Depending upon the thickness of the leaf litter layer, and the rate at which the rain falls, anything between the first 3 to 12 mm of a rainfall will be completely absorbed by the leaf litter and hardly a drop will find its way through to the soil beneath it. For this reason we can discount all of the cases or drops of rain and traces in the gauge as fairly irrelevant to what is going on in the soil.
En-route back to Mojave from Sacramento last Sunday I stopped in at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve, one of a chain of wildlife reserves throughout the extensive agricultural region of the Central Valley.
Use of fire as a tool is normally considered to be restricted to humans, and hence to have played an extremely important role not only in human societal change but also in the large-scale modification of landscapes across the world. But what if animals other than humans exhibit pyrophilic behavior?
Crow is a creature who is intensely curious about everything to do with funerals and so, as befits their elaborate ceremonial, he is a skilled dancer and musician. He perches on hollow log coffin, called there by two names, Badurra and Maraych, just as, in fact, Djambidj owners have crow painted on the top of their ossuaries.
Herbert Byaruhanga: "No visa for my UK trip to attend the British Birdwatching Fair. I have been to UK many times. I have no interest of staying in UK. I was going for less than 7 days. UTB made it clear to them that I am a bird guide who will be at the Uganda Stand and will make a talk about Birding in Uganda."
That’s what this part of Arnhem Land is like. Other places are all right but here in the middle you’ve got to talk to the country. You can’t just travel quiet, no! That’s law for the centre of Arnhem Land.
These guys just don't give a shit, and have a great time doing it. I don't know if this species is the loudest bird in the world but I reckon even the FA-18s from the nearby Tindal RAAF base would be hard-pressed to cut through the Blue-winged Kookaburra's cacophonous clatter at close quarters.
Applied ethno-biology at its best. This guest post from Peter Cooke examines the benefits that Aboriginal fire management regimes can have on fragile landscapes and vulnerable --literally -- bird and mammal species.
Chips Mackinolty writes from Palermo on the Sei isole in un mare di morti. The six islands in a sea of death refer to Sicily and Lampedusa, but as well to Christmas Island, Nauru, Manaus and Australia itself.
If you like Australian raptors and a big sky there is no better place to get both at the same time than the Barkly Tablelands in the heartland of the Northern Territory.
