News
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
Green Army: OPBG Cat Trap Turns Up An Unusual Visitor
Thanks to the Green Army team at Land for Wildlife property Olive Pink Botanic Garden for sending in this photo of their recent catch – a Spotted Turtle-dove (Spilopelia chinensis). The unsuspecting wanderer ended up in a cat trap baited with sardines, while ignoring the nearby Spotted Turtle-dove trap set with seed (though didn’t partake
Video: Crested Bellbird
A Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis) was snapped by the Land for Wildlife coordinator while hiking at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station on the weekend. The crested bellbird translates to ‘Panpanpalala’ in Pitjantjatjara and ‘Kwepalepale’ in Central Arrernte. This fun bird keeps a low profile and so isn’t seen often, but has an unmistakable call, which
Domestic Cat Monitoring and Awareness in Alice Springs
Land for Wildlife is embarking on a new round of domestic cat monitoring and awareness in Alice Springs. This project will involve monitoring the movements of domestic cats when they are out and about, by kitting the kitties out with a GPS harness. We will also be trialling the use of small cat-mounted video cameras
Keep an Eye to the… Ground: Mulga Parrots
Mulga Parrots (Psephotus varius) were seen foraging near the Land for Wildlife office earlier in the month. The scientific nomenclature, Psephotus varius, translates to ‘variegated mosaic bird’: Variegated from the Latin Varius, owing to the mixture of colours (especially in the male) Mosaic bird from the Greek Psephotos (inlaid with mosaic or precious stones), owing to
Buffel Grass Bashing – A Rewarding Addiction!
By Bruce Simmons Andy Vinter’s Bush Regeneration Handbook provides terrific practical information for anyone interested in arresting the progress of weeds, and Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in particular, on their block, streetscape or local feature. So you might go there as a starting point if you are interested in ‘bashing the Buffel’. My history with
Poisonous Plants and Pesky Pollen Problems
Plants utilise a variety of defence mechanisms to ward off predators, with chemical defence being the most common – there are more than a thousand poisonous plants in Australia. Harmful components range from fruits and seeds; to roots, bark and leaves. The toxicity of plants usually increases with higher CO2 levels and during periods of
Frosty Morning at LFW
It’s a bit chilly here at the Land for Wildlife office this morning! Frost has made for a refreshing bird bath. Stay warm Alice Springs!
Alice Springs Show 2016
Land for Wildlife and the Australian Plant Society braved the cold at the Alice Springs Show on the weekend to help give advice on planting local natives. Land for Wildlife were also selling books and talking to show-goers about a range of local conservation topics. We are now contacting potential new members to assist them
Foxes in Central Australia
The European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) was introduced to Australia for recreational hunting in 1855 and has since spread across ~76% of the continent. Foxes breed best in locations of winter rainfall and as such, do best in the southern half of NT, however they are moving northwards and are now found as far north
Green Army: Feral Cat Trapping Progress
Land for Wildlife provided the Olive Pink Botanic Garden (OPBG) Green Army team with trapping assistance via a training workshop earlier this month (Read the workshop blog here). The team have been trialling a few trap locations within OPBG, with unexpected results. They have had four occurrences of by-catch of Black-footed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale lateralis),
Hailstorm Hits Alice Springs: Post-damage Gardening Tips
Alice Springs residents were shocked on Friday 17th June 2016, when a large hail storm hit the town. The storm raised a lot of excitement, but the damage to infrastructure was very clear. As far as our gardens go, hail can damage plants by sheer force of their fall, or through accumulation of weight to
Cat Monitoring and Awareness Program Continues
Land for Wildlife are pleased to announce that we have been successful in securing funding from Territory Natural Resource Management to support the Domestic Cat Monitoring and Awareness program in Alice Springs for another year. The grant from TNRM is supported with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. The funded program involves using