Monthly Archives: July 2012

The screams in the forest

Posted on Friday, 27 July 2012 by

Last time I wrote about the silence in the forest on Lord Howe. But at night in the bird-breeding season, it’s a very different story. Mutton birds (flesh-footed shearwaters, Ardenna carneipes) in their thousands (17.5 thousand breeding pairs in 2005 … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travels | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The silence in the forest

Posted on Friday, 20 July 2012 by

Walking along the tracks of Lord Howe Island’s palm forests was a strange experience. All I could hear was the wind through the palm leaves, the sea and the occasional rustle. At home when I hear rustling, it’ll be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Lizards, Molluscs, Spiders, Travels | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Abbey Medieval Festival 2012 (part 4)

Posted on Tuesday, 17 July 2012 by

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here and part 3 is here. Woman’s best friend – her coyote …

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Abbey Medieval Festival 2012 (part 3)

Posted on Sunday, 15 July 2012 by

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Not having a “medieval” or “historical” costume wasn’t a problem. It was interesting seeing the many “fantasy” costumes. This fine wolf had a companion wearing a T-shirt saying “In Dog We Trust”. … Continue reading →

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Abbey Medieval Festival 2012 (part 2)

Posted on Sunday, 15 July 2012 by

Part 1 is here. The SCA hosted a detailed talk about the costumes they were wearing. Seventeen periods were demonstrated, and the costumes are gorgeous, and mostly made by the women themselves.  

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Abbey Medieval Festival 2012 (part 1)

Posted on Sunday, 15 July 2012 by

We enjoyed the Abbey Medieval festival 2011 (which I talked about here and here) so much we thought we’d go again this year. 37,500 people went this time – 10,000 more than last year. We got there 45 minutes before … Continue reading →

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The biggest cicada

Posted on Sunday, 15 July 2012 by

I’d just elbowed my way through hundreds of screaming ankle-biters on school holidays determined to see the Egyptian exhibition at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane last week. The object of my search was not mummies (although there were an awful … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Insects, Travels | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Gull-billed tern

Posted on Tuesday, 3 July 2012 by

I’ve found out about the mysterious fish bone that I talked about in my last post. Go there for an update. ——————————————————————————— I’m a lazy birdwatcher, and don’t strive too hard to add to my “life list”. But when a … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travels | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A small crinoid

Posted on Monday, 2 July 2012 by

I bet I’ve looked in hundreds of rock pools and seen crinoids (feather stars), but just didn’t recognise them. They look like seaweed but are really animals. This one was waving its arms in a decidedly unplant-like manner and wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A mysterious bone

Posted on Sunday, 1 July 2012 by

Found in a rock pool on the rock platform at Flat Rock yesterday … Update from the Queensland Museum; many thanks to Jeff Johnson, manager of the Ichthyology section: The jaw is from an eastern blue groper, Achoerodus viridis. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Fish, The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments