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Is Queensland's rainforest burning?
Binna Burra Lodge's Steve NoakesThe transcript of my story in The Weekend Australian, 28-29 September, 2019. Link to published version.False alarm: the great rainforest fire that wasn't.A frightening...
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Yandina Creek Wetland: September 2019 survey
Australian Pelican over the wetlandSteve Popple and I conducted an afternoon and early evening survey of Yandina Creek Wetland for BirdLife Australia on September 28. This was the first BLA nocturnal...
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On fire, feathers and rainforest: more on Queensland's bushfire emergency
Rufous Whistler: victim of Bribie Island fire: Leisl BornHundreds of birds dead; fire in rainforest at Iron Range; the fate of the Sunshine Coast ground parrots; more debate about the Gold Coast...
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Rufous Scrub-birds and Border Ranges National Park
Rufous Scrub-birdI finally managed to achieve a long-standing aim to photograph a Rufous Scrub-bird. I found a vocal pair with a territory spanning a walking track in Border Ranges National Park during...
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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 1, Warwick to Deepwater
Diamond FiretailWe embarked on a seven-week road trip on October 21, 2019 through NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. First stop was the Sandy Creek Pub, a quaint little hotel a few kilometres out of Warwick....
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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-east Aust PART 2, Warrumbungles to Eskdale
Black-eared CuckooFollowing our visit to Deepwater (following post) we headed south to Tamworth for an overnight stay, then on to Warrumbungle National Park for two nights at Blackman Camp. We last...
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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-East Aust Part 3 – Glenrowan in Victoria
Turquoise ParrotFollowing our visit to Eskdale (next post) we continued on to the northern Victorian town of Glenrowan, famed both as the birthplace of Ned Kelly and as the place where he finally met...
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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-East Aust Part 4 – Devonport to Port Arthur
Swift ParrotAfter visiting Glenrowan we continued south to Port Melbourne to board, with caravan in tow, the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for an overnight crossing of Bass Strait. We had a comfortable...
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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 5 - Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic
Southern Royal AlbatrossFrom Port Arthur I joined a pelagic trip on November 9. I'd messed up the dates for another trip organised by Paul Brooks that I'd been booked on so was fortunate that Bernie...
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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 6 – Bruny Island
Forty-spotted PardaloteDuring our last evening at Port Arthur I saw Eastern Barred Bandicoot but managed just poor images in the by now predictably dreary, damp and unexpectedly (for November) cold...
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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 7, Hobart and North Tasmania
Tasmanian Masked OwlAfter leaving Bruny Island we headed to Hobart for a few days of mostly relaxing, sight-seeing and catching up with friends, setting up the caravan in the city showground. The odd...
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Lockyer Valley December 2019: Little Curlew, Australian Pratincole, Freckled...
Little CurlewThis week I headed out to Atkinsons Dam in the hope that a flock of six Little Curlew that turned up there in October was still about. It was a depressing sight. The main dam was empty,...
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Yandina Creek Wetland Survey December 2019
Great Egret & Yellow-billed SpoonbillThe latest BirdLife Australia survey of Yandina Creek Wetland for Unitywater was undertaken on Saturday December 21 by myself, Steve Grainger and Russell...
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Winding up 2019: Horsfield's Bushlark, Plum-headed Finch, Oriental Cuckoo on...
Oriental Cuckoo hepatic phaseA bit of birding fun to wind up 2019. An early morning run to Finland Road, Pacific Paradise, proved to be productive, as is so often the case with this site. I located...
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BirdLife Australia Sunshine Coast Pelagic Trip January 2020
Tahiti PetrelWe departed at 6.35am on January 19, 2020 from the new Sunshine Coast Afloat dock on the Mooloolah River, exiting the river mouth 20 minutes later. A mild northerly wind of 10-12 knots was...
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Death by Barbed Wire
Dead Baillon's CrakeThis week a Baillon's Crake, an uncommon species, was found hanging dead from the top strand of a barbed wire fence near Bli Bli on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It clearly was...
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New Zealand race of Shining Bronze Cuckoo in South-East Queensland
Female Shining Bronze Cuckoo race lucidus, Sunshine CoastThe New Zealand-breeding Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcites ludiduslucidus, appears to be much more numerous in south-east Queensland than is...
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Rescue Mission for Endangered Eastern Bristlebird
Eastern BristlebirdIn a sign of what we are rapidly coming to appreciate is the “new normal” of severe climatic events in Australia, an extraordinary operation is underway to rescue a remnant...
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West Coolum Wetland to be Protected
West Coolum WetlandThe West Coolum Wetland on Queensland's Sunshine Coast is to be protected and managed as a nature reserve in a significant win for the environment. The decision by the Sunshine Coast...
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Twitching Sunshine Coast Kentish Plover & Asian Gull-billed Tern
Kentish PloverIt's been a good week for twitching around the Sunshine Coast. Jane Cooksley made a fantastic discovery late yesterday afternoon when she found a Kentish Plover at Noosa. The bird was on...
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