Burnt leaves litter the heathland at Howe Flat in the eastern-most tip of Victoria, blown on the wind as the fire edges ever-closer. For a small, ground-dwelling bird called the Eastern Bristlebird, this spells trouble...
Author: Rowan Mott (Rowan Mott)
Extinction is a process, not an event
Setting aside a single day of the year for threatened species awareness posits extinction as an event. But extinction is a process.
Seabirds that can’t get wet: the bizarre lifestyle of frigatebirds
There are a lot of weird birds in the world. A couple that spring to mind are...
Magic amidst a multitude of stems
Victoria’s box-ironbark forests are magic. Whatever time of year you visit, their beauty is evident. The rugged, gnarled trunks of the ironbarks stand black as if they’ve clung to their night-time colour scheme despite the breaking of day...
New Season Winter Arrivals
We often hear the phrase “head south for the winter” in popular culture. Hollywood films abound with references to spending in winter in sunny California or Florida, but in a global context, Australia is relatively south. Here in Victoria, we’re pretty far south in an Australian context. So much so that most of our migratory...
A Smile from a Swoop
Australian magpies are renowned swoopers, but there are several other species that strike fear into the hearts of passers-by...
The Bulldogs aren’t the only good thing in the West
When I think of Melbourne’s western suburbs, excellent wildlife-watching is not the first thing that springs to mind. This side of the city’s long, industrial history has taken a heavy toll on natural areas. Yet it would be incorrect to blithely write western Melbourne off as a wildlife wasteland...