In 2006 our family bought a 60-acre farm in Boneo, a short walk from Greens Bush National Park, the major feature of scattered patches of remnant bushland that earlier colonists left untouched or left alone to regenerate. On Google Earth, this remnant bush appears as islands of refuge for flora and fauna, unconnected with few safe corridors for movement. It took a chance encounter with a local conservationist for my eyes to be opened to the plight of this region. Put simply, there…
Information flowing from of our new friends in the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Group, has challenged some of my long-held ideas on Koala habits (correctly so). Here we examine Koala's all-important dietary and feeding preferences based on recent 24/7 observations by Marsh et al (2014a and 2014b) at the Philip Island Sanctuary. Counter to earlier research assumptions, they found that Koalas mostly feed at night. Koalas also utilise different types of tree for resting and feeding…
In 2006 our family bought a 60-acre farm in Boneo, a short walk from Greens Bush National Park, the major feature of scattered patches of remnant bushland that earlier colonists left untouched or left alone to regenerate. On Google Earth, this remnant bush appears as islands of refuge for flora and fauna, unconnected with few safe corridors for movement. It took a chance encounter with a local conservationist for my eyes to be opened to the plight of this region. Put simply, there are…
The first trill of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) wafted up from the native area this week. These partially migratory birds typically arrive here around September, so this one was either late or was just keeping quiet until now. One reason for the sudden activity may be that their favourite food - hairy caterpillars - also are rapidly becoming more active. I saw the first bunch of sawfly larva bunched up on the trunk of a young eucalypt on the same day as I heard the…
A rash of white objects rapidly expanding across the landscape has resulted in increasing community concern. “It’s an alien invasion”, shrieked Henrietta Featherbrain. “Why is our government dilly-dallying and taking away our rights because of some silly virus when our very existence is at stake?” “We’ll all be rooned” said Hanrahan, “if those alien eggs do hatch”. Attempts to explain that these objects were simply covers to protect young trees and bushes…
