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 Renowned for its tigers, Ranthambore National Park, India  has spectacular birds as well.  Bold, beautiful and friendly, this magnificent bird, a rufous treepie came over to chat with us while we had stopped by one of the 3 lakes to photograph the jungle scenery. The local call them pipers.

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By Belinda Elbourn read more »

A couple of years passed and we had moved to another farm, when Darren came home with a baby crow that he had found on the road.

News Release from USGS (26 October, 2011)

The appropriately named fungus Geomyces destructans is the cause of deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, according to research published today in the journal Nature. The study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners, conducted at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc., provides the first direct evidence that the fungus G. destructans causes WNS, a rapidly spreading disease in North American bats.

“By identifying what causes WNS, this study will greatly enhance the ability of decision makers to develop management strategies to preserve vulnerable bat populations and the ecosystem services that they provide in the U.S. and Canada,” said Anne Kinsinger, USGS Associate Director of Ecosystems.  read more »

By Belinda Elbourn

When Darren and I lived just west of Ceduna in South Australia we were very lucky to have shared our lives with 2 very special crows.

The first one to arrive on our door step was Camry, at first Camry was very shy little bird.

But after a day or two soon became a very demanding, cheeky loud little bird.

He spent the first couple of months in our enclosed back veranda.

As we had a huge enclosed fruit tree cadge (Darren and Camry are standing in it in the top photo) we thought it would be best for him to live out there, plenty of room to fly and hide.

Camry soon became very close to Darren, if was to go out to the cadge to feed him he would hide in the orange tree and would not come out.

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The recent outbreak of the potentially deadly hendra virus is a cause of great concern to horse breeders and farmers alike. According to the Department of Primary Industries, although the virus can be transmitted from horses to humans, found in bats, there is no evidence that it can be transmitted directly to humans.  Flying foxes are critical to the environment and a protected species. Culling is not only cruel but also ineffective.  (Ref: Flying Foxes and Hendra Virus;   The role of flying foxes in Hendra virus)

There are many effective steps people can take in reducing the risk of horses and people getting infected. See:

Reducing the Risk of Hendra Infection in Horses

Reducing the Risk of Hendra Infection in People

Flying foxes are the only flying mammals and perform the quintessential task of pollinating and dispersing seeds of many native plants. Many trees especially those with white and green fruits rely only on flying foxes for pollination and dispersal of seeds. Losing our flying foxes would also mean losing a vast range of our native plants.

Flying foxes are also responsible for nutrient regeneration and nutrient cycling within the ecosystem, (Ref: Living With Wildlife) by providing large quantities of natural fertiliser across the landscape. They also create gaps in canopies enabling ground- dwelling plants to get more sunlight and rain. read more »

Belinda rescued this gorgeous white-backed baby magpie. White-backed magpies are found mostly in Western Australia and South Australia.  Here along the Eastern side of Australia, we only get black-backed magpies.  Occasionally a white backed magpie from South Australia migrates to our region, like Bertie and his sister.

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Earlier I told you about one of the "phrases" magpies have taught us - the "J phrase", which your friendly magpie will use if (s)he wants you to follow him or her. Vicky Magpie used it to take us to her babies.

But what if your friend wants to point you in a certain direction, but does not want you to actually go there? That's what the "b phrase" is for. Your friend flies towards you, and then flies in a slow circle around and above you, like a letter "b":

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Microbats are natural insect terminators.  These little mammals  weigh around 3gms  - 150 gms and have a wingspan of approx 25 cm. Being nocturnal creatures they use echolocation to navigate and find their insects in the dark. Contrary to popular myth, the bats are not blind and do use their sight as well.  The largest species has a body length of only 11 cms.  A single microbat can eat  up to 1,200 mosquitoes and small insects in an hour which has earned them the well deserved reputation of being the nature's mosquito busters.  They also pollinate native flowers, many of which can only be pollinated at night. Microbats like their bigger cousins the flying foxes (also called megabats) are a vital part of the ecology of our forests and planet. Recent surveys in Australia have shown that in grain-growing regions, the microbats fed solely on grain weevils, thus helping crop protection by reducing the use of pesticides.  Microbats also eat midges, termites, lawn grub moths and other harmful insects. read more »

The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds makes bird identification much easier.  Richard Crossley has used over 10,000 of his own photographs to make composite images for over 660 species found in the USA and Canada.  The plates show the birds in natural surroundings as one is likely to find them in the field, from various angles - perched, flying past, close up and afar. The images include male, females, juvis, adults and show their plumage changes over the seasons.  

This is a new approach to bird identification.  In pages 22-27 Crossley explains how the book should be used. Bird Topography is covered in pages 28 - 31 and the book starts with a visual size guide to help the reader understand the proportions of the birds in relation to each other. 
 

A lover of pictures, the author states he doesn't like text and prefers to use vibrant, colourful images to help train the brain to recognise the different shapes of the birds in their most likely to be seen  scenarios. read more »

One year old Pingu magpie loves her human friend Victoria.

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