Centre after a keep-fit swim to see the Articulated Intersect art installation from a vantage point high above the city. I was a little early, and with time to kill I watched the sun set behind Mt Wellington, the dark … [Read more...] about Rosellas join the winter feast