-
Dining with the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
May 25, 2020There are many amazing things about the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus ). One of these is its ability to find its favourite foods – wood-boring grubs! These are the larvae of beetles and moths which tunnel into various trees such as gum trees and wattles. In this snippet of footage, a male Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, uses… Read more »
-
A Sting in the Tale…
April 15, 2020In the past few weeks several residents of Maranoa have asked us about busy swarms of wasps patrolling their lawn. The most abundant of these is variously called the Orchid Dupe Wasp or the Dusky-winged Ichneumonid Lissopimpla excelsa. These are small, red wasps with iridescent, charcoal-blue wings. If one lands for a moment, you may see… Read more »
-
Identifying snake species based on skin shedding’s
April 8, 2020Recently we received a call from a member of our community who had found a snake skin in their spare bedroom. Concerned that they couldn’t find the snake’s whereabouts, we got them to bring in the skin so we could identify it before deciding on the next course of action. The easiest method of identify… Read more »
-
Fighting Snakes
April 6, 2020One of the most exciting things about night-time spotlighting searches is that you never know what you might come across. I was recently spotlighting for gliders and koalas with a couple of colleagues when one of us spotted these two snakes on the forest floor. They are Small-eyed Snakes (Cryptophis nigrescens), a common species in… Read more »
-
Staying Connected with Nature
April 6, 2020The worldwide pandemic of the Covid19 has seen the closure millions of tourist and recreational activities to close, people to isolate and finding them ourselves indoors a lot! Now more than ever we really need to find ways to keep our spirits up and life as normal as it possibly can. Studies show that connecting… Read more »
-
Bushfire Rescue : Greater Glider
January 14, 2020Australia has an incredible array of fantastic and iconic wildlife but few people have ever seen or even heard of our beautiful Greater Glider Petauroides volans. As voluntary wildlife carers this charming animal recently came into temporary care following its rescue from a nearby bush fire which burnt its home. This particular glider was lucky… Read more »
-
Eco Science Expedition In Outback Queensland
September 24, 2019WOW, what a week. After reading this you’ll definitely want to come on the next BOOBOOK Eco-science Expedition…… From the 2nd to the 5th September BOOBOOK undertook its very first Eco-science Expedition with some very special guests in unexplored sections of the upper Dawson River, in Outback Queensland’s Carnarvon Ranges. While BOOBOOK’s talented staff have… Read more »
-
Australia’s Coral Snake – A Mini Elapid
November 13, 2019The elapid snake family includes the front-fanged venomous species. Everyone has heard of the more fearsome Eastern Brown Snake and the Mulga Snake, but what about some of our smaller species of elapid snakes? Introducing Australia’s own Coral Snake (Brachyurophis australis), a reddish –orange, slightly venomous species. What do they look like? The Coral Snake… Read more »
-
Explore the Unexplored
August 7, 2019Outback Queensland is host to some of Australia’s best kept secrets. This unique country of ours is so vast that some areas are yet to be properly explored. With a keen interest in natural history and native animals and plants, BOOBOOK ecologists love to explore the unexplored to further understanding of this wonderful place we… Read more »
-
The Spiny Truth about Echidnas
June 27, 2019One of the privileges of living in an Outback Queensland town is that sometimes we are visited by some really cool creatures. This young Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus was rescued yesterday when it ventured into a yard in suburban Roma. It was foraging for termites around some garden bed sleepers. Some caring locals alerted us to… Read more »