Posts from August 2016
The Changing Seasons: Winter to Spring
As August wraps up, Land for Wildlife members should be looking to have any wildflower seedlings in the ground ready for the new growth that spring brings. There has been some significantly frosty weather of late so seedlings could remain protected for another couple of weeks until the warmth sets in. In the wildlife arena,
Entomologists to the Rescue!?
Seeking entomologists that can identify this fun little friend for us! This golden and glorious fly was found at Newhaven Sanctuary, north-west of Alice Springs, on a recent trip by the Land for Wildlife coordinator. We think he’s pretty excellent and would love to know what he is. Feel free to forward this to friends
Pool Conversion: Creating a Freshwater Ecosystem
By Jen Kreusser There are many people in Alice Springs who are considering turning their once-loved swimming pool into an oasis of a different variety, or perhaps installing an old child sand pit or pool, in the hope of creating a self-sustaining water-feature and extending the attraction to a diverse range of feathered visitors. Smaller
desertSMART EcoFair
Land for Wildlife had a huge weekend at the desertSMART EcoFair (organised by the Arid Lands Environment Centre), which is Central Australia’s leading science and sustainability event. The event kicked off on Friday with the Eco-Science Schools Day at Olive Pink Botanic Garden (OPBG), who has been a registered and highly active Land for Wildlife property
Ntaria Junior Rangers
Land for Wildlife was invited out to the Ntaria Junior Rangers Camp with the Tjuwanpa Women Rangers last week. The Tjuwanpa Women Rangers care for country, managing fire, feral animals and weeds, at the Finke Gorge National Park. Their aim is to have “Akarkutja Warnka Mabaka Kaltjithika”, which means “older women and younger women all
Keep an Eye to the Sky: Nesting White-Plumed Honeyeaters
A bougainvillea in my yard has been home to some breeding White-plumed Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus penicillatus) over the last couple of weeks. The nest is a delicate hanging cup made of grasses and spider web, lined with miscellaneous fur. I only discovered them when they were a few days old and in a little over a
Still Seeking Rural Cats
Land for Wildlife is still seeking cat owners from the rural areas to take part in the next Domestic Cat Monitoring and Awareness programme. The study involves tracking domestic cats with a GPS, monitoring their activities with kitty-cams and scat analysis to see what they are eating when out and about. If you have a
Video: Rufous Whistler
A Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) was snapped by the Land for Wildlife coordinator at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, while on a trip with the Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club. Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Australia’s largest non-government protected areas, covering 262,000 hectares. Newhaven is renowned as a key arid zone bird watching destination. Supporting 170