Apologies for the dearth of updates this week. We’re still in a cloudy, sticky, humid weather pattern (more rain forecast through this weekend), and our internet has been quite unreliable – crikey! Anyway things are going good at Mornington Station. I was out for an evening run day before yesterday and, while hurtling down the […]
We’ve been locked in a weird weather system at Mornington – haven’t seen the sun in more than five days! Heavy clouds have been sitting over us, dumping rain and humidity. Me, I’m ready for the dry weather to return. My tent is wet, my mattress is wet, my blankets are wet, my sleeping bag […]
Agile Wallabies are the most common kangaroo-like animal around Mornington. There aren’t any actual kangaroos here (no kidding), but these guys are close enough. They hop. Put their babies in pouches. That kind of thing. We also have Euros, sometimes called Wallaroos (a cross between a kangaroo and a wallaby?), and Rock Wallabies with long […]
I was doing field work yesterday morning in a rough section along the Adcock River, minding my own business (and a pair of Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens), when a guy in a green shirt popped out from behind a bush. He looked a bit nonplussed. “What are you seeing?” I asked, wondering where he came from. “Ah, […]
I couldn’t believe what I was doing this morning as, inside my tent, I dug around in pre-dawn darkness to find a warm sweater, and actually put it on! Gone are the hot, sweaty nights in front of a blasting fan. This morning the temperature reached 12.1 C (54 F). Downright cold, if you ask […]
With an influx of new researchers and hospitality staff last week, I finally got kicked out of my room. Like the majority of Mornington’s population, I now live in a tent. But what a tent! I’m used to lightweight, backpacking-style tents, but when Michelle mentioned some kind of montrosity wedged in the rafters of the […]
Today’s date might not seem particularly notable, but I know three ways that it is. First, it’s Michelle’s birthday today – I won’t say her age, but it’s a nice round number halfway between 10 and 70… and an excuse for a party! All of Mornington’s staff turned out for a celebratory potluck, with cake […]
I’ve been kicked out of my room and moved into a tent (more on that later), which means one thing: it better not rain for the next three months. I don’t want my bed getting soaked (yep, I have a whole bed in my tent). Not that the weather gives any indication of it. We’re […]
Sara and I have spent the last couple afternoons sorting frozen bugs. It’s at least an excuse to stay in the air-conditioned office… Basically, we sample insects once each month to get an idea of fairy-wren food abundance. This means running around one afternoon with a butterfly net, sweeping it energetically through the grass (at […]
Sunday, and a reprieve from the end of a tough week. So what do we do? Sit around and eat all day! I’m stuffed. This morning I slept in, then wandered up to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. Then came the pancakes, egg frittata, and sticky rolls (the Aussies call them “scrolls”). After […]
Among intense days, today was intense. Sara and I surveyed the upper Adcock River for fairy-wrens, the longest stretch we’ve done yet. Things started early when Michelle dropped us before dawn at the closest road crossing. Sara and I hiked to our first point by the light of the full moon, watching the sun rise […]
It’s a bird seemingly too colorful for reality, but the Gouldian Finch really does exist – barely. It’s one of Australia’s rarest, most endangered, and most sought-after birds, and Mornington happens to be one of the best places to see it. In fact, the Gouldian Finch is one of the main reasons the Australian Wildlife […]
What could be better than sleeping under the stars on a warm night, on top of a mountain, with a cool breeze blowing, and 360 degrees of awe-inspiring view? After a solid hike with Sara, Jen, and Paul, what could be better than topping out on the highest point of Mornington Sanctuary (Mount Leake) just […]
Thursday and Friday, Sara and I spent every waking moment surveying for Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens along the Throssel River — a backcountry stretch too long to cover in one day. We got up at 3:30 on Thursday morning and Michelle drove us more than an hour from Mornington Station, dropping us at dawn along a rough […]
Just back from an intensive 2-day survey of the Throssel River (which is why it’s been quiet here lately). Lots of hiking with heavy packs in the heat through wild terrain, and one night under the stars and mosquitoes. It was pretty full-on, as the Aussies say, and I’m off to bed, happy to once […]
The Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens have stopped nesting as we head into the dry season, but that doesn’t mean other birds aren’t hard at work. Even after one of the driest wet seasons on record, the grass is green, leaves are on the trees, and babies are all over the place. Crimson Finches and Double-barred Finches build […]
After more than a month without seeing a dingo, I have seen two in the last three days, both at close quarters. The first one I ran into (almost literally) on a long evening run late last week. As I approached on the dirt road, it stood on the shoulder and didn’t budge while I […]
I guess the rough week caught up with me, as I woke in an unusual depressed mood this morning. Could have had something to do with the all-staff dance party late last night (everyone was a bit tired this morning) compounded by a touch of homesickness after three hard field days, but I was surprised […]
Sara and I rose at 4am so Michelle could drop us at the upstream end of Roy Creek, about a half hour’s drive from here, just before sunrise. The two of us set off, each with GPS, field notebook, binoculars, speakers, food, and five liters (12 pounds) of water, for a long, rough day of […]
This morning I collected the three remote, motion-activated cameras we set up at a dead wallaby carcass two days ago, and hit paydirt! We caught a wild Dingo in the act of scavenging some of the rotting meat. This is a snippet from the low-res video. Dingoes are Australia’s version of coyotes. They’ve only been […]
Everywhere but here, that is. Thunderstorms have roamed around the Kimberley for the last four days, sending humidity soaring and giving us some interesting sunsets, but every single one has missed us so far. An Aboriginal community two hours north of us got more than four inches (110 mL) of rain overnight while we had […]
Sara found a dead wallaby day before yesterday at the edge of camp, and had the brilliant idea of surrounding it with remote cameras to see what showed up at the carcass. So we put up three motion-controlled cameras, one set to take 30-second video clips and the other two to take still photos, and […]
Lightning is visible most nights, flickering like distant strobe lights while we bask under starry skies. Last evening was no different, but one thunderstorm passed close enough to see actual forks and bolts. Since it was going off in a giant, brain-like thunderhead, I grabbed my camera. Of course, no good bolts hit while the […]
Long day, so today’s entry is sentence fragments. Canoe trip. Dimond Gorge (not sure why it’s spelled that way). Swimming and crocs and croc attack stories. Sunburn, ouch. New all-rounder hospitality recruits. Thunder, lightning, dry, green, red, 12 drops of rain. A bevy of volunteers in an air-con van which lacks any refrigerator. Melty Tim […]
I’m glad it’s almost Sunday, because the last two days have been long ones. After our canoe survey yesterday, I went for a long run, then stayed up past Mornington Midnight (otherwise known at 9pm, a brutally late hour) with some freshly-arrived hospitality recruits. And today I’ve covered more than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) on […]