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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.

Is $14m and a 10-minute beach trip enough to show the feds care about the algal bloom? During his visit to Adelaide, the environment minister bats away criticism about his government's response to SA's algal bloom crisis. Is $14 million and a 10-minute beach inspection enough to show th...

"So, how long did the minister spend on the sand before being ushered back to Canberra?

Ten minutes, or 11 if you count the walk back to the car park."

#algalbloom analysis by the ABC's Thomas Kelsall

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

SA algae crisis ‘incredibly disturbing’ but federal government won’t declare natural disaster, Watt says Greens senator warns $14m in federal funding ‘nowhere near’ enough to support South Australian communities reeling from toxic algal bloom covering coast * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast * Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says $14m in federal funding is “nowhere near what will be needed” to support South Australian communities dealing with the state’s algal bloom catastrophe. The environment minister, Murray Watt, announced the federal assistance package on Monday while visiting South Australia to see the impacts of a toxic algal bloom that for months has caused mass deaths of marine life across the state’s beaches. Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Continue reading...

SA algae crisis ‘incredibly disturbing’ but federal government won’t declare natural disaster, Watt says

Link here - www.nema.gov.au/about-us/gov... 4/4

"Disaster: A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts." 3/4

"Natural hazards include bushfires, floods, cyclones, storms, heatwaves, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Natural hazards trigger disasters when they impact what people value" 2/4

How the National Disaster framework describes natural disasters #algalbloom

"Natural hazards: shocks caused by a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury, damage and disruption ... 1/4

The Age story: ‘Trojan horse for sprawl’: The giant freeway set to redefine Melbourne. The 100-kilometre outer ring road is not high on the public’s radar, but the government has spent millions securing its path, and internal documents reveal it was urged to finish the first stage by 2031. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/350m-spent-buying-land-a-call-for-urgency-but-no-sign-of-melbourne-s-mega-road-20250703-p5mc7w.html (Paywall)

#Melbourne already has more motorways than many cities of its size. The massively expensive $26b North East Link is known as "the missing link" ... it sounds kinda final, but just as that one gets built, there's always another one being planned 🙁 #InducedTraffic

Fruit stickers are annoying and bad for the environment. So why did an Australian ban come unstuck? Governments flagged fruit stickers for the chopping block but then South Australia shelved its September deadline after industry asked for more time * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Fruit stickers may be small, but they can be mighty annoying. Each year 5.62bn plastic labels are picked off fruit and vegetables in Australia, data shows. Those that are not accidentally eaten, washed down the sink or buried in compost, usually end up in landfill, adding about 110 tonnes of plastic to the pile. Continue reading...

Fruit stickers are annoying and bad for the environment. So why did an Australian ban come unstuck?