Wildlife

Joanne Heathcote. An artist’s vision for the birds we’ve lost and might yet see again. Fiona Lumsden is a wildlife artist based in Katoomba. She is passionate about birds, habitats, and the stories that link species and landscapes. Her work aims to foster a sense of belonging and a connection to nature.

There was a full house at the launch of Mount Alexander Wildlife Watch incorporated Sunday 31 August. Local Councillors Rosalie Hastwell, Lucas Maddock and Deputy Mayor Toby Heydon turned up in support of the group's inaugural event – a key note talk by Prof. Darryl Jones of Griffith University on the subject of wildlife crossings.

A fin-tastic new project is set to bring more fish swimming into Sunshine Coast rivers ... Two new fishways will be installed on Petrie Creek, providing vital passage for a variety of native fish.

This Labor government’s environmental policy doesn’t look like it’s being run by those in Macquarie Street, but maybe by rooftop protestors who contribute little to society ... These high-end activists are screaming “koala crisis”, all the while happily living in high rise towers built from concrete and steel, wrapped in plastics, stuffed with furniture made from imported timber ripped from forests overseas with zero environmental standards. That’s not conservation. That’s hypocrisy.

Miffy, one of the new koalas homed at Yanchep National Park, has given birth, with footage of the mother and her joey released by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions this week.

Foresters and environmentalists in Australia may not have seen eye to eye of late, but on the subject of forest clearances for large scale renewable energy developments, there are increasing instances where their objections to the consequential impact on the forest make them de facto allies.

Serena Kirby. It was eyes down and tweezers poised at a recent seed sorting session. The Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee-organised activity was part of the committee's Cockies for Cockies program that's working to re-establish and protect habitats and food sources for three threatened black cockatoo species: Carnaby's, Baudin and red-tailed black cockatoos.

The government has invested $11.7 million to acquire the retired stations, totalling 34,773 hectares ... These three acquisitions nearly double new additions for the 2024-25 financial year to a total of more than 73,000ha. The NSW national parks network now totals almost 7,774,000 ha.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has launched eight new purpose-built aquaculture ponds for endangered Macquarie Perch breeding at Narrandera Fisheries Centre, funded by Snowy Hydro under the Snowy 2.0 Threatened Fish Management Plan.

Warranmadhaa (Georges River Koala National Park), located between Long Point and Appin, covers 962 hectares. Work is already underway to grow the park with more land transfers planned into the National Park system which will protect up to 1,830 hectares of habitat.

Earlier this year when reports about the disappearance of magpies started to surface it got me thinking about one of my own experiences with the Australian bird. In the 1990s a group of magpies made up of about a dozen or more birds of varying ages were frequent visitors to my Yanchep property.

Among the red gums lining the Murray River, the endangered Regent Parrot is fighting to hang on. With its bright yellow plumage and unmistakable flight, it’s one of Australia’s lesser-known but most threatened species ... Duxton Vineyards, one of Australia’s largest vineyard holders, is working with the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program to restore critical habitat for the Regent Parrot.

Mike Gillam. Like the parade of Coober Pedy blower trucks, emus create wonderful silhouettes in a landscape of prevailing flatness ... One moves slightly, and there it is, up periscope, the largest male still accompanied by the adolescents of the previous year, confirms their emu identity.

It's never been a bright idea to translocate koalas and it's not the first time that they've been secretly translocated from the irrupting Sydney catchments sub-population. The NSW Government’s secrecy is intended to hide the fact that there are just too many koalas.

South Australia’s flagship fisheries patrol vessel Southern Ranger will be operating in the Gulf of St Vincent tomorrow to conduct underwater observations of the harmful algal … State Government agencies are also taking weekly water samples at 17 sites across West Lakes, the Port River, the Patawalonga River and the end of four jetties at Largs Bay, Grange, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga.

Have you noticed any sick magpies in the northern suburbs in the City of Wanneroo or the Shire of Gingin or have the magpies in your area just disappeared? Wildlife centres record spike in bird paralysis disease (Echo News, March 13) reported on a Perth Hills resident who took two sick magpies to her vet and was told about a spike in a paralysis disease they called black-and-white bird disease.

Michelle Dorian. A special event presented as part of the Maldon in Winter Festival program, ‘Deep Listening in Nature’ was an eloquent and persuasive talk by Andrew Skeoch ... Describing his field of Acoustic Ecology as being about a personal relationship with nature, Andrew said that while he had listened to birds since childhood, it wasn’t until later in life that it occurred to him to really start listening to them ...

Pilton's Darling Downs Zoo made national headlines last Sunday following an attack by a lion that saw a woman lose her arm. In a statement posted on social media later that day, the zoo said that at approximately 8.30am the woman, aged in her 50s, was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct.

Despite the prolonged drought, the yalgiri (brush-tailed bettongs) reintroduced to southern Yorke Peninsula since 2021 are not just surviving, they’re reproducing. A recent health check led by the Marna Banggara team found all captured females were carrying young, a strong sign the small marsupials are adapting well to tough conditions.

Some of Western Australia's most unique reptiles have been rescued from smugglers who were attempting to send them interstate through Perth Airport. In one case, a package containing eight live bobtail lizards destined for Sydney was intercepted, resulting in a $2,500 fine.

In a world-first discovery, researchers have shown that Australia’s iconic Bogong moth uses constellations of stars and the Milky Way to navigate hundreds of kilometres across the country during its annual migration – making it the first known invertebrate to rely on a stellar compass for long-distance travel.

Whale watching is in full swing in Shellharbour with numerous sightings occurring this month, including some incredible drone footage from Bushrangers Bay caught by local ORRCA volunteer Ty Peters.