Bush fires around the Observatory

This in fact is not smoke but whats know as a Willie Willie a small whirlwind of dust and anything else that can be picked up. They can last from seconds to minutes and this huge one was around for a good hour on the plain.

The surreal glow of fire in the smoke at night made for a si-fi skyscape !

Australian Owlet Nightjar !! or are they Chinchilla??!!

We decided to have a go at tape luring at night for owlet nightjar at a site where Matt had heard them calling at the 12 mile cut through.

We put a 12 m net up across a small clearing and set the MP3 playing. Within minutes a bird started calling and after about 5 mins it started flying around calling. After another few minutes it went straight into the net!

While we were processing the bird another started calling and we manged to net that one also.

The plumage on the birds is amazingly cryptic and its no wonder they are so well camaflaged when sitting around in trees.

Some invertebrates and Glossy Ibis

Cable Beach Sunsets