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Avoiding Dangerous Encounters

Does Australia deserve its “Dangerous” tag?

A Spider-hunting Scorpion on a rock
The venomous Spider-hunting Scorpion can cause pain and swelling in humans

While dangerous animal encounters are common in Australia, it is unusual that an encounter results in a serious injury, and fatalities are rare. The Australian population is currently at its highest ever level of just over 24.5 million and around 9 million people visit Australia from overseas each year, and the number of human interactions with wildlife has never been greater. Yet fewer people die from animal-related injuries per year (less than 30) than from motor vehicle-related incidents (currently around 1200) or workplace accidents (around 200).

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Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots Book Release

Peter Rowland and Chris Farrell are very proud to announce the release of their new book “Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots” (published by John Beaufoy Publishing, Oxford in association with Australian Geographic). The culmination of over 30 years of individual research and four years of collaborative effort to produce this portable yet informative aid to both domestic and international travellers who want to maximise their birding experience in Australia.

View of Australias Birdwatching Megaspots book cover, showing Eastern Spinebill on front and Hooded Plovers on rear
Front and rear cover of the book

The book gives in depth information on Australia’s 55 Birdwatching Megaspots, the 55 sites that typically rank highest in each state or territory for species richness or are home to the more uncommon species. Continue reading “Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots Book Release”

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Strzelecki Track Expedition (remote) South Australia

After reading an internet news article about the intentions of the South Australian government (in conjunction with the mining sector) to seal the iconic 475km long Strzelecki Track, a couple of us decided that we should take a look at this remote part of north-eastern South Australia before it becomes a popular picnic destination!

Camping in Swags around a campfire at Montecollina Bore, midway along the Strzelecki Track
Home away from home. Our camp site setup at Montecollina Bore, a true oasis in the remote desert country along the Strzelecki Track

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Alice Springs Birding (at a glance)

Alice springs has many great sites for birding, with a large variety of arid zone species to be found here (if you know where to look), and the local birders are more than willing to point you in the right direction. There are also a few guided tour operators that can definitely save you much research time and wasted effort trying to locate the more difficult to find species yourself, if you are able to afford the tour costs and have a set agenda for your trip itinerary. I (Peter Rowland) spent four days there in early August to check out some of the hotspots for myself.

Looking over Alice Springs at dawn
View over Alice Springs from the range in Olive Pink Botanic Gardens

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The Murray River

A section of the Murray River during flood, with brown water and trees growing out of the riverbankThe Murray River is Australia’s longest river, and the third longest navigable river in the world (after the Amazon and the Nile). It stretches for just over 2500 kilometres from Kosciusko National Park in New South Wales to the Indian Ocean at Lake Alexandrina in South Australia. The Murray River forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria, and it was here that we were keen to look for the wildlife that depend upon it.

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Photographing Birds in Flight

A Wedge-tailed Eagle flying over some houses
A Wedge-tailed Eagle in Flight

Capturing images of birds and other fast moving animals is very difficult, but capturing birds in flight (or BIFs, as they are often referred to as) is extremely challenging indeed. While today’s digital SLR cameras make things a little easier, the biggest advantage of the digital cameras is the large number of pictures you can take when practicing your photography hobby.

Before digital SLR cameras were available, the only way we could practice photographic techniques was with film (in our case slide film), which you had to get developed before you could see your results. This was both a slow process and an expensive one, especially if you were practicing the tricky art of photographing birds in flight.

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Bowerbirds of Australia

SatinBowerbird1Back in 2008 one of our team, Peter Rowland, wrote a book on the Bowerbirds of Australia and New Guinea. Part of the book-writing process involved sourcing images of the different species and the various types of bowers that the males build to attract their potential mates. While images of most of the Australian species proved to be quite easy to obtain, the New Guinea species were somewhat more difficult to find.

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