Monthly Archives: October 2011

Two little beauties

Posted on Sunday, 30 October 2011 by

I used to work in the Marine Invertebrate section of the South Australian Museum, and the curator and his assistants (including me) would go on field trips to get specimens, especially for our marine tank. This was not on display … Continue reading →

Posted in Molluscs, The sea | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Thoughtlessness can cost lives

Posted on Friday, 28 October 2011 by

I’d wanted to get photos of our local flying foxes, but not quite under these circumstances. I really hope it was not a malicious act, and I’m going to assume it was just thoughtlessness, when someone decided to light a … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land | Tagged | 7 Comments

Field notes

Posted on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 by

I’ve just finished reading “Field Notes on Science and Nature“, edited by Michael Canfield, and enjoyed it tremendously – it’s well-written, accessible and inspiring. I’ve been keeping field notebooks since 1995 and have not thought much of them until now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 1 Comment

Bundjalung National Park – bloomin’ lovely

Posted on Saturday, 22 October 2011 by

Bundjalung National Park takes its name from the Aboriginal nation whose country this area. It’s coastal heath. We recently explored the northern-most part of the park – see this map. There’s a wild headland (Goanna Headland, an Aboriginal special place) … Continue reading →

Posted in Plants, Travels | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Fighting or fornicating?

Posted on Thursday, 20 October 2011 by

Friends Peter and Linda took these shots of two red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus) in action on their property in south-east Queensland. These snakes are highly venemous  to people but not particularly aggressive, prefering to slither quickly away. Peter took … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Snakes | 3 Comments

Ooom, ooom, ooom, ooom

Posted on Tuesday, 18 October 2011 by

That’s the sound I heard, softly, as I walked from the beach to the campsite at dusk at Woody Head on Saturday. I recognised it as a tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) – we hear them on our property, the male … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travels | Tagged | 2 Comments

Having a whale of a time at Woody

Posted on Sunday, 16 October 2011 by

I’ve posted about whales before, but it’s such a thrill seeing them that I’m going to do it again.

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged | 4 Comments

The first koel

Posted on Friday, 14 October 2011 by

No, not a typo in a Christmas carol, but the common koel, Eudynamys scolopacea. These cuckoos arrive in northern and eastern Australia from Indonesia and New Guinea to breed in spring, and I heard the first one last night. And … Continue reading →

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In the wetlands, among the paperbarks

Posted on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 by

A lot of leaves had been ripped off trees and scattered on the ground by the recent Ballina hail storm, but luckily there were a lot left on high. An Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) and an eastern water dragon … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Lizards | Tagged | Leave a comment

Be wary of hairy!

Posted on Sunday, 9 October 2011 by

The cup moth (family Limacodidae) is so-named because its cocoons resemble cups, as shown by the set I found on the Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) up the back of the property. The caterpillars have already left these cocoons. Cup … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects | Tagged | 1 Comment