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The helpful and benignly addictive world of INaturalist.
The White-banded Hunter Hawkmoth, Theretra oldenlandiae The Navajo recognized and remembered over 700 different types of insects, to three levels of classification.1 Most of these insects did not have a practical ‘use’ for the Navajo (e.g. food). The vast majority of...
Spiky grubs, tiny bats and the giant stinging tree
Meet the punk caterpillar who's willing to take on some of Australia's most fearsome plants (the Gympie Stinger and Shiny-leaved Stinging Tree), and spends part of its life masquerading as a bat. In recent years it's also begun to devour the Giant Stinging Tree, in...
Recent journal pages, and why a fountain pen is my new best friend
Ink sketch created with TWSBI eco pens I love drawing with ink for many reasons (see note below for more details). But the disposable nature of many ink pens has never felt good to me. I enjoy drawing with dip pens, but their nibs have to be cleaned and replaced...
A Tale of Three Scrubwrens
Australia has an enormous variety of little brown birds. Some of these are scrubwrens, of the genus Sericornis (The name ‘Sericornis’ refers to the soft, silky plumage of these birds). Three species of Sericornis live in the forests of Lamington National Park, near my...
Introducing the nature scroll: a compact, lightweight way to record your next journey
Nature scroll action in the rainforest! I really like to enhance my travel with nature journaling. Be it a bushwalk, or a journey to another state or country, I always find that journaling enriches my experience and creates a unique memento. Treasured memories from...
Free colour-in sheet: Small rainforest birds
This colour-in page features some small birds that hang out in the rainforest where I live. Plus a cuckoo waiting to lay its eggs in their nest when it gets a chance. The plant is Neolitsea dealbata, also called 'Doe's Ears'. Can you see why? Download the high...
Beechmont Nature Journal, February 2021
He waits on the bright green grass, alone. As I approach, he walks quickly away (wood ducks don’t waddle). Dark head held high, a cautious eye looking back, watching my every step. I walk by, and he settles back down on the grass, waiting. Wood ducks are grass-eaters,...
How do you describe a forest? (or woodland, shrubland, grassland…)
Forests are hard to describe. So much complexity, so much thriving life. Colours, light and forms change with the seasons, and over time. How to fit all that into words or pictures? The ways to describe a forest are infinite, and each approach will also be influenced...
A daily drawing challenge
About 2 weeks ago I embarked on a daily drawing challenge. That is, to draw something from nature every day. Why nature? Because spending time in nature makes me happy! Why drawing? Because it makes me slow down, and discover wonders by observing closely. Why a daily...
An early morning adventure, featuring a very good boy
One of the lovely things about living in Beechmont is that we never really know what we're going to find on our early morning dog walk...
Transitions
Recently, a friend told me that she was going to transition. From being a she to becoming a he. It’s something she’d wanted since puberty. I could hear the relief in her voice, and a happy anticipation of a new, precious and exciting life ahead. But many people find...
‘It’s made me see nature in a different way then what i did before.’
Panel from the opening cartoon of 'Take this Book for a Walk' Ever had one of those days when you feel like you're swimming through mud, and getting nowhere? Or maybe feeling bewildered at all the strange things happening in the world, and exhausted by it all? This is...
Tales of Science
How to draw a grassland Part 3: What lies beneath?
Go for a wander in the grasslands of the Riverina and you might notice an abundance of holes in the ground. If you see critters scurrying in and out of the holes (like the meat ants in the picture above) at least you know what type of beast lives in them. But often...
How to draw a grassland, Part two: Ecology in pictures
Today's post gives you another sneak preview of the Riverina Grassland colouring book, and also describes the collaborative process I use to tell ecological stories through art. One of the things I love about my work are the discussions I have with collaborators about...
How to draw a grassland – Part One
Matt Cameron from the New South Wales Office of Environment has commissioned me to create a colouring book about the Riverina Grasslands, which are found in south central New South Wales and northern Victoria, and are home to many specialised plant and animal species....
Books: Bird Minds by Gisela Kaplan
If they were primates, we’d say they ‘had culture’ ‘were intelligent’ and ‘had complex cognitive abilities’. But as birds, these qualities are largely overlooked. And, what’s more, they are Australian birds. Australia, the arse-end of anywhere, that odd country of...
A fruitful partnership between trees and birds
Many rainforest trees begin their life in the beak of a wompoo fruit dove. And wompoos find it hard to survive without rainforest. This partnership is among the latest in a long series of trysts between rainforest trees and fruit-eating birds. A fruit and its seeds...
Sneaky snippers avoid a sticky end.
The other night, I met Mr Curly on my way to the Indian restaurant. He was hiding under a fig-leaf by the footpath, trying to look inconspicuous. But it was the shape of the figleaf that gave him away. Or what was left of it. You see, Mr Curly eats highly poisonous...
Nature journaling
An early morning adventure, featuring a very good boy
One of the lovely things about living in Beechmont is that we never really know what we're going to find on our early morning dog walk...
Transitions
Recently, a friend told me that she was going to transition. From being a she to becoming a he. It’s something she’d wanted since puberty. I could hear the relief in her voice, and a happy anticipation of a new, precious and exciting life ahead. But many people find...
‘It’s made me see nature in a different way then what i did before.’
Panel from the opening cartoon of 'Take this Book for a Walk' Ever had one of those days when you feel like you're swimming through mud, and getting nowhere? Or maybe feeling bewildered at all the strange things happening in the world, and exhausted by it all? This is...
Reflecting on place
How much do you know about the place where you live? No doubt you know where to buy food and other essentials. Perhaps you know where to catch the bus / tram / train, or the quickest way to drive to work or school. But what about the landform you live on? In this week of reconciliation, how much do you know about the humans who first lived in this place? And what about the plants and animals who share your place? Are they recent arrivals, or are they the modern descendants of very ancient lineages? Use this activity to reflect on your place.
How a call from Dubbo shook me out of my corona-daze
We're all a bit tired after packing and sending all of those books! So how are you going in this strange time of COVID-19? Feeling overwhelmed, or embracing a slow-down? Missing friends and family, but perhaps also discovering new ways to connect? Out of work and...
Beechmont Nature Journal Autumn 2020
A family of yellow-tailed black-cockatoos have been a steady presence over the last few weeks. Mum, dad and a baby, it seems. The baby is often whining - in its loud, creaky way - for something. Is it food, is it just attention, who knows? We see them sailing...
Forest portraits
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Wildlife illustration
Return of the bellbirds?
Bellbirds are cute, they make beautiful chiming noises, but they also kill trees. And now they’re back at Binna Burra, after a long absence. What will happen next?
Competition winners, and nature journaling in the rainforest
Thank you to everyone who entered the ‘name the species on the ESA 2018 bag design’ competition. Many high-quality entries were received, and I was most impressed with the species ID skills of the entrants. Special mentions go to: Eve Hayden and Gregg Muller for...
Recent drawings and a new cartoon
When I started drawing I was fascinated by line more than anything else. In the last few weeks I've been reminding myself of the importance of tone - lights and darks, and how the contrast of these can bring drama to a picture. I took some photos of the gorgeous wet...
If life sends you lemons, butterflies may follow
We've always had a lemon tree, in every place that we've lived. "The most useful fruit tree you can have," says Ray. But the other great thing about cultivating lemons is that a beautiful butterfly tends to follow. Caterpillars of the Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly...
Winter wanderings
Winter field trips can be cold but exhilarating. This winter I had the good fortune to travel down to northern Victoria and southern New South Wales, to reacquaint myself with those landscapes under grey subdued skies. The trip was half work and half pleasure,...
The Rainforest Birds of Gondwana
Here are the rainforest birds of Gondwana – starting with the top of the tree canopy, and ending with the forest floor: The call of the Pied Currawong echoes through the forest, loud musical wails and ringing notes, from way up on high. A swish of black-and-white...