The Natural World

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Juvenile male Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax. The Wedge-tailed Eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia and the younger birds like this male, are a light brown in colour with slightly lighter reddish-brown wings and head. As they grow older they darken in colour and appear brown-black. The female of the species is larger than the male Wedge-tailed Eagle. The Aranda, Kaurna and Adnyamathanha Peoples see the constellation Crux (the Southern Cross), as the footprint of a Wedge-tailed Eagle in the sky.

Wild Cape Barron Geese Cereopsis novaehollandiae on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. At one time this species was on the endangered list but they have significantly recovered. 

Taken with my little Sony Cyber-shot camera by holding the camera up to the wide field eyepiece (28mm) of my 25cm (10-inch) Dobsonian reflecting telescope. The Kaurna Aboriginal name for the Moon is 'kakirra'.

A Bearded Dragon Pogona barbata not looking happy in the Warrumbungles Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Full grown adults of this species measure around 60cm from snout to tail. Primarily they feed on a variety of small vertebrates and invertebrates including crickets, worms, beetles, mice, grasshoppers and other smaller reptiles.

A Black Tiger Snake Notechis ater niger on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. This specimen was between 2+metres in length, therefore was likely quite old. Tiger Snakes are highly venomous and caution and distance should be exercised if one is in the vicinity.

A Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus wandering near 'Bunjil's Cave' in Black Range State Park, Victoria, Australia. This creature is covered in spines for defense and also hair for warmth. It is a rare member of the mammalian class that actually lays eggs, and is therefore, in the order of monotremes. In fact the only other creature to to this is the Australia Platypus.

Western Grey Kangaroos Macropus fuliginosus in Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Western  Grey kangaroos inhabit approximately 60% of western and southern Australia. Female Western Grey Kangaroos communicate to their joeys (young) with a series of clicks. They are herbivorous and use microorganisms in the caecum to break down the cellulose of these plants. They can survive on plants high in fiber but low in nitrogen, and require only small amounts of water (photo copyright P.Curnow).

The Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae the largest  member of the kingfisher family with its distinctive eye stripe and large pale coloured head, sitting on branch at the Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park in South Australia. The Laughing Kookaburra is approximately 40-45cm in length and the chuckling sound that gives this species its English name is a familiar sound heard throughout the bird's habitat. The loud 'koo-koo-koo-koo-koo-kaa-kaa-kaa' is often sung in a chorus with other individuals (photo copyright P.Curnow).

Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby Petrogale xanthopus photographed while I was walking through a place called 'Echo Camp' near Arkaroola in the northern Flinders Ranges. This beautiful creature was nearly pushed to extinction by early European settlers who hunted it for sport. The wallaby was was exploited for skins, bounties and faced competition from introduced livestock and predation from foxes. The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby is of great cultural significance for the local Adnyamathanha people. Their preferred habitat is rocky cliff-sides, with crevices and shelter for protection from the incredibly high temperatures which can reach up to 50ºC in the shade during summer. Their population in the wild now is estimated to be around 5,000 (photo copyright P.Curnow). .  

Photo of total solar eclipse taken by Charlie Winstead from near Mount Hopeless in South Australia (photo courtesy Charlie Winstead). 

Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus. This Pelican is standing on the banks of the Murray River in the town of Mannum, South Australia. The Australian Pelican mainly eats fish, however, they also eat a variety of aquatic animals including crustaceans, tadpoles and turtles (photo copyright P.Curnow). .

The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) in the Northern Territory, Australia. Kata Tjuta is the Aboriginal name for The Olgas and means "many heads." Kata Tjuta is a made up of 36 massive red rock outcrops separated by narrow valleys. It is located about 50 kilometres from Ayers Rock (Uluru). The highest is peak Mount Olga which rises 546 metres above the desert floor. The Olgas were originally sediments in a shallow inland sea which dried out and was eventually covered by the desert. They were thrust through the desert floor by a major upheaval approximately 300 million years ago and later molded primarily by wind erosion (photo courtesy Charlie Winstead). 

Sleepy Lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This lizard was photographed on an unsealed road near Swan Reach, South Australia. The Sleepy Lizard is part of the Blue-tongued group. Blue-tongued lizards are the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). The tongue of this lizard is a dark blue colour and the lining of the mouth is bright pink. There are more than 300 species of skinks in Australia (photo copyright P.Curnow). 

Black Currawong Strepera fuliginosa. Another Currawong sitting about 15-20 metres away with part of Cradle Mountain visible in the background (photo copyright P.Curnow).  

Tasmanian Pademelon Thylogale billardierii or Rufous Wallaby in the world heritage listed Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania has only 2 species of wallaby, the Tasmanian Pademelon (or Rufous wallaby) and Bennetts (or Rednecked) wallaby, and one species of kangaroo the Forester kangaroo. This species is extinct on mainland Australia because of predation by foxes and land clearance, although two other species occur along the east coast of the mainland. However, in the state of Tasmania, the Pademelon is both widespread and abundant (photo copyright P.Curnow).

Bushwalking in the Anstey Hill Recreation Park. Anstey Hill Recreation Park is situated in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs approximately 16km from the City centre. Anstey Hill was named after George Alexander Anstey (1814 -1895), a local viticulturist. As many as 35 species of reptile and amphibians live in the Park together with 145 species of native birds. Western Grey Kangaroos Macropus fuliginosus, Echidnas, Brush-tailed Possums, Bats, Snakes, the rarely seen Cunningham’s Skink and Koalas are also present.

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Last updated 20th of February 2011