Jazzoos news and views

Long-overdue update...

2011-06-11T09:05:00.004+10:00

Well, a lot has happened since my last post back in October 2009, and I have every intention of getting back on the blogging bandwagon soon. When I do, I will expand on the following news and events:

Rebecca and I now have a son: William Anthony Cousin, born 10th April 2010, 680g (1lb 8oz). He was born 3 months early, was in hospital for the first 100 days of his life, and is the most beautiful, happy and precious boy. Given his extreme prematurity, there were and continue to be a number of challenges we are all dealing with, some we wish to share to not only document his progress but to have the opportunity for us to hear from others with the same experience.

I no longer work at Griffith University, with my post-doctoral research fellowship contract finishing at the end of 2010. I am still, however, an adjunct fellow of the university.

I am presently a Senior Ecologist at a small environmental consultant company in Brisbane called Litoria Consulting. I have been there for just over a month and am absolutely loving it.

Anyway, William is due for his morning tea, so I will endeavour to being posting again asap...

Watch this space!!

Cairns trip, June 2009

2009-10-21T22:58:00.003+11:00

Between the 1st and 7th June 2009, I was lucky enough to travel to Cairns and the surrounding areas for a bird-watching trip. I travelled with two friends from Perth; Ryan Phillips and Myles Menz (the last of whom I actually met on the trip). We hired a 4-berth campervan called “The Warrior”, that was surprisingly roomy and comfortable to drive. HOWEVER, living in very close proximity with two other males is a challenge at the best of times, little alone when one of them leaves random underwear strewn around the van!

That aside, it was a fantastic trip with an amazing 175 species of birds, including all of the Atherton Tableland endemics. Of the 175 species, 51 of them were new for me; including 3 new species of robins; Grey-headed Robin, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher and Mangrove Robin! The particular highlights of the trip, apart from the robins, included seeing many of the north-Queensland endemics such as the Southern Cassowary, Golden Bowerbird and Fernwren. The Golden Bowerbird took quite some effort to see, and involved us walking 8km up the Mt Lewis road. Although we didn’t see any spectacularly coloured males, we saw 6 – 7 females! The following is a list of all the species I saw on the trip, and particular notes on particular species of note or interest! New species for me are also shown! Please also see the new Cairns birdwatching holiday photo album on the right panel.

Pacific Black Duck
Eastern Reef Egret
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Ruddy Turnstone
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red-necked Stint
Masked Lapwing
Red-capped Plover
Black-fronted Dotterel
Silver Gull
Laughing Gull – NEW – rare vagrant to Australia, although there was a juvenile sitting out on the Esplanade amongst Silver Gulls.
Gull-billed Tern
Pacific Baza – saw 3 of them together calling raucously around Mareeba Wetlands.
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Australian Kestrel
Black Kite
Topknot Pigeon – huge numbers of them circling around Malanda Falls.
Brown Cuckoo-dove
Peaceful Dove
Bar-shouldered Dove
Spotted Turtle-dove
Crested Pigeon
White-headed Pigeon
Emerald Dove – NEW – What an amazing coloured little dove this is…. lovely.
Double-eyed Fig Parrot – NEW – managed to glimpse a couple on the Daintree River cruise, actually excavating a nest hollow. Apparently, this is one of only 2 – 3 species in Australia that excavate nest hollows from scratch!?
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Rainbow Lorikeet
Australian Swiftlet – NEW
Laughing Kookaburra
Collared Kingfisher
Forest Kingfisher
Rainbow Bee-eater
White-throated Treecreeper – saw this up with our tour guide ‘Chook’ at Mareeba Wetlands. The subspecies of the treecreeper up here (subspecies minor) looks totally different from the southern sub-species; being much smaller and darker.
Red-backed Fairy-wren
Striated Pardalote
Large-billed Scrubwren
Brown Gerygone
Lewin's Honeyeater
White-throated Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Scarlet Honeyeater
Dusky Honeyeater – NEW – common around the gardens of Lake Barrine
Eastern Whipbird
Pale-yellow Robin
Grey headed Robin – NEW – saw in a number of rainforest locations on the Atherton Tableland. A big species of robin this one!!
Golden Whistler
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-breasted Boatbill – NEW – Very cute little species; surprisingly colourful little fella
Pied Monarch – NEW – I’ve wanted to see these species for a long time!
Magpie Lark
Spangled Drongo
Australasian Figbird
Victoria's Riflebird – NEW – Saw a male and many females in the carpark of Lake Barrine – too easy!!
Green Catbird – Although this is not a new species for me, the Green Catbird up this way is a distinct subspecies (race actually) known commonly as the Spotted Catbird. It is distinctly different from the southern populations of Green Catbird, and probably deserves to be a separate species.
Toothbill Bowerbird - NEW
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-breasted Woodswallow – sexiest of the woodswallows!
House Sparrow
Red-browed Firetail
Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Common Myna
Little Black Cormorant
Australasian Grebe
Orange-footed Scrubfowl – NEW – walking around the Malanda Caravan Park grounds that we were staying in!
Magpie Goose – NEW – saw them previously however in Stephen Davies’ backyard in Mt Helena in Perth, although obviously, these were a captive population!
Plumed Whistling Duck – NEW – Hundreds of them in Hasting’s Swamp, along with Magpie Geese!!
Hardhead
Intermediate Egret – NEW – First confirmed identification of these for me, usually just assume Great Egret!
Sarus Crane – NEW - Awesome flight display on the Tablelands near Upper Barron.
Black-shouldered Kite
Whistling Kite
Brown Goshawk
Spotted Harrier – NEW – First look at this species at it hovered low over the Tablelands!
Australian King Parrot
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Yellow-throated Scrubwren
Mountain Thornbill – NEW – One of the North-Queensland rainforest endemics
Welcome Swallow
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Eastern Yellow Robin
Little Shrike-thrush – NEW – Hard to tell from the Bower’s Shrike-thrush, although slightly smaller, and different face colour.
Grey Fantail
Spectacled Monarch – NEW – FINALLY seen one of these, even though they are found down near Brisbane!
Satin Bowerbird
Pied Butcherbird
Australian Magpie
Pied Currawong
Torresian Crow
Tree Martin
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
Silvereye
Mistletoebird
Little Pied Cormorant
Wandering Whistling-duck
Grey Teal
Wood Duck
Dusky Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Grey Goshawk
White-throated Gerygone
Helmeted Friarbird – NEW – This really is an ugly species
Macleay's Honyeater – NEW – What a stunningly beautifully coloured bird; seen at Lake Eacham feeding on the Umbrella Palms.
Yellow-spotted Honeyeater – NEW – rather hard to identify sometimes from Lewin’s Honeyeater, although the former is slightly smaller and has a darker face
Bridled Honeyeater – NEW
Yellow Honeyeater
Eastern Spinebill
Chowchilla – NEW – Saw along the road into Mt Hypipamee Crater; needless to say, you need to be patient and very still to see them. Also saw them up Mt Lewis, and this most likely represents a unique subspecies.
Bower's Shrike-thrush – NEW – Another highly restricted North-Queensland Rainforest endemic
Barred Cuckoo-shrike – NEW – Seen in the main street of Yungaburra; spectacularly bright yellow eye!!
Australasian Pipit
Golden-headed Cisticola – NEW – Finally seen this species in all it’s glory now; no fleeting glimpse, but a prolonged look!
Pheasant Coucal
Emu
Darter
Pied Cormorant
Black Swan
Green Pygmy Goose – NEW – At Mareeba Wetlands
Black-necked Stork
Comb-crested Jacana – NEW – At Mareeba Wetlands
Brown Falcon
Rock Dove
Wompoo Fruit-dove – NEW – Saw this species down on the ground at Julatten Birdwatchers Lodge, so an awesome look at this very colourful dove
Squatter Pigeon – NEW – At Mareeba Wetlands
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Shining Bronze-cuckoo
Azure Kingfisher – zipping along the watercourse at Julatten
Red-backed Kingfisher
Brown Treecreeper
Weebill
Noisy Friarbird
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Graceful Honeyeater – NEW – On the road up Mt Lewis
White-naped Honeyeater
Grey-crowned Babbler
Lemon-bellied Flycatcher – NEW – Totally unexpected species on this trip. Seen in the woodlands at Mareeba Wetlands. For those not in the know, this is actually a species of Australian robin, so needless to say, I was rather excited.
Rufous Fantail
Leaden Flycatcher
Great Bowerbird
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike - NEW
Varied Triller – NEW
Fairy Martin
Rufous Songlark
Clamorous Reed Warbler
Double-barred Finch
Common Starling
Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo – NEW
Lesser Sooty Owl – Although this was a new species for me, I haven’t officially listed it, as we only saw one flying through the campground in Julatten
Masked Owl – NEW – FANTASTIC views of two emerging from hollows at Julatten. We were guaranteed views by the caretakers, and they didn’t disappoint!
Papuan Frogmouth – NEW – Great views in Julatten and again on the Daintree River.
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Fernwren – NEW – Fleeting glimpse of them along the Mt Lewis track
Bush Stone-curlew
Atherton Scrubwren – NEW – needless to say, an Atherton Tableland endemic
Fairy Gerygone – NEW – seen along the Daintree River shoreline
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Grey Whistler – NEW – another seen along the Daintree River shoreline
Golden Bowerbird – NEW – this was probably the highlight of the trip. We saw 6-7 females in all, 8km up the Mt Lewis track, that we travelled on foot! VERY geographically restricted species that is one of the most threatened by climate change due to it being found only in tropical rainforest above 900m altitude.
Rufous Night Heron
Sacred Kingfisher
Large-billed Gerygone – NEW – Found along the Daintree River shoreline
Rufous Whistler
Shining Flycatcher – NEW – Stunning slate colour, seen along Daintree River
Yellow Oriole – NEW – another species found on the Daintree
Metallic Starling – NEW – very unexpected species that we didn’t expect this time of the year; they were most likely juveniles that didn’t migrate north
Southern Cassowary – NEW – iconic species that we were lucky to see up near Cape Tribulation crossing the road with two young!
Beach Stone-curlew – NEW – found, funnily enough, on the beach
Crested Tern
Lovely Fairy-wren – NEW – rather large fairy-wren seen on the drive out of the Cape Tribulation campground
Mangrove Robin – NEW – final species of the trip seen on the Mangrove walk near the Cairns Airport!! Been wanting to see these for years… great new species, being a robin and all!!
Black Butcherbird

Watch this space...

2009-09-09T08:25:00.005+10:00

Just a quick note to let those who view my page know, that in the next week, I will update you all on my goings-on...... a LOT has happened since my last post, including the Cairns trip (amazing!), winter fieldwork (including a new species for Toohey Forest), the 10th International Congress of Ecology (that I presented at) and the continued trials and tribulations of work... I will update shortly... Needless to say, Rebecca and I are both well, and looking forward to our trip to Perth next Saturday for a well-earned break!

Away to Cairns

2009-05-31T09:45:00.002+10:00

Well, now that my Birds Australia Conservation Forum talk is over (I will post link to the actual powerpoint presentation soon in case anybody wishes to read it; the day was a fantastic success and not only did I got some real positive feedback, but my findings could well be incorporated into management in the future), I am now looking forward to a trip to Cairns tomorrow morning with my close friend Ryan Phillips, and his mate Myles Menz, whom I am looking forward to meeting. We are heading up to Cairns for a week of solid birdwatching througohut the Cairns region including visiting everywhere from the Atherton Tablelands in the south to Cape Tribulation to the north. Now, in terms of species, there are a GREAT number of amazing species in this region that I am looking forward to seeing. One of the highlights would be the Golden Bowerbird, which we are hoping to spot in the high altitude forests of the Tablelands. However, there are so many other species to look forward to; some common and some rare. Macleays Honeyeaters are just stunning, and although probably common, will be a highlight. There there is the Blue-faced Parrot-finch, which could be a bit harder to spot, but will be a highlight also. HEY, who am I kidding, ALL species will be a highlight from the small Mountain Thornbill to the Southern Cassowary. I will give a detailed report once I return, with heaps of pictures and stories!!

Lamington National Park

2009-05-07T08:27:00.014+10:00

Mark and Richelle came up from Armidale a couple of weeks ago, so we went out to dinner at the fabulous Thai Orchid Restaurant in Mt Gravatt on the Friday night and then went on a trip to Lamington National Park on the Saturday. Needless to say, before you all make jokes about the name (I've heard them all), no, there were no lamingtons, or talk of lamingtons, or gimmicky lamington related items in the gift store...

Lamington National Park is on the border between QLD and NSW, and given that it is high in the ranges, has an interesting mix of temperate, sub-tropical and cool temperate rainforest. It is home to some of the more uncommon species in Australia; highlights of which would have to be the Albert's Lyrebird and Eastern Bristlebird... neither of which we saw on the day. The most numerous species we saw on the day would have been the Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Logrunner (big surprise to see so many) and Green Catbird. The Catbird is so-called because of it's amazing call, that sounds very much (as you can guess from the name) like a cat. In the cafe, we saw some real pretty close-ups of a Crimson Rosella (shown below) that walked right in front of Rebecca on the table, and stole one of my chips! Not exactly the most typical 'chip-fiend' you would imagine, but much prettier than a Silver Gull (or Seagull for those used to the vernacular). The Logrunner is a lovely little birds that you hear scratching in the undergrowth before you actually see it! They scratch away the leaf litter layer with their relatively big feet, and eat grubs that attempt to escape back into the undergrowth. Often, while feeding, they give what I can only describe as a faint mumbling call, that I believe works in keeping in contact with their mate, who is rarely feeding more than 2-3m away! Real cute!! Unfortunately, although we had a fantastic time walking and seeing amazing sites, the O'Reillys section of the park that we were in has become a corporate retreat for the rich; way too many 5-star accommodation bungalows that takes away from the magic of the surrounding forest. Nothing like the magic of driving into somewhere like New England National Park in NSW or Fitzgerald National Park in the SE of WA where there is hardly anything around to distract from the true beauty of just nature! Next time I go to Lamington, I might try out the Binnu Burru region of the park... apparently very different and not so developed...

A guide to our house!

2009-04-18T18:07:00.007+10:00

I've been meaning to post pictures of our house for ages, so given that today was such an awesome day, I went out and took pictures of the estate complex and our townhouse unit. Rather than having a caption for all pics, I thought the pics would speak for themselves. Needless to say, we are so incredibly happy here! The forest block next to our place is rife with birds and other strange noises at night. So beautiful to look out our loungeroom window at the forest!! I have also made a 2-minute video of our house starting from outside the unit and guiding you through the whole place! You can download/view it here. Enjoy the pics, and feel free to stay!!

Veggie garden

2009-04-07T08:29:00.007+10:00

Well, I think the time has come for a quick vegie garden update. Since my last post on the matter, I spent much of my time with my hands in the air not knowing what to do with the very poor growth rates. Then, in addition to a solution of liquid seaweed extract (which stinks like poop) I thought I would give old-mate Blood-n-Bone a go… As a result, the growth went VERY QUICKLY from this (on the 28th February)...

to this… (taken today; 7th April). The change was incredibly rapid; within about 72 hours of feeding with blood-n-bone, the plants were growing CRAZY, and now they are crankin’!

We have been harvesting basil pretty much since day 1, and only harvested our first capsicum 2 days ago to have (with the freshly picked basil) on home-made pizzas!

The zucchini that you can see on the following pics is to be harvested and eaten tonight!! The tomatoes, are showing mixed results; there are a number of fruit, although they are yet to turn red. Also, about a week ago, all the extremities of all the leaves went yellow and died. This happened to coincide with a fresh application of blood-n-bone, so maybe I became a bit over-anxious with fertilising. The capsicums have shown no ill-effects from it however, and are THRIVING! There are at least 4 almost ready to be picked, and MANY more pea-sized ones on the way! The zucchini were struck with powdery mildew a number of weeks ago, although a 1:9 part solution of milk to water sprayed on the leaves helped initially, although they were also afflicted with the yellowing and dead edges shown by the tomatoes. At the time of treating the mildew, I also turned them to face more of the setting sun to avoid the damp conditions that readily afflict marrow (zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon etc) plants. The spring onions are really disappointing (didn’t even bother to take close-up). They have hardly grown, and I don’t know if they require more water, less water, more liquid fertiliser, less liquid fertiliser. Although, it appears that all the rain that we have received in the last week or so has dramatically helped the spring onions and growth of all the other plants (see especially the tops of the tomato plants).

I hope to add a number of other pots to the range shown here in the next few months. It is fantastic weather in Brisbane to grow veggies all year round. We may be getting some strawberry plants over the easter break from Rebecca’s parents, so we’ll see. Otherwise, I would love to grow cucumber, smaller tomatoes and even flowering plants like Sweet Peas, which look and smell fantastic on a trellis….. all depends on room and time… this gardening caper is fun, easy and relaxing, and saves money in the long run too!!

Fun with aerial photography

2009-03-31T17:47:00.006+11:00

Work has just been crazy and non-stop, a lot of it involving aerial photography ‘orthorectifying’. What that basically means is that I have a set of aerial photos that I am ‘stitching’ to an existing, known co-ordinate framework. This process is undertaken in a program called ArcMap, which is a GIS (Geographic Information System) style program.

Brisbane City Council have provided me with aerial photography for their entire council area. Not only is this a huge area (Brisbane City Council is the largest metropolitan council in Australia), but the resolution of the imagery is 15cm! This means that each pixel is 15cm x 15cm, allowing a detailed assessment of habitat at an amazing resolution! See this example image that is of our new place, which is the !

There are three main ways that aerial photography is provided; all of which vary in their degree of work required to produce a final photo array and all of which vary in their eventual accuracy.

1) A third of all photos are already orthorectified when I receive them; Brisbane City Council’s photos (thankfully) fall into this category. What this means is that I open them, and they fit nicely onto a map with their spatial co-ordinates accurately presented.

2) Then, almost two thirds of aerial photos are static images that I have to stitch to the framework myself, although luckily this sort of photo has an additional ‘tab’ file that states what the SW, NW, NE and SE co-ordinates of the photo are. You then instruct the program to move the corners of the photos to the given spatial co-ordinates. This is still a very time-consuming exercise, and the other day, I spent over 6 days (including a lot of weekend time) performing this exercise on 380 photos for the entire 1996 Gold Coast Council area…

3) The third way that aerial photography is provided is literally static images with no reference to where they belong. With these photos, you basically have to match a given image feature (i.e., road intersection, driveway-road intersection, building corner) with a known spatial co-ordinate. So for example, if I have an aerial photo of my neighbourhood, and I know (using my GPS unit) that the corner of my street is 27.607° S, 153.074° E, I designate that ‘control point’ on the aerial photo, as that known spatial co-ordinate. The more control points that you do this with, the more accurate your image will reflect reality. This process of ‘orthorectifying’ is also known as ‘rubber-sheeting’ once you have enough matching points on the photo. Through a process called ‘1st order polynomial’ and ‘2nd order polynomial’ transformations, parts of the aerial photo are effectively stretched and contracted to best match their true spatial location; thus the term ‘rubber-sheeting’. The image on the right shows what I mean, and comes from the ArcGIS help webpage. THIS method of orthorectifying is the most time consuming and inaccurate method, as the manipulation of the photo based on your control points is like laying a sheet over the ground and while you may be able to relatively accurately anchor parts of that sheet to the ground (control points), those parts of the sheet between the points are not necessarily where they should be. In the end, you can reduce the ‘error’ between the aerial photo and where you say those control points should be by just increasing the number of control points....... all depends on how accurate you need the data to be…

I have pasted below an interesting collection of photos from the Manly region of Brisbane. It shows a 2007 image (provided as a pre-orthorectified, according to the type 1 process as described above) image) of the region, and then a 1991 image (orthorectifying myself according to the type 3 process as described above), and finally a 1958 image that I managed to get my hands on and self orthorectify. It shows nicely the increase cover of development and reduced cover of native vegetation over 50 or so years! If you save them all and view them as a slideshow, you can see how you can accurately stitch photos on top of each other!

Interesting new rainfall model...

2009-03-25T14:41:00.006+11:00

I came across a fascinating article published on http://www.weatherzone.com.au/. It outlines a talk to be presented at the Greenhouse 2009 conference, and later, published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal. It represents a model that can predict rainfall and associated risk of bushfires, especially in Victoria, based on the oceanic temperature difference between the western and eastern parts of the Indian Ocean! By all appearances, it looks like the model fits rainfall data somewhat better than the traditional El Nino/La Nina system, although it invariably interacts with it in the global oceanic ciculation model. It is pasted below.

A weather pattern centred on the Indian Ocean may provide an early warning system for major bushfires in southern Australia, climate experts say. Dr Wenju Cai and Tim Cowan, of CSIRO's marine and atmospheric research centre, have uncovered a link between the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and Victoria's killer bushfires. Dr Cai will tell the Greenhouse 2009 conference today that 11 of 16 major bushfires in Victoria since 1950 have been preceded by what is known as a positive IOD event. He says an unprecedented three consecutive positive IOD events preceded February's devastating Black Saturday bushfires. The IOD refers to temperature fluctuations in the east and western Indian Ocean.

The picture of the left demonstrates change in the sea surface temperature between the western and eastern Indian Oceans (between month 0 and 12) which is apparently a very strong predictor for rainfall and potential bushfire threat patterns in Australia.

In its negative phase, the IOD brings cool water to the ocean west of Australia and warm water to the north, leading to winds that bring rain-bearing air over the continent. In the positive phase, water temperatures are reversed and less rainfall travels to Australia, particularly to Victoria where the negative IOD provides winter and spring rains. As part of their research, Dr Cai and Mr Cowan recorded changes in the IOD using Argo floats; robotic devices that measure the sub-surface ocean temperature.

They found the IOD was in an "unprecedented" positive state for three consecutive years leading up to 2009. They say this preconditioned the environment to the extent that it was almost inevitable the bushfires, which claimed more than 200 lives, would occur. "If you look at the accumulative soil moisture in Victoria, it's unprecedented, it's never been so dry," Dr Cai said.

The researchers also found an IOD link to the Ash Wednesday bushfires of February 1983, with a positive event reducing rainfall during the winter of 1982. Mr Cowan says of the 11 bushfires preceded by a positive IOD, six were coupled with an El Nino event. But, there was only one occasion where an El Nino alone preceded a bushfire, compared to the five times when only an IOD impacted on the rainfall. This shows the influence of the IOD was enough to precondition the environment to high bushfire risk, says Mr Cowan.

Dr Cai and Mr Cowan say climate change projections show the frequency of positive IOD events will increase in the future. "Almost all climate models say under climate change we are going to have an Indian Ocean warming pattern," Dr Cai said. "That means it has to be manifested in either more frequent positive IOD events or higher intensity positive IODs."

According to Dr Cai, the effects of climate change can already be seen. Between 1900 and 1930 there were four positive IOD events, he says. But in the past 30 years there have been 12 positive IODs, a 400 per cent increase. For Victorian residents living in bushfire-prone areas that is bad news. Dr Cai says the continued suppression of rainfall in Victoria will only make conditions more fire friendly. "The implication [of the research] is if we have a positive IOD in one year then the following season you have a higher bushfire risk," he said. According to Dr Cai this knowledge could provide an early warning system. "It gives us four to five months' lead time [to prepare for bushfires]," he said.

He says modelling shows that climate change will also lead to a 30 per cent increase in the number of consecutive events, while the odds of three consecutive IODs occurring increases by 300 per cent. "In 1,000 virtual years without climate change we get two occurrences [of three consecutive positive IOD events]. With climate change factored into the modelling this becomes eight."

The research is due to be published in a series of papers in the Geophysical Research Letters.

The synergistic environmental/economic crisis.

2009-03-10T17:11:00.005+11:00

Haven't posted for a while, but I received an interesting email from a subscribed post-doc fellows email list here at Griffith Uni. It is an opinion piece by Thomas Friedman from the March 7th opinion pages of the New York Times. Thomas is a regular columnist with the New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize winning author. This article outlines the economical and ecological unsustainable outcome of the ubiquitous 'growth model' that we hear the politicians and business sectors so vehemently following. A great short article on what is so bleedingly obvious; consumerism and corporate greed spells synergistic environmental and economic collapse!

The Inflection Is Near?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published in The New York Times, March 7, 2009

Sometimes the satirical newspaper The Onion is so right on, I can’t resist quoting from it. Consider this faux article from June 2005 about America’s addiction to Chinese exports:

FENGHUA, China — Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd., a plastics factory that manufactures lightweight household items for Western markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the “sheer amount of [garbage] Americans will buy. Often, when we’re assigned a new order for, say, ‘salad shooters,’ I will say to myself, ‘There’s no way that anyone will ever buy these.’ ... One month later, we will receive an order for the same product, but three times the quantity. How can anyone have a need for such useless [garbage]? I hear that Americans can buy anything they want, and I believe it, judging from the things I’ve made for them,” Chen said. “And I also hear that, when they no longer want an item, they simply throw it away. So wasteful and contemptible.”

Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”

We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more and more factories in China, powered by more and more coal that would cause more and more climate change but earn China more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills so America would have more and more money to build more and more stores and sell more and more stuff that would employ more and more Chinese ...

We can’t do this anymore.

“We created a way of raising standards of living that we can’t possibly pass on to our children,” said Joe Romm, a physicist and climate expert who writes the indispensable blog climateprogress.org. We have been getting rich by depleting all our natural stocks — water, hydrocarbons, forests, rivers, fish and arable land — and not by generating renewable flows.

“You can get this burst of wealth that we have created from this rapacious behavior,” added Romm. “But it has to collapse, unless adults stand up and say, ‘This is a Ponzi scheme. We have not generated real wealth, and we are destroying a livable climate ...’ Real wealth is something you can pass on in a way that others can enjoy.”

Over a billion people today suffer from water scarcity; deforestation in the tropics destroys an area the size of Greece every year — more than 25 million acres; more than half of the world’s fisheries are over-fished or fished at their limit.

“Just as a few lonely economists warned us we were living beyond our financial means and overdrawing our financial assets, scientists are warning us that we’re living beyond our ecological means and overdrawing our natural assets,” argues Glenn Prickett, senior vice president at Conservation International. But, he cautioned, as environmentalists have pointed out: “Mother Nature doesn’t do bailouts.”

One of those who has been warning me of this for a long time is Paul Gilding, the Australian environmental business expert. He has a name for this moment — when both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at once — “The Great Disruption.”

“We are taking a system operating past its capacity and driving it faster and harder,” he wrote me. “No matter how wonderful the system is, the laws of physics and biology still apply.” We must have growth, but we must grow in a different way. For starters, economies need to transition to the concept of net-zero, whereby buildings, cars, factories and homes are designed not only to generate as much energy as they use but to be infinitely recyclable in as many parts as possible. Let’s grow by creating flows rather than plundering more stocks.

Gilding says he’s actually an optimist. So am I. People are already using this economic slowdown to retool and reorient economies. Germany, Britain, China and the U.S. have all used stimulus bills to make huge new investments in clean power. South Korea’s new national paradigm for development is called: “Low carbon, green growth.” Who knew? People are realizing we need more than incremental changes — and we’re seeing the first stirrings of growth in smarter, more efficient, more responsible ways.

In the meantime, says Gilding, take notes: “When we look back, 2008 will be a momentous year in human history. Our children and grandchildren will ask us, ‘What was it like? What were you doing when it started to fall apart? What did you think? What did you do?’ ” Often in the middle of something momentous, we can’t see its significance. But for me there is no doubt: 2008 will be the marker — the year when ‘The Great Disruption’ began.

Photos of Sydney Uni taken in Dec '08

2009-02-19T12:33:00.004+11:00

In December, Rebecca and I went to Sydney for the Ecological Society of Australia conference that I was presenting at. I presented a poster entitled "How dynamic are forest and suburban bird communities?" which represents a very small part of my work here at Griffith University. Feel free to download a PDF copy of the poster by clicking here. The conference was held at Sydney University, a place of amazing history and architecture. I recently downloaded the photos from the camera and decided I would finally take the time to post some of the photos I took of the Quadrangle Building. You can link to them here on on the right in the Picture Albums section.

Climate change analogy

2009-02-13T10:28:00.008+11:00

Yesterday, I was listening to an ABC Science Show podcast initially aired on Saturday 31st January 2009 and heard one of the best analogies regarding the need to halt the ever-present and accelerating climate change issue. It was a quote by John Holdren, Professor of Environment Policy at Harvard, who was selected as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Here is what he said...

"The current situation of the world in relation to the climate problem is that we're in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog, and the fog is the scientific uncertainty about the details that prevent us from knowing exactly where the cliff is. The climate change sceptics are telling us that the fog is a consolation and that we shouldn't worry because we're uncertain about the details, but of course any sane person driving a car toward a cliff in the fog and knowing that the brakes are bad, that it takes the car a long time to stop, will start putting on the brakes, trying to slow the car, without knowing exactly where the cliff is but just in the hope that by putting on the brakes we'll be in time to keep from going over the cliff. You don't have to be sure that you can still avoid going over the cliff to put on the brakes, you want to do it in any case. And that's what the world should be doing with respect to the emissions of greenhouse gases that are causing this climate problem. There's a chance we'll go over the cliff anyway but prudence requires that we try to stop the car."

GREAT analogy, in that it addresses the nay-sayers, as well as reinforces the need for action. It is great to finally see someone associated with the White House that has an obvious passion, but more importantly, the brains to deal with the impending issue that is climate change. Having said that however, from an academic point of view, I worry about the degree of influence that climate change appears to have in the scientific literature. For that, I will need to write another post, because there are a number of elements I wish to discuss, so will need to think about it first...

Rainfall and temperature of late...

2009-02-12T14:51:00.010+11:00

The weather that we are experiencing at the moment throughout Australia is phenomenal. We have disaster relief programs brought on from flooding in the north of Queensland and the tragedy of fire in Victoria. I have pulled some data from the Bureau of Meteorology website that exemplifies the bizarre nature of the weather experienced this year already.

Rainfall
The rainfall data shows some very interesting trends throughout the country. Firstly, you can tell from the first figure the vast amount of rain that has fallen in northern Queensland. A quick check of some centres indicates some amazing facts. One of the wettest weather stations this year has been Hawkins Creek, just NW of Ingham, where since the start of the year, 2,694.2mm has been recorded, including 1376.8mm in the last 12 days! That yearly total to date represents over three times the annual average rainfall for Perth and over twice that of Sydney! Needless to say, with that much rain falling in the region, flooding is a major issue. Flooding has also gripped large parts of the western edge of Queensland from Burketown all the way down to Birdsville. The Diamantina, Gregory, Nicholson, Albert, Leichhardt, Flinders, Cloncurry, Norman and Gilbert Rivers, just to name a few, are all presently on flood watch; many of them have been on flood watch for almost a month. Note also the interesting rainfall pattern in Western Australia. There has been more rain falling in the arid interior of WA then there has been on the coast. No doubt, the pattern of rainfall from Port Hedland down to the Nullarbor was due to the passage of various rain-bearing depressions and Cyclone Dominic, although this pattern of elevated rainfall through the interior of WA is evident over the last 10 years or so, often independent of cyclone activity… interesting!! Note also on the map that much of the area devastated by the recent bushfires in Victoria have received little to no rainfall. Apparently, much of Victoria experienced a relatively wet December which helped to boost understorey vegetation. Following this, a very dry January and heatwave at the same time (see below) resulted in all this ‘fuel’ drying out.

The second figure I show is the percentage of yearly rainfall received to date. What is amazing on this figure is that as of the 11th February, much of northern Queensland has already received their average rainfall for the year, with some places in the Gulf country already having received over twice their average yearly rainfall already… and it is only the 11th February! If they don’t receive a single millimetre for the rest of the year, they would already have received twice their yearly rainfall. Unfortunately, there appears to be no end to the rainfall in the immediate future.

Temperature
As we have seen, the Victorian bushfires are unprecedented in the sense of ferocity, intensity and loss of life. What hasn’t helped has been the incredible temperatures experienced throughout the southern states in the last 2 months. On Saturday 7th February, the day the fires claimed so many lives, Melbourne experienced their hottest day in 151 years of records; 46.4 degrees, or 20.6 degrees above the January average! Add to this, temperatures of 36.4, 43.4, 44.3 and 45.1 between January 27th and 30th, and you have some strange weather! Likewise, at the same time, Adelaide sweltered through temperatures as high as 45.7 degrees, and for 13 days between Monday 26th January and 7th February, the temperature only dropped below 36 degrees on one day, and included 8 days over 40 degrees! The cause of much of this heat was the presence of a heat trough (shown as a dashed line) perched just to the west of Adelaide and Melbourne around the time of the heatwave, which was being held there by a high pressure system in the Tasman Sea, and brought hot dry winds from the NW over the parched, dry and hot inland. Any time you see a trough line to the west of where you are, expect hot weather, especially if it plants itself there for days! This is regularly seen in Perth, and you watch; those days they expect hot temperature, you can almost guarantee a trough just off the coast, and as soon as it passes, it dramatically cools down. On 8th January, the maximum temperature reached just 24.8 degrees compared to 41.5 degrees the day before. Likewise, on the 8th January in Melbourne, the temperature reached just 22.5 degrees compared to 46.4 degrees the day before; a 23.9 degree turnaround. That same trough line that brought this hot weather then cooked Sydney for an extra day as it moved east, bringing 42.5 degrees to Penrith, before dropping to 23.6 degrees on Monday.

The image I show here is the maximum temperature anomaly (that is, the differnce between that observed, and the long-term average) for both the month of January, as well as the last 7 days, which shows the uncharacteristically high maximum temperatures in the southeast of the country and the extraordinarily cooler maximum temperatures in the gulf country of northern Queensland, associated in part with all the rain they have received.

These patterns of temperature and rainfall have given rise to the current state of northern Queensland and their floods and the devastaing bushfires in Victoria. We can only hope that the coming months ease the burden on the people affected by these unsual weather events. Check out on the Bureau of Meteorology website, as well as the Weatherzone website, which you can register with to get really good weather information, outlooks as well as interesting weather news and facts! ENJOY!

Our veggie garden - Day 14

2009-02-01T21:48:00.008+11:00

Well, the veggie garden has been growing for 14 days now (seedlings planted on the 18th Jan), and there have been mixed results. The basil has grown crazy, and we have used it in a variety of dishes from bolognese sauce to topping on pizza. The tomatoes and capsicum have not grown so much, and I suspect that they may be over-watered. Today, I bought some more seedlings as well as some wooden stakes to lay the growing containers over to keep them off the ground. This should help drainage. The other seedlings I bought were zucchini and spring onions. From a single punnet, I managed to tease apart well over 50 onions!!

I have to say, today's gardening was one of the most relaxing and therapeutic afternoons I have had in a very long time: the weather was coolish, overcast with a light wind. Now, there may be some out there that would suggest I should 'harden the fu*k up' and get with the 'pig-rooting' and 'chick-shooting' mentality or whatever it is :), but try it out!! You'd be surprised! There is something very satisfying about not only watching things grow, but harvesting your own food!!

I will post the photos of the other seedlings and the new setup soon....... and the house photos..... hopefully even sooner.....

The immorality of logging

2009-01-28T12:31:00.015+11:00

I came across an article published in the Melbourne newspaper "The Age" dated 23 March 2007. The article was written by Marcus Ward, and although he is the forestry spokesman for the Victorian Greens, the words he writes ring true in every sense of the word. The article discusses the immoral and unsustainable shambles that is native forest logging; raping the earth of pristine wilderness in the name of an unsustainable industry that only exists for it's own existence!! This is exemplified in the fact that almost all players in the native 'timber' (logging) industry (from local mills to woodchip pulp mills) receive SOME form of local government, regional, state or federal subsidies; not because of drought, inclement weather events, or global economic turn down, but just because the whole damn industry is TOTALLY unsustainable.

It's like giving subsidies to cotton-growers or rice-growers along the Darling River because they are doing it tough!! FOR F**K SAKE, THEY'RE GROWING HIGH WATER REQUIREMENT CROPS IN ONE OF THE MOST ARID ENVIRONMENTS IN THE WORLD!....... Does the government give car-wash businesses in Bourke, Broken Hill or Burracoppin subsidies when the water restrictions limit their business??!! NO, and you know why? Because it is unsustainable to worry about washing your 1979 Datsun Sunny so you can drive past the local cafe in an effort to impress the ladies. Why then, do industries such as the timber industry, cotton industry and rice-growing industry receive subsidies!! Dare I mention the degenerative and shameful role that unions (such as the CFMEU) play in all this? Maybe that is for another post......

If we go back to the issue of the timber industry, what is the answer then I hear you ask??? Well, the answer lies in plantation initiatives. It works in NZ!!! Nothing is going to stop our thirst for paper and other products derived from timber, HOWEVER, pine trees (Pinus radiata and other species of this genus) are relatively fast growing and can be harvested in as little as 20 - 25 years. What about hemp!? Hemp plants are very fast growing, and can provide pulp for production of paper, as well as cotton-like material! So versatile, although the stigmas attached to the plant belong in the stone-ages..... Anyway, enjoy the following article. Please feel free to leave a comment!!!

Bushwhacked by logging industry
by Marcus Ward

THE recently announced closure of the Black Forest Timbers (BFT) sawmill at Woodend is far more than just another story about yet another small business shutting its gates. It's the story of the end of a myth that has underpinned the state's logging industry for three decades: the myth of sustainable logging.

Black Forest Timber was established in 1974 at a time when the logging industry was struggling with low profits, dropping demand and a dwindling log supply caused by decades of overlogging and poor forest management. Loggers were being hammered by imports and competition from domestic pine.

Out of this crisis sprang a new industry model. BFT was both a creation of and an ardent practitioner of the then new business model. The new approach changed fundamentally the way state forests have been managed as well as the relationships between government, industry, bureaucracy and the community.

In the 1980s the new logging industry plan gained momentum and was embraced by governments at all levels, by the unions and the bureaucrats. An essential change was the move to intensive logging. Selective logging all but disappeared in favour of clear-felling. At the same time the areas of logging also dramatically increased.

In turn, this required the introduction of export woodchipping as a convenient way to profit from and practically deal with the huge mountain of trees being felled.

Herein lay a troublesome hurdle. Woodchipping has never been accepted by Victorians. Many polls have been carried out over many years. They all register a very high disapproval level. In an effort to sell the new approach to government and the community, a PR campaign was mounted and vigorously maintained, often using government grants.

The plan became more than a plan; it became a dogma. A new vocabulary was consciously developed to distinguish old "unsustainable logging" from the new "sustainable logging". "Logging" became "harvesting". The "logging industry" became the "timber industry". "Woodchips" weren't chipped trees, but rather the "waste from the forest floor that would otherwise be burnt". From dogma to mythology, criticism was incomprehensible to believers.

The industry needed huge subsidies, and they got them; again and again. They sold the idea of "sustainability" at every opportunity. It justified the enormous injection of taxpayer support because it carried with it the notion of building something for the future, something permanent.

In this new era, loggers were not only successful business managers, they were environmental stewards. This was an important part of the message.

There have been many industry restructures and rescue plans over the past 30 years.

As industry target after target failed, new plans substituted for old as quickly they failed. "Value adding" has arguably been used by no industry as successfully as Victoria's hardwood loggers for raiding the public purse. There have been export grants and product development grants. There were grants to "prove up" the viability of kiln-dried beams. There were grants to improve efficiency of kiln drying and steaming. There have been transport subsidies, marketing subsidies and several adjustment packages.

For a small sawmill with limited prospects of expansion, BFT's access to government support has been extraordinary. In just the past four years it has received about $1 million a year in transport subsidies and has also received several $1 million-plus industry development grants. Distributed over the

14 sawmill worker jobs disappearing with the closing of the sawmill, this equates to subsidies and grants of $150,000 a worker a year over the past four years.

The amounts of money thrown at hardwood loggers in recent times is sobering. In 2000, Steve Bracks signed an agreement with the Howard Government that locked in a further 20 years of export woodchipping and clear-felling in western Victoria; $63 million was set aside for more industry adjustments and to ensure this was a final helping hand from government. BFT was overjoyed. Two years later the Bracks Government determined that the local forests upon which BFT depended were logged out and it decided to end all native hardwood logging west of the Hume Highway. It introduced yet another "new plan": Our Forests, Our Future. Bracks threw another $80 million in industry adjustment at the loggers and reduced sawlogging by about 30 per cent but did not reduce the area of state forest being logged. Instead, less went to sawmills and more to woodchips. They continue to believe and invest.

Good myths are potent and often endure against the odds. So it was with the sustainable logging myth. Because Labor and Liberal governments had invested so heavily, they ignored the obvious warning signs of failure. Instead, they became more desperate to "make it work". Clear-felling and woodchipping were rapidly killing the hardwood sawmilling industry. Because failures were always met with new adjustment plans, failures were hidden by the "good news" of new grants and investments.

In 2000 an alternative industry plan was developed by conservation groups and Treasury. It offered a no job loss, no woodchipping, transition into plantations for western Victoria. Initially, the state's peak industry body and some sawmills received it positively.

It was the veto of BFT and the CFMEU forestry division that scuttled any hope of a secure future in plantations. Instead, BFT opted for a continued future in native forests, and hoped for the impossible.

New Zealand, with an economy about the size of Victoria's, and facing the same postwar logging industry structural problems, took another path:

it diversified and eventually completely made the transition into purpose-planted plantations. It ended all logging in public native forests in 2000.

By 2004 the NZ logging industry directly employed 23,000 people and accounted for 4 per cent of gross domestic product. It had annual sales of $5 billion, with $3.5 billion of that earned in export. It was NZ's third-biggest export earner. In Orbost, long viewed as the logging capital of Victoria, the signs along the highway proudly identifying Orbost as Victoria's timber town have recently been removed. Expect another round of industry adjustment packages soon.

Our veggie garden - Day zero

2009-01-22T11:29:00.010+11:00

Well, I have been rather slack and STILL haven't posted any pics of our new place. That will change in the coming weekend (I hope.... given that they are expecting rain). I am really hoping to take pics of the estate and then our place... might even post a video tour.... leave that with me...

Because the backyard is limited in it's space, and seeing that we are renting the place, we decided to still grow a veggie garden, just in tubs instead of the ground!! Now, rather than paying exorbitant amounts of money for 'recognised' garden pots, I went to the local 'Sam's Warehouse' (Red Dot equivalent in Perth) and picked up 3 x 15L green containers for $2.99 each!! They are deep enough to allow for root growth, and small enough to manage without paying too much for potting mix! I bought green containers to blend in with the whole organic nature of the process, as well as reducing issues relating to heating of the soil that a black container brings, or lighting of the soil (resulting in possible algal/fungal growth) that a clear container brings.

So, for now, we are growing 4 'Grosse Lisse' tomato plants in the one container. This is probably not a good idea (I do recognise), as they grow to over 1.8m tall, although the confined space to grow in may limit them anyway to smaller/dwarf varieties. In another container, we are growing 4 'Californian Wonder' capsicum plants (or bell peppers for our American audience). They should do alright in the containers. In the third and final (for now) container, we have Sweet Basil and Chives. All plants were grown from established seedlings, with the Basil seedlings particularly advanced (as you will see in the photos). By the way, the mulchy stuff you see on the tomatoes and capsicum is sugar-cane mulch! Cheap as chips, it comes in highly compressed 'bricks' about 70cm long, but will cover a MASSIVE area, so if you see it available, consider using it as not only does it reduce evapotranspiration from the soil, but it puts waste-product of the sugar industry to good use!

We chose these veges, fruits and herbs to grow for a number of reasons. Tomatoes are always good to use in salads, sauces, sandwiches etc etc, so you can never have too many. Capsicums are good to grow for a number of reasons. 1. They are just too expensive to buy, and are therefore bonus veges that we would otherwise not get to eat. 2. They are easy to grow. 3. Although they require a lot of water (as do tomatoes), I believe that growing in pots/containers maintains moisture levels in the soil slightly better than the open ground...... (right?). Basil is fantastic to add to sauces and can be preserved in a sense, in pesto for months, ready to use (thanks Mark!!). Chives, likewise, are a good alternative in some dishes to onions, and they are renewable and continue to grow as you cultivate them.

So I hope to take regular photos of the vege patch (area of containers!) and will no doubt add to the veges with a selection from Silverbeet (spinach), pumpkin, broccoli, etc etc... whatever we want!!!

Suprises in the field!

2009-01-13T13:36:00.013+11:00

Rebecca came with me as my field assistant over the last two days to help with field work. We got a heap of exercise walking both along tracks and making our own tracks through the forest and woodland of the greater Brisbane region. The purpose of this fieldwork is to supplement the bird survey information with habitat data to tease out patterns of why certain species and numbers of birds are found in certain habitats! Butterflies are diverse and abundant in the subtropical climate of SE Queensland. We got a really good look (and attached photo) of one of the more common species called the Australian Crow (Euploea core). This species is also known as the Oleander Butterfly (which makes infinitely more sense) given its association with Oleander trees. What is really fascinating about this species, apart from it's inherent beauty, is it's amazing silver chrysalis (cocoon). I have attached a great photo from the internet of one! These butterflies are particularly fond of Oleander trees and their cocoons, being laid just prior to Christmas, look like Christmas ornaments!!

Our second surprise occurred yesterday morning in a large koala conservation reserve, where there was a site needing photos and GPS readings. We heard some scurrying in the undergrowth next to us, and for all intents and purpose I could not see what was making the noise as we walked by. It was then that my eyes became fixed on a moving lump of fur only 50cm from me at head height!! It was a juvenile Koala climbing a small sapling and attempting to hide!! I have attached various photos of it below. After walking on and surveying the habitat, we came across the same koala, this time on a log on the ground. Very un-koala like!! At this same site, there were a number of species that are typical of undisturbed, large areas of remnant vegetation. There were no species typical of either disturbed or open habitat (i.e., Noisy Miner, Australian Magpie, Crested Pigeon). Instead, I saw and heard species such as the Forest Kingfisher, Striated Pardalote, White-throated Honeyeater and Rufous Whistler. Two surprises were calls of Scarlet Honeyeaters and White-throated Gerygones! Scarlet Honeyeaters typically migrate south in summer, with only a couple of 'stragglers' hanging out in summer in SE Queensland. Furthermore, this is the first White-throated Gerygone I have heard (didn't actually see it) in Brisbane. The call of this species (which you can listen to here) is absolutely distinctive!

There are many more habitat surveys to go, so no doubt I will have more photos and stories to tell shortly. It is good having Bec with me in the field, as not only can she help with data collection (mostly scribing), but she gets to experience what I experience in the field; interestingly, she is actually really enjoying it!! More soon...............

Fill-in surveys in Sector 3 and 9

2009-01-07T11:37:00.005+11:00

Well, so much for having the last survey last blog. Unless something very strange happens in the next couple of days, THIS survey will represent the final instalment for summer 2008/9 surveys. This morning represented ‘fill-in’ surveys; representing surveys made to fill in the gaps in the larger Toohey Forest map. As such, this morning, I surveyed a small part of Sector 3 and a greater part of Sector 9. The number of species was relatively high, possibly as a result of the surveys being done in a number of different habitats; edge habitat in Sector 3 as well as interior habitat in Sector 9. The real surprise was a pair of King Parrots, as I have not seen them throughout the summer survey season! King Parrots are very distinctive when they fly and are instantaneously identifiable, with their shallow slow wing beats and ‘spirit-level’ straight profile in flight! Aside from them, it was nice to hear three Grey Shrike-thrush calling, as their call is characteristic (for me anyway) of extensive woodland and forest habitat. Click here to here an extract of a typical call. Interestingly, Grey Shrike-thrush, for all their vocal beauty, are a devious species for the following reason. I have previously had them following me while surveying for Eastern Yellow Robins in Armidale. They silently stalk you, watching you walking through the forest. The reason for this stalking reflects the Shrike-thrush’s propensity for predating nests; they follow human observers for a free guide to nest sites. These are not the only species to do this, and I have noted both Pied Currawongs in NSW as well as Grey Currawongs in WA doing this.

A summary of the whole season will come up soon!!

Date: 7th January 2009
Time: 0610 - 0815
Sector: Fill-ins in 3 and 9
Number of species seen: 23
Number of birds seen: 104

Australian Magpie (4)
Australian Wood duck (2)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (5)
Dollarbird (2)
Galah (2)
Grey Butcherbird (1)
Grey Shrike-thrush (3)
King Parrot (2)
Noisy Friarbird (1)
Noisy Miner (12)
Olive-backed Oriole (1)
Pale-headed Rosella (3)
Pied Currawong (4)
Rainbow Lorikeet (34)
Sacred Kingfisher (7)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (2)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (2)
Silvereye (2)
Spangled Drongo (2)
Striated Pardalote (2)
White-browed Scrubwren (3)
White-throated Honeyeater (6)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (4)

Sector 6; Final survey, although still new suprises

2009-01-05T14:03:00.005+11:00

FINAL survey for the season (although I might need to do a couple of fill-ins for those places throughout the forest that have not been surveyed; will assess that tomorrow). The majority of the first part of the survey was VERY mesic (moist); almost rainforest like. There were a lot of Rainbow Lorikeets, and a sighting of what I am 90% sure was a pair of Little Lorikeet: based on their size and higher-pitched call. There was also a large number of White-throated Needletail; peppering the sky above the survey site! Even though it was the last survey, there are still surprises such as the sighting of a small family of Superb Fairy-wren. They are notoriously hard to identify from the Variegated Fairy-wren, although the call of the fairy-wrens I saw was different, and the feathers around the eye of the females was lighter. If I had seen the male better, I would have been able to identify the absence of chestnut on the shoulder and a darker eye-stripe that is distinctive from other fairy-wrens. The sighting of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo was also a nice surprise. I can quite confidently predict that 60 – 75% of people would have heard these cuckoos, although they are rarely seen; usually calling from the top of exposed trees in the early morning or late evening. This pattern of activity is often referred to as crepuscular, and is characteristic of animals such as kangaroos. Whether this term can be used for birds… I don’t know…

Anyway, in the next week or so (once work settles down a bit), I will provide a summary of the whole survey season. In the meantime, I have many habitat surveys and site inspections (GPS coordinates and photos) to perform from throughout the greater Brisbane area, so I will write about that and other things soon. Watch this space!!

Date: 30th December 2008
Time: 0530 - 0800
Sector: 6
Number of species seen: 22
Number of birds seen: 169

Australian Brush-Turkey (2)
Australian Magpie (4)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (3)
Fan-tailed Cuckoo (1)
Grey Butcherbird (2)
Laughing Kookaburra (2)
Little Lorikeet (2)
Noisy Friarbird (5)
Noisy Miner (16)
Olive-backed Oriole (1)
Pied Butcherbird (1)
Pied Currawong (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (52)
Sacred Kingfisher (2)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (8)
Silvereye (8)
Spotted Turtle-dove (2)
Superb Fairy-wren (6)
Torresian Crow (5)
White-throated Honeyeater (2)
White-throated Needletail (40)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (4)

Sector 5; Diversity of habitat, uniformity of birds

2009-01-05T13:16:00.005+11:00

Well, the Christmas break is over and a lot has happened over that time; surveys, moving house, back at work etc etc. More on the non-survey stuff on another occasion. The last survey before Christmas was in Sector 5. It was a particularly mild morning, with a strange sight of two hot air balloons high in the sky to the west! The habitat in much of the survey was really diverse, with a dense leaf litter no doubt supporting a diverse epigeic (leaf litter) fauna. Even though there was such a diverse habitat, the species richness and abundance was rather disappointing. There are a number of potential reasons for this: there were a large number of large aggressive species such as Kookaburras, Friarbirds, Currawongs, Lorikeets and Crows. A second reason, one linked to the above reason, is the ‘architecture’ of the sector that the survey was undertaken in. The habitat surveyed was effectively bounded on 3 sides by ‘matrix’ habitat, that is, habitat such as roads, suburban development or commercial landuses. This degree of development surrounding the survey area effectively increases the proportion of ‘edge’ habitat (see Sector 4 post for explanation). This usually results in an increase in edge-tolerant species and a decrease in edge-avoiding species. Seeing Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and White-throated Honeyeaters was awesome though (especially two small flocks of White-throated). They are keeping me sane until numbers build up again for next winter!!
Got a good look at Scribbly Gum, so I have attached a photo I took of one in the field. These trees get the name because of the scribbly lines on their bark, which are caused by the larvae of the Scribbly Gum moth. The larvae burrow into the new bark below the surface, with the scribbles (grub trails) only revealing themselves as the old bark falls away. The diameters of the tunnels increase as the larvae grow, and the ends of the tracks are where the larvae stopped to pupate! Will shortly post the final sector 6 survey!!

Date: 23rd December 2008
Time: 0540 - 0745
Sector: 5
Number of species seen: 18
Number of birds seen: 82

Australian Brush-Turkey (1)
Australian Magpie (2)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (2)
Cicadabird (1)
Laughing Kookaburra (2)
Noisy Friarbird (6)
Olive-backed Oriole (2)
Pied Currawong (4)
Rainbow Lorikeet (18)
Sacred Kingfisher (4)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (5)
Silvereye (3)
Spotted Turtle-dove (1)
Striated Pardalote (8)
Torresian Crow (4)
Variegated Fairy-wren (7)
White-throated Honeyeater (10)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (2)

Sector 4; Robins, Whistlers and Treecreepers

2008-12-16T11:08:00.004+11:00

Third-last survey for the season took me to Sector 4. This represents the only sector in Toohey Forest not bounded on at least one side by suburban habitat, roads, buildings or any other major anthropogenic disturbance. As a result, the number of species were slightly up on the last couple of surveys. More importantly, the species composition of the sites was also different, with a large number of species that you could categorise as edge-avoiding, interior core-habitat species. Species such as the Rufous Whistler, White-throated Treecreeper and even the Eastern Yellow Robin are more likely to be found within the centre of large patches, and seem to avoid edges. The concept of ‘edge effects’ reflects the different biotic and abiotic attributes associated with ecotone or edge habitat. For example, patch edges with roads or suburban development are typically characterised by increased noise, greater density of weeds, altered microclimate (e.g., windier, sunnier, hotter and thus drier) as well as an increase in ‘edge-tolerant’ and aggressive species such as Noisy Miners, Australian Magpies, Common Mynahs etc. As a result of these altered biotic and abiotic conditions at edges, species such as the Rufous Whistler and Eastern Yellow Robin are excluded from such habitat. Generally therefore, the larger a patch of vegetation, the greater the probability that the patch harbours these ‘edge-sensitive’ species. Back to the survey results……

Apart from the species recorded below, I also heard a number of other species just off the survey route, including a Channel-billed Cuckoo, Striated Pardalotes and Olive-backed Orioles. In all therefore, there were a large number of species this morning! I also noted that apart from the number of species, there was a high diversity. By this, I mean, there were an appreciable number of almost all of the species instead of just single records of most species.

Species richness = the number of species in the community
Species diversity = the number and frequency of species in the community

The White-throated Treecreeper is a species that has apparently declined throughout Toohey Forest and is now primarily found on the high ridgelines within the centre of the forest. As they are specialist bark foragers (with highly developed legs for walking up trees as they feed), they require large mature trees to feed on. The Eastern Yellow Robin is another species that has declined in the forest, for unknown reasons. They are associated with the moister areas of the forest in the gullies. Severe droughts in the last couple of years may have dramatically affected their breeding output and therefore their population persistence. Furthermore, as these species are resident and don’t have strong power of flight and dispersion, it will be hard to see recruits flying in from other patches. The long-term outlook for this species may be bleak, although future research as part of the larger study we are undertaking in the whole Brisbane metropolitan area will determine whether this decline in Toohey Forest is representative of what is happening throughout Brisbane.

Date: 16th December 2008
Time: 0545 - 0805
Sector: 4
Number of species seen: 19
Number of birds seen: 123

Australian Magpie (8)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (3)
Eastern Whipbird (1)
Eastern Yellow Robin (2)
Grey Shrike-thrush (3)
Laughing Kookaburra (1)
Leaden Flycatcher (2)
Mistletoebird (5)
Pied Butcherbird (2)
Pied Currawong (5)
Rainbow Lorikeet (19)
Rufous Whistler (2)
Sacred Kingfisher (1)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (46)
Silvereye (4)
Spangled Drongo (1)
Tawny Frogmouth (1)
White-throated Treecreeper (1)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (16)

Sector 3; Coucals, spiders and more spiders

2008-12-12T14:35:00.006+11:00

After being in Sydney last week for the Ecological Society of Australia conference, I am now back and in the groove of bird surveys. For the record, the conference was great, although was very exhausting: 8.30am – 5.00pm most days, Monday it was 8.15am – 7.00pm. Rebecca and I managed to catch up with a small number of friends, which was great fun. During the day, Bec kept herself busy walking and shopping in town. We stayed in Glebe at “The Haven Inn”. Nice place, but my god, Sydney is SO filthy!! Rubbish everywhere. I saw one girl in Paramatta placing stickers on cement pylons (about something inane no doubt) and blatantly throwing away the sticker backing!! There were 10 – 20 just blowing around the street!! Made me SO mad to see blatant vandalism and littering… sometimes I wish I was an undercover policeman……

Anyway, transplant yourself back to the clean and (relatively) safe Brisbane for another instalment of bird survey findings…

I surveyed the whole eastern section of sector 3 this morning; represented a very large portion of the forest to the east of the Pacific Motorway. The majority of the way was off-track, with many areas of dense understorey. Needless to say, there were hundreds of spiders, and those that know me would realised how much of a test it was to stay calm in the face of huge St Andrews Cross and Golden-Orb Weaver spiders everywhere!! It made the survey just that much more stressful! It was relatively quiet. I only saw 111 individuals from 15 species, although interestingly, there were two new species for my Toohey Forest surveying; one of which is rarely recorded in the forest. The first was a Pheasant Coucal that sat in a sapling in front of me and called a number of times (see dodgy quality video below; the call is right at the end). They are the most retarded species and don’t seem to harbour the ability to land gracefully in trees. They are more like a monkey in a large birds body; attempting to climb trees using their wings, only managing to attract attention from afar! The most unexpected species was a Topknot Pigeon. It was, granted, 70m above the forest, so most likely won’t be used in analysis, although it is worthy of note as this species generally inhabits sub-tropical forest in these parts, only being occasionally seen in eucalypt forest such as Toohey Forest. It is quite possible, given its high flight, that it was using the large expanse of Toohey Forest as a visual stepping stone to travel to greener pasture (albeit rainforest). Everything else was rather ordinary and unexpected, although the dense understorey in parts of Lantana and thick grass was particularly attractive to large numbers of Silvereye. My estimation of 20 individuals is perhaps a bit conservative; there were probably more like 25 – 35, although it is more of an estimate of number. With 7 surveys now complete, there are only 3 left to do. I will most likely get them all done before Christmas, although may do the last one between Christmas and New Year. It all depends on when Bec and I move house…… watch this space regarding THAT impending and building drama………..

Date: 12th December 2008
Time: 0535 - 0810
Sector: 3
Number of species seen: 15
Number of birds seen: 111

Galah (2)
Laughing Kookaburra (2)
Pheasant Coucal (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (27)
Sacred Kingfisher (1)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (8)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (2)
Silvereye (26)
Spotted Turtle-dove (2)
Torresian Crow (11)
Topknot Pigeon (1)
Variegated Fairy-wren (6)
White-browed Scrub-wren (8)
White-throated Needletail (1)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (13)

Sector 2; Raptors and rain

2008-11-27T11:37:00.005+11:00

I surveyed the SE section and northern boundary of Sector 2 this morning. This is the first survey to date that I saw no Noisy Miners!! These species are one of the most aggressive, competitive and exclusive of all species on the east coast. They are usually associated with edge habitat and habitat that has undergone considerable impact. The absence of Noisy Miners was due to the intact nature of much of the habitat I surveyed this morning! As a result, compared to Sector 1 that I surveyed just 3 days ago, there were vastly more small insectivores and honeyeaters. The presence of a Brown Goshawk along the northern boundary kept the Pied Currawongs very vocal and restless; together keeping all other species away (Currawongs are also somewhat aggressive and recognised nest predators). The Currawongs tried many times to chase off the Goshawk, to no avail! The only other highlight was the late presence of a female Leaden Flycatcher. They are seasonal migrants and travel to northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea for winter, before returning to breed in spring. The sexes are di-morphic, and in contrast to the usual case with birds, the female is the more colourful one. The female is characterised by the orange throat and chest, whereas the male has a somewhat crested dark head and back with white belly. The Leaden Flycatcher is very difficult to distinguish from the Satin Flycatcher, although the Satin Flycatcher is found in more mesic (rainforest-like) habitat. The Satin Flycatcher is ‘darker’ black and ‘shinier’ I colour than the Leaden, although if the light is not right, this is very hard to tell in the field. JUST as I finished the survey, the heavens opened up, and it rained real heavy! It was perfect timing, and an interesting experience to see the already saturated ground on which I was walking, turn into a number of trickles, then streams flowing around me. Got back to the car unscathed, albeit rather wet.

Date: 27th November 2008
Time: 0535 - 0740
Sector: 2
Number of species seen: 22
Number of birds seen: 143

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (4)
Brown Goshawk (1)
Cicadabird (2)
Common Mynah (1)
Grey Butcherbird (6)
Grey Shrike-thrush (1)
Laughing Kookaburra (1)
Leaden Flycatcher (1)
Mistletoebird (1)
Noisy Friarbird (9)
Pied Currawong (11)
Rainbow Lorikeet (20)
Rufous Fantail (1)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (30)
Spangled Drongo (1)
Spotted Turtle-dove (3)
Striated Pardalote (6)
Torresian Crow (4)
Variegated Fairy-wren (15)
Weebill (3)
White-throated Honeyeater (9)

Yellow-faced Honeyeater (13)

Ecological Society of Australia conference poster

2008-11-25T10:20:00.006+11:00

Between the 1st and 5th December 2008, the Ecological Society of Australia is holding their 33rd annual ESA conference in Sydney, at the University of Sydney! I am going to this conference and will be presenting a poster of some of the research that I am carrying out here at Griffith University. I have pasted the poster as an image to the right here, although if you wish to see it in all it’s full quality (7MB Powerpoint slide; A0 in size, 84cm x 119cm), click here to download. You will notice on the poster a picture of my supervisor (Prof Catterall) and myself, and as you will notice, yes, I have cut all my hair off! Given the hot, muggy weather up here in Brisbane, short hair is DEFINITELY better to work with than longer hair!!

Sydney University is one of the ‘Sandstone Universities’ (along with University of Western Australia which is where I undertook my undergraduate degree in Zoology and Botany), representing the 6 oldest educational institutions in Australia; all were founded before World War 2, and represent the oldest universities in each state. The grounds of Sydney University look stunning, with predominantly sandstone buildings, exemplifying the early Victorian Gothic architecture of the mid-nineteenth century. I will definitely post images of the university and the conference in the near future! Rebecca is coming with me and shopping and relaxing while I am at the conference. Everything is paid for (travel, taxis, accommodation and conference registration), so this is an opportunity for Bec (oh, we had to pay for her airfare of course) and I to enjoy a holiday (of sorts), without the exorbitant costs normally associated with it! Enjoy perusing over the poster, feel free to leave feedback or questions, and I will post photos and debrief when I get back!

Sector 1; Needletails and Drongos

2008-11-24T12:25:00.008+11:00

Surveyed the western-most portion of Toohey Forest this morning. After a rather cool start, it ended up rather warm by about 7.30am! In general, it was a rather uneventful morning; only a couple of small insectivores or forest-interior species. It was however interesting in that I added some more species to the my Toohey list. The first, was a flyover of a Channel-billed Cuckoo, which was calling out loud across the canopy as it flew through. The second was the presence of two White-throated Needletail. These species breed in northern Asia and migrate to inhabit Australia between October and about May. You rarely get a good glimpse of them, and usually see them soaring high above the treetops where they feed on flying insects. Often, you see hundreds and hundreds of them immediately prior to storms as they feed on large insect eruptions that occur at this time. For this reason, they are also sometimes referred to as Stormbirds! The third species of interest was the presence of a species that I believe harbours the best name of any bird in Australia: The Spangled Drongo! I saw three of them chasing a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike! They are a very easy species to identify. Firstly, even in silhouette, you can see the characteristic forked ‘fish’ tail. They also have iridescent black plumage, with a stark red eye! One final ‘first’ for me this morning was being swooped by a Grey Butcherbird! I have rarely been swooped in my life, little alone by a Butcherbird, so I was pleasantly surprised!!

Date: 24th November 2008
Time: 0530 - 0810
Sector: 1
Number of species seen: 23
Number of birds seen: 150

Australian Magpie (3)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (6)
Channel-billed Cuckoo (1)
Cicadabird (1)
Common Mynah (1)
Crested Pigeon (2)
Dollarbird (1)
Grey Butcherbird (2)
Magpie-lark (4)
Noisy Friarbird (3)
Noisy Miner (43)
Olive-backed Oriole (1)
Pied Butcherbird (1)
Pied Currawong (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (19)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (23)
Silvereye (6)
Spangled Drongo (4)
Spotted Turtle-dove (1)
Striated Pardalote (22)
Torresian Crow (2)
White-throated Needletail (2)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (1)

Sector 10 survey; Fairy-wrens and Fantails

2008-11-21T14:14:00.020+11:00

Another early morning start for me this morning. Because of the incessant rain over the last few days, I never thought I would be able to get this survey done, but finally it is done! It was the most daunting of all surveys to date, because it was done around the Mt Gravatt summit, so there was a lot of steep country to follow. The view from the top of Mt Gravatt rivals that of most city views in the country in my opinion (although the King’s park view of Perth is still the best by far!). There were two highlights to this survey. The first was an extended look at two male Red-backed Fairy wrens!! The stark contrast between the fire-rich red and black plumage is just incredible. The second highlight was a record of a highly unexpected Rufous Fantail. This species is similar to the Grey Fantail except that it is found in more mesic rainforest vegetation, whereas the Grey Fantail is typically in woodland and forest! Given that Toohey State Forest is primarily represented by lowland woodland/forest vegetation rather than rainforest vegetation, the recording of a Rufous Fantail is an odd and thus rare occurrence!

Date: 21st November 2008
Time: 0530 - 0800
Sector: 10
Number of species seen: 18
Number of birds seen: 220

Australian Magpie (2)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (3)
Grey Butcherbird (4)
Laughing Kookaburra (3)
Noisy Friarbird (17)
Noisy Miner (18)
Pied Butcherbird (2)
Rainbow Lorikeet (75)
Red-backed Fairy-wren (5)
Rufous Fantail (1)
Sacred Kingfisher (1)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (45)
Silvereye (5)
Striated Pardalote (4)
Torresian Crow (5)
Variegated Fairy-wren (19)
White-browed Scrub-wren (6)
White-throated Honeyeater (5)

The Brisbane storms, hail, rain and wind of November 2008

2008-11-21T13:51:00.011+11:00

Needless to say, many would have heard of some of the devastating effects experienced in Brisbane form a spate of storms that have ravaged the city in the last week! In total, there have been at least 4 major storms that have wreaked havoc across the region. In terms of rain, here are some stats just for Brisbane over the last week!

Mon 17/11/2008 31.8mm
Tue 18/11/2008 14.6mm
Wed 19/11/2008 77.2mm
Thu 20/11/2008 79.4mm
Fri 21/11/2008 29.0mm
TOTAL 232.0mm

That is 232mm in 5 days!! To put it in perspective, that is almost 3 times the average November rainfall for Brisbane and just under a quarter of the yearly rainfall for Brisbane in 5 days! No wonder the rivers in the region are flooded! In the Ipswich region to the west of Brisbane, 250mm of rain fell from 10pm Wednesday night till 5am Thursday morning! Homes were flooded, highways were flooded, railways were flooded! Crazy!! Thankfully, all we had to deal with was a bit of a flooded front lawn, compared with the poor buggers who lost their house and garden.

The main storm in Brisbane actually occurred on Sunday night; giving rise to the 31.8mm recorded up to 9am on the Monday. However, it was the wind and rain together that caused much of the devastation! The degree of devastation was so localised! A suburb called The Gap bore the brunt of the storms, while others nearby escaped with minor damage if at all!! One video that exemplifies the strength of the wind and rain where it was devastating is this YouTube video. Well work checking out, especially for the wind shear in the last 20 secs or so!! Scary stuff, and to think that the wind was strong enough in other places to remove destroy whole houses!!

Only last night, while out late-night shopping, Rebecca and I were in the middle of an almighty storm, and watched it pour with rain like I have never seen it. Following the storm, we managed to capture on film the most intense lightning I have ever seen as the storm receding storm as it raced north and on to Brisbane city! I have posted it here! Enjoy!

Sector 9 survey; A good look at a Cicadabird

2008-11-14T14:11:00.018+11:00

Another sector finished this morning! It was a strenuous walk, with a lot of hills and gullies. The survey was undertaken on the east side of the Pacific motorway, which meant I entered the forest from the Mt Gravatt campus. Nothing extraordinary during this survey, apart from a large number of Sacred Kingfisher (even though there were only 8, that is a lot relative to what you would normally see) and a large number of Silvereye, the latter probably because of the dense understorey associated with the many gullies. The highlight of the morning though was my best ever sighting of a Cicadabird! I heard one on one of the ridge lines. Their call is amazing, and funnily enough, sounds like a cicada to the untrained ear! (Click here to listen to recording) As I got closer I managed to track the source down and there it was in plain view (albeit through the binoculars)! I have previously had a fleeting glimpse of a single individual on Mt Duval (just to the north of Armidale NSW), but this was a long and great view of one!

Date: 14th November 2008
Time: 0535 - 0800
Sector: 9
Number of species seen: 18
Number of birds seen: 155

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (3)
Cicadabird (1) Galah (2)
Grey Butcherbird (1)
Noisy Miner (11)
Olive-backed Oriole (3)
Pale-headed Rosella (2)
Rainbow Lorikeet (34)
Sacred Kingfisher (8)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (3)
Silvereye (31)
Striated Pardalote (3)
Torresian Crow (4)
Variegated Fairy-wren (23)
White-browed Scrub-wren (7)
Welcome Swallow (3)
White-throated Honeyeater (4)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (12)

Sector 8 survey; some WEIRD behaviour

2008-11-14T10:53:00.013+11:00

During the 11th November survey, I witnessed one of the strangest behaviours I have even seen in the field. I recorded an interaction between a Brown Thornbill and a female Variegated Fairy-wren. My initial reaction was that the Variegated Fairy-wren ‘supplanted’ the Brown Thornbill; supplanting is where a species displaces another species from its perch, i.e., I run toward you and scare you off your seat and take your seat. HOWEVER, I noticed afterwards that the Fairy-wren persisted for over 2 minutes with this apparent aggressive behaviour toward the Brown Thornbill. Let it be known at this point, that the fairy-wren is perhaps one of the most placid of any species and rarely exhibits any form of aggression to any other species (interspecific), or even to members of its own species (intraspecific; apart from that associated with breeding I suppose). Anyway, it was after 2-3 minutes of watching this interaction that I recorded the most bizarre behaviour: the Brown Thornbill turned and fed the fairy-wren!! This is unprecedented! Apart from observations of small birds feeding cuckoo chicks (for those not aware, cuckoos only ever lay their eggs in the nest of other species, so a small little bird feeding a great big cuckoo is not all that uncommon), interspecific feeding is incredibly uncommon!

So how can we explain this bizarre behaviour? Well, there is one possibility that I can think of, and it relates to the fact that fairy-wrens live in (often) large groups; usually with more females than males. Young females usually disperse away from their ‘birth’ place the year after they fledge, and therefore look for mates outside their natal territory. It is possible however, that the young fairy-wren female, having no doubt been harassed by her mum or other dominant female to leave the territory, has decided to remain. Without an available mate (or dominant female allowing her to mate with the male/s in the territory) her cluckiness has led her to find another bird, perhaps similar looking, to be the object of her desire. What reason the Brown Thornbill has to feed her however, I will never know. It is possible that the Brown Thornbill is also an unwanted individual, so likes the company that the female fairy-wren provides…….. Anyway, there is an interesting story I am sure you will agree!!

I have included a pic of the male Variegated Fairy-wren, as he is much more striking in colour than the female!! Now on to the sightings!!

Date: 11th November 2008
Time: 0530 - 0732
Sector: 8
Number of species seen: 16
Number of birds seen: 149

Australian Brush-Turkey (1)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (1)
Brown Thornbill (3)
Eastern Yellow Robin (2)
Grey Butcherbird (2)
Australian Magpie (3)
Noisy Miner (32)
Olive-backed Oriole (1)
Pied Currawong (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (20)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (35)
Silvereye (8)
Torresian Crow (3)
Variegated Fairy-wren (27)
White-browed Scrub-wren (6)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (4)

Fieldwork journal...

2008-10-31T10:38:00.013+11:00

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!

2008-10-29T10:43:00.007+11:00

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.

About time to update!

2008-09-09T14:42:00.009+10:00

Well, a lot has happened since my last post.

Bec and I are living in Brisbane in the lovely suburb of Sunnybank Hills. Next suburb next to us, Sunnybank, is Brisbane's 'Chinatown'. There is a complex only just down the road from us that has 43 restaurants!! Everything we ever need is at our fingertips; there are 3 huge shopping centres within 15 minutes drive, including a huge Westfields. Here is a pic of our house from the outside!

Work for me at Griffith University is FANTASTIC! The project is so awesome! There is such an amazing and incredibly comprehensive data set of the distribution, abundance, behaviour and interactions of bird species throughout the greater Brisbane region in the 1990s and the 2000s!! My job is to pool all the data together and make sense of any changes over time as well as changes in developments of different types. It is a collaborative project with Brisbane City Council, Logan City Council, South-east Queensland Catchment Authority, James Cook University (Townsville) and Griffith University. Uni is just over 7km from my home, so commuting takes no time at all! I leave at 8.15am in the morning and am sitting in my office just after 8.30am!! I have undertaken some fieldwork for the project (really early morning surveys), although the field sites surround the university (in a 600ha patch of forest!), so no long commutes into the field like I am used to!!

Bec and I are getting married in just over two weeks time!! We are so excited!! Everything is ready and planned, and we can't wait to see everybody!! I surprised Bec two weeks ago by tentatively organising a honeymoon to the Whitsundays. We are now booked into Airlie Beach at a resort for 4 nights. Originally, we weren't going to go until next year, but I decided that it would be silly to com back from a wedding and straight back to work, so this little escape is JUST what we need!! Nothing stopping us on going on a honeymoon (version 2) again next year!! Bec is getting quite a bit of work, and the school she is working at (Runcorn Heights Primary School) is really impressed with her teaching skills (as they should be!), so financially, everything is going fine and dandy (especially given that we are both used to student-style living)!! I will post again shortly with wedding pics etc etc......... wow, I am about to be married......!!!!

At the age of 29, I finally have a fulltime job!

2008-06-17T20:13:00.003+10:00

Well, I had the interview for the Griffith University postdoc fellow position on Thursday 12th June, and yesterday, Monday 16th June, I got a call to say the job was MINE!!

I am so bloody excited about it and can't wait to move to Brisbane and start! Bec and I are travelling to Brisbane tomorrow to look at 4 houses to rent in Sunnybank Hills, Sunnybank and Mansfield. They are pretty close to the university so it means that I can occasionally ride my bike to uni!! Although the cost of renting may be $10 - 20 more per week closer to the uni compared to suburbs further out, we will be saving on fuel driving vast distances getting anywhere! My wage (before tax and superannuation) is exactly 60k which is more than I thought I would be getting! I have now been to the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, University of New England and now Griffith University: four universities in three states! Looks like I am continuing my 'professional student' career!!

I am really looking forward to the drive to Brisbane, having never driven north of Yamba (see earlier post from last year), so there will be many a photo and further details soon, so watch this space!

Bongil Bongil National Park

2008-06-03T16:20:00.012+10:00

Following on from the last post, I thought I might post something a bit more intuitively positive. I recently decided to visit some of the nearby national parks and take a few walks and just relax and birdwatch. I went to Bongil Bongil National Park, an area of littoral rainforest just south of Coffs Harbour. Littoral rainforest refers to rainforest with a closed structure and composition which is strongly influenced by proximity to the ocean. And I can tell you, it is weird seeing rainforest within throwing distance of ocean! The bird species list was quite impressive and included rainforest restricted, coastal heath and oceanic species; over 30 in total. It included a 'lifer' for me: Russet-tailed Thrush (Zoothera heinei)...

I did the Bundagen Rainforest Walk (6km return) and the Palm Crossing walk, recording the species of birds seen as well as their abundances. I have now included this information into the online atlas database (Birdata).

I have decided just to show pics below.... experiences don't always need captions...

C'mon Griffith...

2008-06-03T16:06:00.002+10:00

Life is sometimes hard, sometimes, it seems to fall into place. However, sometimes, it throws you curve balls.... Take the saga that I am experiencing at the moment regarding work. Yes, I am still jobless and living with my fiance and her parents. However, a job has come and gone in the intervening period between blogs...

In my last post, I expressed hope regarding a consultancy position that I was being interviewed for. Needless to say, the interview came and I was pleasantly surprised. The CEO of the company (James Warren) actually flew down to Coffs Harbour and then met me in Nambucca for the interview. He basically said that he wanted me for the position and that I would be in a senior/management position by the end of the year in the Brisbane office.... I was gracious in acceptance, but commented on my waiting on an academic position at Griffith Uni. He was happy to wait for the outcome of that, however, as universities are the quintessential bureaucracy, they have taken for ever to get back to me. In the meantime, I got a call last week (two weeks after the interview) from James to inform me that they were 'moving on' and looking at interviewing other people if I didn't accept... To say that I was depressed and disappointed is an understatement; I basically threw away a perfectly good, well-paying job on the hope that I will be shortlisted and hired for the university position... Such are the curve balls of life; dangling a carrot of gold when you dream of a carrot of platinum.

HOWEVER, today I got a call from Griffith University informing me that I have bee shortlisted for an interview for the position. So next Thursday, 12th June at 12.30pm, I have a phone interview from home with a selection panel from the university. FINALLY, after submitting the application in the second week of April, submissions closing on the 8th May, I now know that I have AT LEAST got to the interview stage. I am just hoping that the wait will be worth the reward of actually getting the position...

I will keep you informed....

An interview

2008-05-02T15:17:00.006+10:00

Well, I got a call the other day from the director of an environmental consultant company in Brisbane that I applied to work with. He called and initially asked if I was aware that the job was in Brisbane rather than in Newee Creek where I am living now!! To cut a long story short, he is calling me in the next few days so that we can get together for an interview. I am happy to drive to Brisbane for a day or two, but he is happy to meet me down here.... hopefully that reflects his enthusiasm to employ me!! Am I excited? Yes, although I want to find out about the Griffith University job first as that is the ULTIMATE position. Either way, I will go to the interview for the consultant job, because that is still a fantastic job!! Oh, by the way, Rebecca graduated on the 11th April with Bachelor of Education (Primary), so YAY to her!! Here is a picture of her in all her 'academic regalia'!!

While waiting to find out about work, Rebecca and I are looking at places to live in Brisbane on the internet. We are attempting to gauge the good and bad areas of Brisbane, and looking for houses accordingly!! We are getting very excited about moving to Brisbane, and I believe that this is where we will settle for at least a few years!!

In news regarding our wedding, I have finalised my suit (and my groomsmen's suits) for the wedding and are currently looking for a wedding cake. I now also have my wedding ring.... very happy and PERFECTLY sized... On the subject of our wedding, for those invited (hehe), don't forget to PLEASE send your RSVP cards back ASAP... or else

Keep in touch everybody, and watch this space for more updates!! BYE!!!!

Looking for work

2008-04-06T17:56:00.004+10:00

Since my last post, I have still been looking for work. That Geolink job I mentioned in the last post never eventuated; it appears that the deadline for applications was a week before they received mine. The employment website that I got the application off had the incorrect close date. Mind you, Geolink's OWN site was still advertising the position well over a week after the close date. I had a similar experience with another job working as a landscape ecologist with Greening Australia that I emailed to get a position description for, only to be told (even though the close date was still a week away on the Envirojobs website) that applications had closed!! This job was based in Hobart, Tasmania, so as you can guess, I am looking for positions outside of NSW.

The position I am putting all of my effort into now however, is the ultimate job for me: a postdoctoral fellowship in avian ecology!!! It is at Griffith University in Brisbane, and is a two-year full time position. It is the PERFECT position for me, as it would represent a stepping stone to a future lecturing position at university!! More importantly however, it is a really interesting subject for a postdoc:
A postdoctoral fellow is required to contribute to research into change in birds and their habitats in human-dominated landscapes over space and time. The appointee will play a key role in progressing an existing ARC Linkage project "Forecasting and Managing Biodiversity Change: Birds in an Urbanising Environment". The project aims to test whether current knowledge enables correct forecasts of longer-term trends in biodiversity within urbanising regions, by investigating the real-time change in bird assemblages between the early 1990s (pre-existing data) and late 2000s (current data), in south east Queensland. Other project aims include assessing the strength of both local and landscape-scale habitat change (including forest clearing, forest fragmentation, and different forms of urban development) in causing avifaunal change, and developing tools for forecasting future biodiversity scenarios under different land-use policies.

Pretty much RIGHT up my alley for those that know me. Applications close in the first week of May, although I hope to have it in by the end of this coming week, just to reduce the chances of previously experienced late comings!! I will let everybody know the outcome!!

Back home

2008-03-18T09:02:00.003+11:00

After 7 weeks away, I am finally back in NSW. Although it has been all go, go, go since being back. Firstly, I was supposed to get back to Coffs Harbour on the Friday night (7th March), but given that the plane from Perth to Sydney was delayed for 2 hours (apparently the pilot's chair wasn't secured and was moving around!), I missed the connecting flight. As a result, I was put up in the Mecure Hotel for the night (including complimentary dinner and breakfast) before catching the first flight in the morning of the 8th March. It was probably a good thing arriving the next day however, as I was still suffering a hangover from my Thursday buck's night... mind you, I was still suffering it all day Saturday too!! My buck's night was awesome!!! It involved a round of golf in the morning (with Ryan as he was the only one able to come) at Wembley Golf Course. We hired a golf cart which was HEAPS of fun: a bit of work for the groundskeepers around the course after our little effort. All said and done however, it was one of my best rounds ever: 117 from the 18 holes!! The actual buck's night was awesome too: needless to say, there was 'entertainment' for the night which everyone enjoyed, although just hanging out with the Warwick High School boys (and Ryan) was the real joy; playing poker, laughing, talking and drinking (what obviously must have been) copious amounts of beer and bourbon!! Needless to say, waiting to catch the plane the next morning was one of the more uncomfortable experiences of my life: the hangover was a cracker (as Glynn, who was flying with me, could atest to).

Since being back, I have been doing everything from designing and preparing the weddnig invitations, driving to Port Macquarie to visit Bec's relatives, driving to Coffs for various items and looking for and applying for work. I have just sent off my resume to an Environmental Consultant company based in Coffs Harbour called GeoLINK. They are looking for an ecologist to join their team, so I jumped at the chance to apply for the job!! Hopefully I hear from them soon!!

I will keep everybody updated on how this goes!!!

Working in the Pilbara

2008-02-25T19:59:00.003+11:00

Well hello again for my second (and most likely last) installment of the "Working in WA" series!! I am currently working at a "Fortesque Mining Group" (FMG) exploration mine site. The absic gist of it is this: FMG want to mine iron ore here, they set up an exploration camp where they drill in a grid pattern looking for the highest grade ore, they determine whether it is worth mining. If it is, an environmental consultant company like us (Coffey Environmental) are brought in to do a fauna assessment; basically to find out what is here!! We have been in the process of digging in almost 1,900 traps (20L bucket traps and 50cm deep pipe traps), often into hard rocky ground in 40 degree plus temperatures and >70% humidity, from 6.30am to 5pm or later!! Needless to say, chaffing is a big problem out here, but I will spare you all the details.

So for the last 13 days, we have been digging, digging, digging and within the next 4 or so days, we will be done. We ALMOST had to evacuate because it was looking like Cyclone Nicholas was going to pass right over us, but it luckily travelled further west, although we still got about 50mm of rain, cloudy days and wind for a number of days, which in red, clay-like soils is a bit of a pain. Once all of the traps are in, this survey we are undertaking will apparently be the largest faunal survey ever undertaken in Western Australia, and possibly the whole of Australia (may have mentioned this in the last post...). Over the last 4 days, I have actually been spending most of the morning hours doing bird surveys. So far, I have seen about 9 new species here including (for all those bird-nerds out there) Blue-winged Kookaburra, Spinifexbird, Painted Firetail, Little Button-quail, Grey-headed Honeyeater and Black-tailed Treecreeper..... For those interested, I have kept a COMPLETE list so I can share it in detail at a later date!!!

Please have a look at the new photo album that I have created a link to to see some cool pics of the Pilbara and various bits and pieces. Aside from the scenery and amazing animals, the accommodation here is pretty spectacular. There is a smorgasborg breakfast and dinner EVERY day, which generally involves REALLY good quality food, compared to the crappy college meals I put up with for years!!! For lunch, you can make sandwiches to take out with you as well as fresh fruit salads, packs of any sort of potato chips (as many as you like!!!), and for desert, apart from ample choices of cakes, there is an icecream freezer with all sorts of magnums, gaytimes, cornettos etc.... once again, all for the taking!!!! Basically, they look after you in exchange for you staying!!! Having said all the good things about here, I am ready to go home... Working this many hours for this long is too draining, and being away from Bec for 6 weeks now is too long. Since about the 23rd January, I have only had 4 days off, so I am physically and mentally drained.

I leave here next Monday 3rd March, have my buck's night with the boys over here on Thursday 6th March and fly back over east the next day with Glynn (as he is going to Sydney for a wedding). Then I finally get to see Bec and we can continue to organise wedding stuff!!!!

ANYWAY, enjoy the pics, I hope you enjoyed the blog, and I will talk/see you all soon!!!

Working in WA!!

2008-02-01T16:46:00.000+11:00

Hello everybody.....

It has been so long since I have messaged people. I am currently working for 8 weeks in WA as a consultant zoologist for an environmental consultant company (Coffey Environments). I have already worked in Laverton for 4 days and am currently working at Mt Gibson in the NE wheatbelt. We commute to the exploration minesite from Dallwallinu, a town 120km away. We wake in the morning at 4.30am, leave the accommodation by 5.15am and start work at 6.30am! We check 960 traps every morning; in woodland, sandplain and rocky hilltop habitats!! We have caught about 800 animals so far including about 15 - 20 dunnarts (small marsupial mice), with the rest made up of skinks, goannas, blind snakes, gekkos and true snakes (pythons and elapids).

I have attached a photo album of all the photos to date. I apologise if there are any double-ups, but I dont have much time to edit them as I am at a telecentre in Dallwallinu.

We have been here at Mt Gibson since the 22nd Jan and have worked every day (sometimes from 6.30am to 6.30pm) INCLUDING weekends AND Australia day public holiday!!! We leave here on the 7th February, I have 4 days off (including going to my mate Vinh's wedding) and then I leave for the Pilbara and work there for 4 weeks straight (once again, no breaks!!). We will be setting up a fauna trapping regime that will be the biggest ever undertaken in WA and potentially in Australia!!! It is in the Pilbara that I will be let loose on the birds of the region, and it will be my responsibility to collate a species list (with numbers) of all the birds on the proposed mine site!! I CANT WAIT!!! I also cant wait to actually get back to the east coast to see Bec, but the money that I earn here will help set us up!!!!

TAKE CARE EVERYBODY, AND CHECK OUT THE PICS!!!

Movember is here!!!

2007-10-31T23:47:00.001+11:00

Hey again all....

Just thought I would give all out there a heads-up for Movember. I am the group captain for the "Mary White College Mo Bros"!! There are about 6 - 10 of us (don't have final numbers yet) that are participating. For those of you who don't know, Movember is an annual event whereby civilised people (such as myself) wind back the clock to the 70's, where a flowing moustache and accompanying mutton-chops were on the high-end of society.... well maybe not the high-end, but legends like David Boon, Merv Hughes and Tom Selleck sported a beautiful moustache, and we are all aiming at reliving those day!!

Why I hear you ask? The idea of Movember is to grow a Mo during the whole month of November and collect sponsorship along the way. Money raised by Movember is donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative, which will use the funds to create awareness, fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and male depression.

For those friends, family and colleagues who would like to donate but obviously cant throw me a couple of buck themselves, can go to to http://www.movember.com/au/donate, enter my registration number which is 116937 and your credit card details. Or you can sponsor me by cheque made payable to the "Movember Foundation" clearly marking the donation as being for my Registration Number: 116937. Please mail cheques to: PO Box 292, Prahran VIC 3181. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

If I can ever end up finding my camera cord, I will take regular pics to show you all my progress, and post the pictures on this blog, so stay tuned!!!

Interesting date clash.....

2007-10-30T14:55:00.000+11:00

Hey there everyone!! Well, Rebecca and I have tentatively planned our wedding for Saturday the 27th September.... which..... I just realised is the day of the AFL grand final........ mmmmm..... It is amazing what you do for love isn't it!! Hopefully the West Coast Eagles don't get into the grand final otherwise I will just have to have a remote television with me on the day. I am sure Rebecca would understand...

There is so much happening at the moment in regards to the wedding. We are in the process of looking at places to get married and at this point I think we have narrowed it down to either Coffs harbour or Port Macquarie (see attached maps on previous posts). We are having a civil marriage ceremony and have already booked our celebrant whom is a lovely lady called Deborah McMahon, whom we met for 2 hours on Sunday. She took us through all the steps involved; legal requirement and ceremony options. Bec and I are really excited about the options that we have in incorporating personal attributes to the ceremony. Don't worry, we won't bore you with hours of lovey-dovey things: just things that we both want to share with you all that makes it as much about the family and friends we have as much as it is about us two! I suppose that is all that I have to say in regards to timing of the wedding as a heads-up for everyone to come, but there will be more information with the invites in the future.

As for seeing you guys, Rebecca and I just yesterday booked our tickets back to Perth for Trio's wedding. Because of the high cost of flights around New Year's and the days just following it, we will be arriving in Perth at 10.30ish on New Years Eve!!! Believe it or not, that is the cheapest time; obviously because everyone is partying!!! It was almost $150 - $175 cheaper to leave on the Monday than on, say, the Wednesday. We will be staying until the Sunday or Monday after Trio's wedding and then flying back to wait by the phone to see where we will be moving next year (given that Bec is offered a full-time job).

Anyway, better head of as I am at work!!

Dr Jarrad Anthony Cousin and wedding bells...

2007-10-22T19:11:00.000+10:00

Well, after 4 and a half years, I have finally finished my PhD and graduated in all the pomp and ceremony befitting a Doctor of Philosophy degree!! Thankfully, it was a beautiful clear day. For years, I was praying for good weather, otherwise the graduation would have been held indoors, with a maximum of two guests. Seeing that my dad had flown from Perth and Rebecca came to the graduation with her parents and sister, it would have been a great shame if it was inside. Anyway, it was a success and actually very warm. My gown was bright red and made of viscose so was quite hot!! Add to that the fluffy big pompous hat, and I was cooking in the sun, although it was not too bad. See the links to other photo's of my graduation.

The other exciting news, as many of those who I have already contacted would know.... is that I am ENGAGED!!! On Monday the 8th October, I suprised Rebecca on our way home from Armidale to Nambucca Heads by proposing in the rainforest of Dorrigo!!! It was on a lookout overlooking the Belligen Valley and I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me!!!! She was very excited, cried and blurted out an instant yes!! I have never been so nervous in my life... almost dropped the ring through the wooden slats of the lookout!! She loved the ring and can't stop looking at it!! We then got to spend three days up north of the state at Yamba (courtesy of a graduation present from Rebecca's parents). It was a fantastic break with my newly ringed (not really crowned...) finacee, and we enjoyed ourselves immensly eating fine food, driving through beautiful old towns and sugarcane country. I also saw a new species of bird for me: White-breasted Woodswallow, so I was pretty happy with the holiday on many fronts!!!

Anyway, keep your ear to the ground for more info regarding our upcoming wedding: at this stage it is pencilled in for the last weekend of September next year... We are seeing a civil marriage celebrant on Sunday so I will know more info then...

Two weeks holiday and graduation!

2007-09-27T13:37:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is my last day at work for two weeks!! This coming Monday (1st October) is Rebecca and my first year anniversary. As it is a public holiday, and my dad is arriving next Wednesday morning for my graduation on Friday, I decided I might as well take Tuesday off as well. I plan to show Dad around Armidale on the Wednesday and Thursday, including showing him some of my PhD field sites to the west of Armidale. Then on Friday I graduate!! YAY!! I get to wear a red cape and a big puffy hat!! I will then be hailed Dr Jarrad Cousin and all will kneel in my presence... BWAHAHAHAHA.... On the Saturday, I will take Dad to the amazing New England National Park on our way to Bec's house for Saturday night!! Then on Sunday, I drive back to Armidale as Dad leaves on Monday morning back to Perth!! he has to start work on Tuesday at 6am!!

As the week following graduation, I am taking that off to spend with Rebecca given that she has finished her 10 weeks of prac. We are going to Yamba (north coast) for 3 days to unwind and get away from everything. Can't wait. For those of you not familiar with this side of the country, I have included below a map showing the drive I undertake every weekend to Rebecca's place in Nambucca Heads. It is by far and away the most scenic drive I have ever driven in Australia, and therefore recommend it highly. It is not called "The Waterfall Way" for nothing, with MANY opportunities to see stunning waterfalls in deep gorges and along steep rainforest on the drive down Dorrigo mountain. I recently took some photos along the section from Nambucca Heads to Dorrigo... I will post them as soon as I can find my camera cord to get them off the camera (?).

I have also included this map below showing the location of Yamba in relation to Armidale, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Brisbane etc etc. Do you know that Armidale is closer to Brisbane than Sydney!??? Note that I don't notate the location of Tamworth to the SW of Armidale.... because it sucks.... too many Acubra Hat wearing, tight jean wearing, yee haaing rednecks for my liking.... I will post pictures of my graduation and announce other things in my next post.................

Mmmmmmm.... blogging

2007-09-17T20:53:00.000+10:00

To all those who read this... I have entered the magical world of blogging!! I am from Perth, Western Australia. I am however living in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia; approximately 3,955km (by road according to Google maps) from home.

Since leaving Perth in 2003, I have pledged on MANY occassions that I would keep in contact with friends and family in Perth in one form or another. However, being the busy (yeah maybe lazy, depending on your point of view) person that I am, I have rejected my friends throughout the years in this regard. As a method of attempting to redeem myself *on the ground grovelling miserably*, I will endevour to update this blog as often as possible (i.e., when something exciting happens, or I have something to rant about). In the next few days, I will attempt to contact you all to inform you of this blog... there is much exciting news coming soon, so please watch this space!!

My life is interesting... it's just I don't have enough time to share every aspect of it with you all!