Explore the Mallee

08/11/2024

IT'S HERE!!! THE FIRST CHICK OF THE SEASON! 🥰

Then an hour and twenty minutes later, the female laid her 10th egg of the 2024-25 season. No rest for a Malleefowl!

It was quite lucky for this chick the adults were about to lay and had cleared a fair bit of material, otherwise it's about a metre of sand it has to fight through above the eggs to get to the surface.

This clip shows the chick hatching, then again in slow motion; then the 10th egg being laid :)

Cheers,
Michael

02/11/2024

MALLEEFOWL EGG NUMBER EIGHT! Yeeehaa...

For this video I have edited together a series of three short clips... the period of digging leading up to (and including) the female laying her egg; then I have added two later clips. One from 30 minutes after she laid, and then again, an hour afterwards so that you can see the significant changes in the mound shape.

I hope you find this interesting :)

Cheers,

Michael

31/10/2024

Malleefowl egg number seven for the season! Laid on 15 October... you can see it at the end as she stands up :)

29/10/2024

27/10/2024

Under a grey sky and the watchful eye of an Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis)

24/10/2024

VIOLENT INTRUDERS CAUGHT ON CAMERA

We were shocked to see this pair of interlopers fighting near the Malleefowl mound. This is why we have security cameras set up; so that violent offenders can be reported!

21/10/2024

Look at this absolute whopper running across the Malleefowl mound! This beautiful Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii) is the biggest I have seen for quite some time... fantastic! 😍

20/10/2024

I had a great tour into deep Murray-Sunset on Thursday with Alan and James from Melbourne, and Mal and Jude from Cairns. The main target for this fun group of friends was the elusive Red-lored Whistler (Pachycephala rufogularis) along with a few other Mallee specialists for Jude who was experiencing the Victorian Mallee for the first time.

Despite some gusty and windy conditions, everyone remained upbeat and keen to explore... and that outlook was rewarded with some really fantastic views of three Red-lored Whistlers - two adults and a young bird being fed.

We also came across a couple of groups of Striated Grasswrens (Amytornis striatus) who were extremely active in the spinifex; with a recent fledgling seen in the second group - what a little beauty!

In both cases, as soon as we realised there were young birds present, we left the vicinity immediately after taking a couple of very quick photos to document these breeding events. To see these birds having successfully bred is really encouraging and we hope there are many more pairs also successfully rearing young in the area. It was a real pleasure to be with fellow birders whose sole concern was the appreciation and welfare of the birds; not pushing to get a closer photo, or more angles etc.

All in all it was a very pleasurable day out in a beautiful part of the Mallee :)

Cheers,

Michael

14/10/2024

Our guest Chris getting the shots he'd been really hoping for! A well chilled Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) making dreams.

You can find lots of footage on our Explore the Mallee YouTube page :)

12/10/2024

A few recent Malleefowl photos from our conservation reserve :)

11/10/2024

An Australian Owlet-nightjar on our Malleefowl mound.

05/10/2024

Yesterday afternoon, on the way out of a long day in deep Murray-Sunset National Park I spotted something I have wanted to see for quite some time... a Western Blue-tongued Lizard (Tiliqua occipitalis)!!

A kilometre or so earlier we had found a beautiful Central Bearded Dragon but the much less common Western Blue-tongue was a fantastic surprise. They are a lot harder to see than their Eastern cousins and, in my opinion, more handsomely marked up.

I absolutely could not pass up getting a few photos - what a superb lizard.

Cheers, Michael

03/10/2024

A few months ago now, Louise and I were in the house when we heard a group of Pink Cockatoos going absolutely crazy and causing quite a cacophony. We raced out of the house to see a dozen or so Pink Cockatoos noisily chasing a large bird towards the house. I couldn't believe my eyes! It was a female Australian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) rather panickily trying to evade the belligerent group that was chasing her. This is an odd sighting as they are waterbirds and we are far from any decent standing bodies of water. The poor bird was obviously trying to find somewhere to splash down; instead, it decided to rest up on top of our outlandish TV mast in the garden. Fortunately, the Pink Perils lost interest and eventually left it to recuperate and then take flight again.

You do see some interesting things in the Mallee! :)

26/09/2024

The distinctive metallic call of the Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis) is once again ringing out over the various grasslands and paddocks of the Mallee. As distinctive as their calls is their upright, long-legged and often with tail cocked posture.

23/09/2024

MALLEEFOWL EGG NUMBER TWO FOR THIS SEASON!

Laid on 14th of September, exactly a week after the first egg was laid.

If you would like to keep track of our wonderful Malleefowl this season (as well as lots of other interesting videos of all our other resident birds and wildlife), feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/

There is a lot of content that goes there but not onto this page 🙂
Cheers,
Michael

11/09/2024

*PRICE DROPPED*

I am selling my fabulous Canon R5 due to buying the MKII. It comes with the Canon battery grip and two batteries, original strap, limited edition Lucky leather strap (unused) and a 64gb CF Express card. I've got it for sale elsewhere for $4300 but if anyone from our page is interested, I'll take $150 off :)

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Michael

10/09/2024

Do you fancy a tour of our local national parks or reserves? You can find more information on our website at https://explorethemallee.com.au/national-parks

Feel free to get in touch to discuss a tour that will cater to your requirements 🙂