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Winding up 2020 Sunshine Coast Big Year with Black Bittern & Pectoral Sandpiper
The Covid-19 pandemic extinguished 2020 travel plans for Africa and Europe. We had local birding for entertainment, however, as well as an excellent winter trip to Cape York and the Atherton...
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Row over Queensland Government permits to kill rare quail-thrush
Male Atherton (Spotted) Quail-thrush, image by John Young. This is a longer version of my story published in this weekend's edition of The Weekend Australian newspaper. A decision by the Queensland...
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Cooloolabin rainforest under threat; acquisition proposal to Sunshine Coast...
Cooloolabin rainforest (above) The Sunshine Coast Council is being asked to acquire a privately owned tract of subtropical lowland rainforest following the recent destruction of native vegetation in...
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Buttonquail feast at Dunmore, Southern Queensland
Good numbers of Red-chested Buttonquail (above), Little Buttonquail, Painted Buttonquail and Stubble Quail were the order of the day (and night) during a visit to Dunmore Road in Western Creek State...
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Emus in the Cooloola Region
In the 1960s and 1970s, Emus were seen regularly on what was then called the Noosa Plain, now known as the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area. However, it has declined drastically...
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Norfolk Island: The Land Birds
We had a pleasant week-long stay on Norfolk Island, our first “overseas” escape since the Covid 19 upheaval began in March 2020. We stayed at the pleasant Saints Apartments and had a hire car to get...
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Norfolk Island: The Seabirds
Seabirds were an ever present feature during our week-long stay on Norfolk Island. The star attractions during this trip were small numbers of Black-winged Petrels (above and images below) seen from...
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Eaglehawk Neck double header pelagics May 1-2, 2021
We headed off about 7am on both Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2 for pelagic trips off Eaglehawk Neck in conditions that were similar on both days: starting off with a gentle 5-10knot NW breeze and...
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Tasmania: Quolls, Potoroos, Golden Brushtail & Pygmy Possum
A visit to Tasmania for double header pelagic trips off Eaglehawk Neck (see following post) provided opportunities to chase some sought after mammals. On an earlier trip, I saw Eastern Quolls while...
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Night Parrot records from Diamantina National Park
The critically endangered Night Parrot (image above by John Young) has been found in at least three sites in Queensland’s Diamantina National Park where they were recorded earlier by north Queensland...
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South-West Queensland Road Trip, Winter 2021
We opted for a three-week camping trip to south-west Queensland to take advantage of the lush conditions in the wake of good rains in recent months over much of the region. Among the highlights were...
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South Island Pied Oystercatcher on North Stradbroke Island
The South Island Pied Oystercatcher (SIPO), endemic to New Zealand, is a rare but increasingly reported visitor to Australian shores. Yesterday I finally caught up with a bird on the foreshore at...
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On the Paradise Parrot, the Golden-shouldered Parrot, and fire mismanagement...
TRANSCRIPT OF MY FEATURE IN TODAY'S EDITION OF THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER: Eric Zillmann’s eyes twinkle as he recalls when, 86 years ago, he spotted a pair of paradise parrots while riding his horse as...
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1000 Hectares of Sunshine Coast Wetland Protected
Combined efforts by the Sunshine Coast Council, statutory authority Unitywater and the Queensland Government have led to almost 1000 hectares of wetland and associated woodland being protected as...
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Green Tree-Frogs in Queensland & NSW - Death by Chytrid Fungus
The dreaded chytrid fungus is believed to be responsible for the mysterious deaths of growing numbers of Green Tree-Frogs in Queensland and NSW. Dead and dying frogs have been reported from as far...
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Unusual encounters with Sunshine Coast rodents and backyard critters
I had some excellent encounters with rodents and an antechinus in the Sunshine Coast area over the winter months. A Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni - above and below) was much appreciated as it was...
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North Queensland Spring 2021 – Part One: The journey north & Atherton Tablelands
We headed up to north Queensland for a month-long sojourn with the central focus being a visit to Iron Range on Cape York. No caravan this time as much of the trip was accommodation-booked. That was...
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North Queensland Spring 2021 – Part 2: Iron Range & Portland Roads
I had been to Iron Range twice previously but long ago: in February 1975 (for 11 days) and in November 1982 (for 8 days, a Queensland Museum trip with curator Glen Ingram), so was keen to revisit this...
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North Queensland Spring 2021 – Part 3: Cassowaries & the homeward run
After visiting Iron Range (next post) we had a few days relaxing in Cairns. From our hotel balcony on the esplanade (a favourite outlook for decades) we had good numbers of Torresian Imperial-Pigeon...
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Twitching Semipalmated Plover & checking Lockyer Valley hotspots
Queensland twitchers were all a flutter when Michael Daley reported last night (October 31, 2021) that he had found a Semipalmated Plover at the Geoff Skinner Wetlands Reserve, at Wellington Point by...
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