Tag Archives: Lord Howe Island

Video of Lord Howe Island stick insect hatching

Posted on Wednesday, 29 August 2012 by

I was captivated by the very-rare-but-getting-much-less-so Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) when I visited the island, and wrote about it here. New Scientist recently posted a wonderful video of a LHI stick insect hatching. You can see it … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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Sea cucumbers, stars and urchins on Lord Howe

Posted on Friday, 2 December 2011 by

I was going to call this post “the pentaradials”, because sea cucumbers, sea stars, brittle stars and sea urchins all have similar body plans (fivefold symmetry), but decided I was trying too hard. It’s a good excuse to group them … Continue reading →

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More Lord Howe Island shells

Posted on Friday, 2 December 2011 by

Continuing from my previous post … There’s a cone, yellow and black when alive but white and black when dead and washed up – the Hebrew cone (Conus ebraeus). It chases down, kills and eats marine worms …

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Shells in Lord Howe Island rock pools

Posted on Wednesday, 30 November 2011 by

Lord Howe has many marine species similar to those in other parts of the Pacific – the eggs and larvae get washed along in currents from other places, and survive to adulthood if they don’t get eaten or if they … Continue reading →

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Lord Howe Island birds (part 3)

Posted on Sunday, 27 November 2011 by

Continuing from my previous post … Lord Howe doesn’t have many resident land birds, and the seabirds mostly come to the island only to breed. A summary of the 14 seabird species that breed there is here. Ian Hutton’s book, … Continue reading →

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Lord Howe Island birds (part 2)

Posted on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 by

I posted about LHI birds before, with photos taken by friends Peter and Linda on their visit last year. This time I have a few photos of my own. I’ll just cover some of the land birds this time, and … Continue reading →

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Lord Howe Island turtles

Posted on Sunday, 20 November 2011 by

One of the many exciting things about snorkelling is coming across turtles. It’s strange to see them just resting on the bottom, apparently asleep, when you know they will have to come up to breathe occasionally. I found myself holding … Continue reading →

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Lord Howe Island – the scenic bits

Posted on Thursday, 17 November 2011 by

It’s all scenic bits, especially on those sparkling clear, calm days when the sea is turquoise and the mountains seem to touch the sky. For the “big picture”, here’s an overhead photo courtesy of NASA. The human settlement is the … Continue reading →

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