Australian nature meets science and art. By Paula Peeters
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 … Continued
A pair of fairy wrens are in our garden – their calls are shrill, sweet and curiously penetrating. And for the first time ever, I think they might stay. This is terribly exciting. When we moved here eight years ago, … Continued
I was sitting on a nearly-deserted Bribie Island beach last week, with only sand, sea, and bushland all around. An osprey was hunting nearby, and a few terns drifted past. The tide was up, and we’d just been for a … Continued
Over the last couple of months four species of egret have been frequenting Dowse Lagoon. Sometimes I see them together in the same muddy corner near the bird-hide. They are the great egret Ardea alba, plumed or intermediate egret … Continued
A recent visitor to our house – a keen naturalist from southern Australia – was startled the first time he heard the sound of an Asian House gecko, and was even more surprised that a gecko was responsible for the … Continued