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Monthly Archives: July 2011
Death on the beaches
South Ballina Beach is a wild stretch of coastline, especially in winter. It takes a bit of effort to get there – over the Richmond River by ferry – so fewer people go there. It’s mostly frequented by beach fishermen … Continue reading
Cane toad strikes out for New Zealand!
Not content with conquering the north of Australia, and slowly making its way to the south, the cane toad (Bufo marinus) seems to have set its sights on our neighbour across the ditch, New Zealand. I’d seen the silver gulls … Continue reading
Steve lives! (part 2)
“When I visited the ‘Steve Irwin Zoo’, now ‘Australia Zoo’, I was confronted by the tigers. My reaction was to think what have they to do with preserving etc. Australian mammals. A short while later I rethought it and realised … Continue reading
Steve lives!
“I always had the impression that he was all a big bluff and a publicity hound.” “A lunatic!” “Rolling of the eyes and changing channels.” “All of us thought he was over the top.” “I gave him more respect as … Continue reading
Relishing the reptiles
Bear with me before I get to the reptiles. There’s a bit of backstory. I had heard on the radio on Saturday morning that Ballina Marine Rescue was holding a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training morning, which members of the public … Continue reading
The weeds and the wilderness
Once again, I’ve been proofreading the thirdly (is that a word? – not quarterly but three times a year) newsletter of the Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare group. The editor does a great job of pulling together or writing articles on … Continue reading
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A small selection of bivalves
I’m not really ‘clued up’ on bivalves, but there are a lot on the rock platform, washed up in pieces on the beach and even living under the sand or mud (razor clams, ouch!), so I probably should get to … Continue reading
The trouble with common names
Whenever I see an advertisement for the Cunjevoi restaurant, I have to stop and think twice. The first impression is not exactly tasty – the cunjevoi (Pyura stolonifera) is a salty, tough animal (a tunicate) that lives in colonies on … Continue reading
Washed-up sepia
On Boulder Beach, not surprisingly filled with boulders and pebbles, there’s a mass wash-up of Sepia rozella, a cuttlefish taken in commercial quantities. They grow to about 14 cm, according to Norman and Reid’s A Guide to Squid, Cuttlefish and … Continue reading
