by bpckle | Jun 14, 2026 | In the Media
Twitchers can be the subject of derision but they have greatly expanded our understanding of birdlife in the age of extinction
The discovery of a black-headed gull in Geraldton, Western Australia, has put Australian birders in a bit of a flap. Normal people might wonder why, considering it is abundant in the northern hemisphere – it is the ubiquitous resident seagull in London. But twitchers, the bucket listers of birding, are proudly not normal.
As a semi-reformed, semi-retired twitcher, you can trust me on this. Frankly, flying across the country for a black-headed gull is no biggie. Every year, Australian birding’s elite travel not just to every corner of the continent but our extralimital territories – Christmas, Cocos, the Torres Strait and Macquarie Islands – in search of birds to add to their Australian lists.
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by bpckle | Jun 14, 2026 | In the Media
Two fires in 12 years wiped out all but a handful of the mature native pines in Victoria’s Wyperfeld national park, a key breeding ground for endangered pink cockatoos
At the entrance to Wyperfeld national park, in north-west Victoria, more than a dozen pink cockatoos are sprinkled across a hedge row of pine trees like Christmas decorations. These are Aleppo pines, not the native conifers that the birds rely on for nesting habitat and as a primary source of food.
Still, the feathered ornaments appear quite content, nestled in among the spruce and ripping into pine cones with their dexterous claws and beaks, making gentle cracking sounds that punctuate the soft roar of Mallee winds.
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by bpckle | Jun 13, 2026 | In the Media
Appearance of a western reef heron in north Wales is unlikely to be the last, as heating temperatures mean species can survive Britain’s winter, say experts
It is a tropical bird typically encountered between west Africa and India, but last week a western reef heron arrived in north Wales in what is believed to be the first ever sighting in the UK.
The heron was first spotted in Foryd Bay at the weekend before flying to nearby Caernarfon harbour where it fed among the boats.
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by bpckle | Jun 13, 2026 | In the Media
After falling in love with Australia’s ancient Big Scrub rainforest, Tony Parkes built his life around saving its final remnants and restoring hundreds of hectares.
by bpckle | Jun 13, 2026 | In the Media
Climate minister Chris Bowen says country must prepare for changing world and can play bigger role in reducing emissions
Australia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.
Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to “transition away from fossil fuels” – based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids – and that its economy could manage the switch.
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