Petra Stock

This makes me SO happy!

Nominate your favourite Australian children’s picture book of all time A good picture book is pure magic – and Australia has produced some of the best. Nominate your favourite here

I cannot read The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek without tearing up. 'What am I?'

Nominate your favourite Australian children's picture book - a great opportunity to celebrate the writers and illustrators behind these treasures. 📚

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Congratulations!!

‘The ultimate free Uber around the sea’: suckerfish find dream solution to transport woes Not only do remora fish enjoy a sumptuous feast of whale skin by hitching a ride on cetaceans, they even breathe easier

When a whale starts to breach and a sucker-fish flees: that's remora www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Bats in the ’burbs: how to give nature’s nighttime acrobats a helping hand Spring marks the start of bat baby season. Even if you can’t see them, small changes can make a big difference for our nocturnal neighbours * Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint * Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com They’re around our buildings and in our back yards, some as small as walnuts: as the weather warms up, bats become more active. Australia is home to more than 90 bat species, and for many, spring marks the start of bat baby season – when mothers need more food to support themselves and their pups. Continue reading...

Bats in the ’burbs: how to give nature’s nighttime acrobats a helping hand

Bats in the ’burbs: how to give nature’s nighttime acrobats a helping hand Spring marks the start of bat baby season. Even if you can’t see them, small changes can make a big difference for our nocturnal neighbours

They’re around our buildings and in our back yards, some as small as walnuts: as the weather warms up, bats become more active. 🦇

#batweek may have come to an end, but it’s never too late to give nature’s nightcrew a helping hand

#batweek2025

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Shark feeding frenzy off popular Australian surf beach captured in chilling footage ‘Wonderful’ for people to see the predators so close and feasting on bait fish at the Gold Coast’s Rainbow Bay, near Snapper Rocks, expert says

It was “wonderful” for people to see sharks going about their daily lives in such close proximity, Dr Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist said.

“They were doing it close to shore and people had the opportunity to see them naturally foraging.”

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

In our work, we hear everything from genuine concerns about renewables impact on environment, through to blatant untruths. We also see genuine concerns leveraged by people with other agendas.

Incredible video

My featherless cockatoo Doug looked like a monster – but his flaws only made me love him more | Hannah Parslow Doug and I were inseparable. He taught me a lot about human relationships, and how we are never too ugly to be loved

“We often go through life trying to cover up our flaws... But Doug taught me that our flaws can be the very things that define us”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

For a fairy-tale ending, vote 🥇 Australian fairy tern for bird of the year #boty 🧚

‘Wouldn’t knock down Adelaide cathedral’: outrage as golf course upgrade for Saudi-backed LIV tournament threatens burial site Course upgrade has not been finalised but SA government admits bones in Indigenous site may be disturbed

Kaurna custodian Susan Dixon:

“Our cultural footprint is in that site. We wouldn’t knock down Adelaide’s cathedral. We need to honour this parkland. It should have the same value.”

Story by @henrybelot.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Sadly this adorable cuddly bat is critically endangered. Who do we think we are!? | First Dog on the Moon Here is my recovery plan to SAVE THIS IMPORTANT BAT

I like big bats and I cannot lie! A cartoon... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Sadly this adorable cuddly bat is critically endangered. Who do we think we are!? | First Dog on the Moon Here is my recovery plan to SAVE THIS IMPORTANT BAT * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Sadly this adorable cuddly bat is critically endangered. Who do we think we are!? | First Dog on the Moon

Government required to create plan to protect greater glider in major legal win for Wilderness Society Murray Watt agrees recovery plans for greater glider, ghost bat, lungfish and sandhill dunnart were not made by successive governments

The federal environment minister has conceded that successive governments acted unlawfully when they failed to create mandatory recovery plans for native species threatened with extinction

Flinders University jobs under threat as news of proposed restructure spreads Six internationally recognised marine scientists who are researching South Australia's toxic algal bloom are set to lose their jobs at Flinders University, the ABC understands.

A/Prof Kaempf said he was "absolutely gobsmacked" when told his position would be axed, along with experts in coastal erosion, whale and dolphin research.

"The skills that you lose is understanding algae blooms, mass strandings of whales and marine heatwave impacts.”

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

For all those folk in Vic, you might be interested to know that the wild winds we've had last few days has resulted in the lowest 24hr period of brown coal generation on record 🎉

It’s the last native mammal on the island, but the “incredibly cute and fluffy” Christmas Island flying fox is critically endangered with no recovery plan and severely outdated conservation advice.

The toy swap is a community event that aims to shift consumption practices and normalise climate action. It also aims to bring people together and support them in a cost-of-living crisis.

Bumper whale calving season a ‘sign of hope’ for South Australia’s oceans Almost 200 endangered southern right wales have been spotted off state’s coastline this year, amid concerns about impact of algal bloom

A bumper season for southern right whales in South Australia - a “sign of hope”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Western treatment plant is definitely on my to-do list! 🪶

Melbourne

Beautiful sunrise in Melbourne this morning (if only photographs could fully capture it)

It’s #NationalScienceWeek! 🐦

Our HANZAB encyclopaedia is now online & free – covering every bird ever recorded in Aus, NZ & Antarctica. Updated with the latest taxonomy & threat statuses, it’s a game-changer for bird lovers & researchers alike

🔗 hanzab.birdlife.org.au

#BirdLifeAustralia #Birds

Body rolls and headbanging: we found cockatoos have 30 different dance moves Cockatoo owners often record their pets dancing to music. Now, researchers have catalogued many of their complex dance moves.

"After watching cockatoos voluntarily begin dancing ... it was difficult to reach any conclusion other than cockatoos most likely dance because it’s fun."
Study by Charles Sturt University researchers finds cockatoos have more than 30 dance moves.
theconversation.com/body-rolls-a...

A giant insect that looks like a stick! What is not to love? | First Dog on the Moon Even more amazing – it is not even Australia’s longest stick insect!

Stick insects! Everyone loves stick insects. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Velvet worm vs ghost bat. Vote now for Australia's most underrated animal Move over, roos and emus — this National Science Week, we're looking for the most underrated Australian animal. Meet the contestants, and vote for who you think should win.

Can't decide! They're all superb
www.abc.net.au/news/science...

Allan Ahlberg, beloved children's author, dies aged 87 Working first with his wife Janet, and later with illustrators including Raymond Briggs and Bruce Ingman, he wrote more than 150 books

Decades on and can still so easily recall the words to Each peach pear plum and Peepo!
🥧🧸
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

Map reveals where 'silent killer' wood heater smoke is worst Wood heaters are estimated to be responsible for more pollution-related deaths than all the cars on our roads. This national map shows which areas are affected the most.

Wood heaters are so polluting, it only takes a relatively small number of homes burning wood to expose millions of people in a city to pollution, said Professor Johnston from the Centre for Safe Air.

www.abc.net.au/news/science...

“thanks, Utrecht-Maastricht morning train you were quiet and you let me write”

Wonderful reminder to always read the acknowledgments.