Fieldwork journal...

A small part of my work over the next two months is fieldwork in Toohey Forest; a 640 hectare forest block surrounding the Nathan campus of Griffith University. The map below shows the location of Griffith University in relation to the centre of Brisbane. The approximate boundaries of Toohey Forest are shown outlined black. It encompasses the Nathan campus of the uni and, to the east of the Pacific Motorway, the Mt Gravatt campus.

The picture below shows an aerial image of Toohey. In this image you can see the Nathan campus of Griffith Uni (where I work) at the bottom of the forest block, surrounded by the ‘Ring road’. The smaller Mt Gravatt campus is obvious to the right of the Pacific Motorway, which cuts down the middle of the forest! Interestingly, the large stadiums to the bottom right of the campus is where the 1982 Commonwealth Games were held….. bit of random trivia there!! As you can see from this pic, the forest is rather large!!

The forest is divided into 10 sectors (see figure below), and over 10 weeks, I will be surveying a part of every sector. I say a part of every sector, because there are a number of other observers also assisting. The aim at the end of the summer survey period is to have surveyed every sector 5 times; attempting to cover every part of Toohey Forest including all edges, gullies, hilltops and even the campus.

This has been undertaken over many years, with data stretching back to the early 90s. In short, this data will effectively represent a control model, by allowing us to compare what is happening in the greater Brisbane area with what is happening in Toohey Forest. What I intend to do over the next 10 weeks is present the species lists and details of each of the 10 surveys, in case anyone is interested in what I see! Needless to say, doing bird surveys can be quick taxing on your sleep patterns. In order to be out in the field just after dawn, (and given that QLD does not have daylight saving), I need to be up by 4.30am and am in the field by 5 – 5.15am!! ANYWAY, onto the results of my first survey. The first sector that I surveyed is Sector 7 on the morning of 29th October 2008.

Date: 29th October 2008
Time: 0530 - 0810
Sector: 7
Number of species seen: 23
Number of birds seen: 174

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (1)
Galah (3)
Grey Butcherbird (4)
Grey Shrike-thrush (2)
Laughing Kookaburra (1)
Mistletoebird (5)
Noisy Miner (25)
Pale-headed Rosella (4)
Pied Currawong (1)
Rainbow Bee-eater (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (48)
Red-backed Fairy-wren (13)
Rufous Whistler (1)
Sacred Ibis (1)
Sacred Kingfisher (6)
Scarlet Honeyeater (4)
Silvereye (11)
Spotted Pardalote (2)
Striated Pardalote (3)
Torresian Crow (6)
Variegated Fairy-wren (6)
White-throated Honeyeater (11)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (15)

Wedding!

This post is a long time coming. It is hard to believe that it has been just over a month that Bec and I have been married!! Our wedding was an amazing success!! Everything went exactly to plan. We were worried a number of days before the wedding that the weather would be terrible; there was a lot of rain and wind beforehand. Although, on the day, the weather was absolutely perfect!! Sunny, warm with a light breeze; couldn't have asked for anything better!!

I had a bit of stress on the wedding morning as I had planned to find a bunch of nice roses with my mum to create the bouquet to be thrown at the end of the reception; kind of a mum of the groom and groom bonding moment. Needless to say, there was not a single florist open in Coffs on the Saturday, so stress levels rose, although luckily I managed to find some nice roses in various Woolworths and Coles stores!! After that, and adding the final touches to the reception venue and showering and watching a couple of minutes of the AFL grand final and putting on suits and not being able to figure out the floral buttonholes, I found myself at the chapel. Unexpectedly, I was nervous as hell!!! I don't know if it was because I thought I might have forgotten something (no, I had the rings) or whether the enormity of the situation got to me, but I was really nervous!!!

Then, I was in position, the music started and the bridesmaids entered, and then I saw Bec!!! I had no idea previously what the dress would look like, nor what her hair would look like..... she was stunning!!! The photos are testament to how good the whole experience was. I have pasted a few photos into an album, although will update them soon with the professional ones that we only got yesterday.......

I can't express enough how perfect the day was for Rebecca and I. We loved and cherish every moment and every memory of the day! Furthermore, we got to enjoy a relaxing honeymoon to the Whitsundays afterwards too (will add some of those photos too soon.........not all of them...)Thank you to all of you who were able to make it to the wedding, and for all your fantastic gifts and well-wishes. It was a fantastic experience and one that we will never forget.