Wild BNE

White-faced heron (Egretta novaeholandiae) , Burpengary East. With the exceedingly hot start we’ve had to 2017, I’ve spent most of my “wildlife time” searching either for frogs in the comparative cool of the night , or in the water looking at fish . This week, however, a slightly cooler, unstable air mass swept in, and I decided to make the most of it with a full day of birding north of Brisbane.

From the Queensland/New South Wales border right up to Noosa, and out west to the Lockyer Valley, I had a great year exploring as much of South-east Queensland as I could manage! Some places stood above the rest, however, offering unique wildlife-viewing opportunities that I hope to take advantage of and share with you in 2017.

A Parched Landscape Humpback Whale, Noosa Heads October has seen me showing off South-east Queensland to visiting guests from overseas. We have been enjoying sunny day after sunny day, but weeks on end without rain are starting to make the bush seem almost painfully dry. The month is concluding with record-breaking temperatures in areas away from the coast, and the heat is giving rise to towering clouds full of lightning. There's just one catch though

North Lakes Town Park 'Lifers', Migrants and Climate Change. It's been a great start to the year for wildlife watching in South-East Queensland, especially for bird life. As this is therefore a 'bird heavy' post, I've shared this with 'Wild Bird Wednesday' , Stewart Monckton's excellent weekly collection of bird blogs that you should check out if you haven't already. This month I saw two new 'lifers' (ie. species I've never seen before) in the one location - the Moreton Bay Shire suburb of North Lakes. Sighted there earlier in January was a White-browed Crake (Porzana cinerea), a tropical species usually only found in the far north of the continent. Birdwatchers raced to the area after the bird was reported, in order to get

I'll let you in on a secret - up until October of this year, I couldn't actually drive a car. As a result, most of the locations featured in this blog and on the Facebook page are public-transport accessible, though next year will see more out-of-the-way places making an appearance! This blog has given my outdoor jaunts such a welcome sense of purpose this year - thank you so much to anyone who has read and enjoyed my writings. 1. Lake Samsonvale, Joyner. Outstanding for its natural beauty alone, Lake Samsonvale is a great place to visit at any time of the year. Bullocky's Rest is a popular location for family picnics and

Storms Appear in BNE Dramatic skies have been a defining feature of Brisbane this November, with the storm season commencing in a major way. Severe thunderstorm, Fortitude Valley; Photo by Meaghan Cook