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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: August 2014
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Sunday, 17 August 2014. The Bee and the Wasp. Back in November 2012, the bird-banding at our regular site at The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve, not far from West Wyalong in central-west New South Wales, was keeping us occupied if not busy, and I had time to follow the activities of several solitary bees that I was not aware of having noticed on any previous trips. A solitary bee hovering just above the ground, looking to excavate a burrow. I spent several minu...
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: May 2015
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Friday, 29 May 2015. Canberra Autumn Mushroom Soup. It seems that for most people who live in Canberra, autumn is a favourite season. A time of cooler temperatures; a reprieve from the often unrelenting heat of a long dry summer, and a change to clear, crisp, sunny days. A time of softer light, and of course, the turning of the leaves from summer green through an almost surreal palette of vibrant yellows, reds, and oranges. Japanese Maple leaf, 8 May 2015.
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: April 2014
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Wednesday, 30 April 2014. Bowra Station is a property that up until a few years ago was run as a family grazing operation, just outside of Cunnamulla in outback Queensland. Now it is owned and run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy as a nature reserve, and birds are especially bounteous. BirdLife Australia’s magazine. Hall’s Babblers ( Pomatostomus halli. We saw quite a few Emus ( Dromaius novaehollandiae. On the drive up to Bowra, as well as on the prope...
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: January 2015
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Wednesday, 28 January 2015. Lake Wollumboola Sand Plovers. Following my previous post about my White-rumped Sandpiper twitch to Lake Wollumboola on 13 January, I received an email from Chris Brandis about the sand plovers that have been being reported from Lake Wollumboola. In my original post I included in the list of birds seen a single Lesser Sand Plover ( Charadrius mongolus. Has this to say:. In a mixed flock of waders, the Large Sand Plover. So Chris's ...
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: June 2015
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Sunday, 28 June 2015. The weather was predominantly cool and quite windy. We did some essentially car-based touristing, including a drive down to the Bodalla cheese factory and café on one of the days, as well as a fair bit of local walking, but we had a mostly quiet relaxed long weekend. Despite the windy conditions, this pelican thought it was a good idea to try to perch on the power lines down at the Mossy Point jetty. Connecting isthmus has repeatedly bee...
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: March 2014
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Sunday, 2 March 2014. Capricornia Cays Survey Holiday – 2. Northwest and Masthead Islands. I forgot to mention that it’s very hot and sweaty in Paradise! The shallow reef waters were just perfect for swimming - or for an early morning bathe before the heat of the day set in; with no facilities for showering, this was virtually a requirement. Buff-banded Rails ( Gallirallus philippensis. Snowshoes were worn when traipsing across the burrow-ridden sandy expanse...
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: May 2014
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HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany. Saturday, 17 May 2014. During my trip to the Capricornia cays of the Great Barrier Reef earlier this year, one group of birds in particular stood out for me – the terns. Perhaps this is partly because the only new bird I got for the entire trip was a Roseate Tern, but also because they were prominent both in numbers and species. And they’re beautiful! In all, I saw eight different species of tern. Black Noddy amongst the pisonia foliage on Northwest Island.