Ratcatchers, Desert Ecology Research Group, University of Sydney | Organisation

Ratcatchers, Desert Ecology Research Group, University of Sydney

Phone: +61 2 9351 7066

Address: School of Biological Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building A08 2006 University of Sydney

Website: http://www.desertecology.edu.au

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25.01.2022 Thousands of green budgies have been spotted flying en masse over grazing land in north-west Queensland, with several local residents taking to their phones in a bid to capture the noisy and spectacular sight. Cloncurry resident Paula Booth said she had not seen such a large volume of wild budgies in 20 years. "I remember seeing them a long while ago in the Cloncurry River to have a drink, but not in these numbers," she said.

24.01.2022 Scientists are listening out for the song of the critically endangered Plains-wanderer, with fewer than 1,000 of the bird left. 'Song meters' have been set up at Bush Heritage Australia's Boolcoomatta Reserve in eastern South Australia, to detect signs of the very shy bird. Read more: https://ab.co/2NxEKP2

24.01.2022 The Lunar New Year began over the weekend, and according to the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is a Year of the Rat The Territory is home to a few adorable native rats... like this Arnhem Rock-rat. This species is only found in the Top End of the NT and is threatened by feral cats and bushfire. This photo was taken by our Flora and Fauna staff on a recent monitoring survey

21.01.2022 Volunteer opportunity. Contact Elise directly for more.

21.01.2022 A feisty predator that: - Is the size of your hand - Pronks like a gazelle - Smells like a mop - Lives in some of the harshest landscapes on Earth... Read our new blog to see why many organisations around Australia are working together to save them: http://www.aridrecovery.org.au/arid-recover/meet-the-kowari See more

21.01.2022 I've been out in the Simpson Desert for the last three weeks helping out with desert ecology research for Sydney Uni. It was bloody hot and I think I've still got a couple of flies stuck deep up inside my nasal cavity somewhere but I had a grand ol' time and saw some awesome critters

20.01.2022 The Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation (ASRAC) recently launched their 10-year Healthy Country Plan, with support from us, to protect Aboriginal cultu...re, knowledge and ecosystems across 1.2 million hectares of East Arnhem Land. For our people, land, culture and country are never separate. Bringing many partners together to protect our law and culture is really important, says ASRAC Chair Otto Bulmaniya Campion. Bush Heritage Australias Chief Executive, Gerard ONeill, says that Aboriginal partnerships are a growing part of our national conservation strategy. We are extremely privileged to be working with Yolngu and Bi Traditional Owners and ranger groups in helping them keep their country healthy and cultural heritage protected. Our 24 active Aboriginal partnerships now account for 4.9 million hectares of land being protected for conservation. For more about Bush Heritage's partnerships with Traditional Owners visit our website http://bit.ly/2zezOcc

18.01.2022 Call out for volunteers! The first RatCatcher trips of 2018 to the red playground that is the Simpson Desert is shaping up to be an absolute ripper! Three staggered trips - convoys of multiple research vehicles heading out 10 April - 1 May, 19 April - 10 May and 2 -22 May. Trips will be headed by DERG Chief Investigator Glenda Wardle and Operations Manager Bobby T, Chief Investigator Chris Dickman and PhD student Stephanie Yip, and DERG research scientist Ayesha Tulloch. Limited volunteer spots available. Kindly get your Expressions of Interest/EOIs to CL ASAP: [email protected] Please feel free to share this call out amongst your respective networks! :)

18.01.2022 We have five jobs advertised at the moment. Perhaps there is one there that is perfect for you! Applications are due just over a week from now. http://bit.ly/bh...a-jobs * Field Officer, Bon Bon Station Reserve, SA * Supporter Services Team Leader, Melbourne * Reserve Manager, Ethabuka Reserve, Western Queensland * Philanthropy Executive, Aboriginal Partnerships, WA * Bunuba Healthy Country Landscape Manager, WA Photo by Annette Ruzicka.

17.01.2022 Call out for RatCatcher volunteers! We're now gearing up for our second field trip for the year to the red playground that is the Simpson Desert. Field trip date 12 June - 2 July. We have a couple of volunteer spots available due to late withdrawals. Kindly get your Expressions of Interests to me as soon as possible: [email protected] and please feel free to spread the good word amongst your networks. https://www.facebook.com/Ratcatchers-Desert-Ecology-Research-Group-University-of-Sydney-215607685142522/

16.01.2022 Its day two of my visit and the suspense is killing me as we slowly walk towards the last of the pitfall traps we are checking that day. A plastic drum that has been buried in the ground with its rim at surface level is metres away, the small trap a form of passive collection used during ecology studies. As she steps over the small fenceline that draws the animals in, elation washes over Kate Taylors face theres a painted dragon, bright blue and green. One of two managers of Bon Bon station reserve in the Australian outback, she hasnt seen one of these small lizards for years. She gently picks it up as it wraps its claws around her index finger. The lizard barely reaches her second knuckle. Its colours are so vibrant and it feels like we just won the lottery.

15.01.2022 https://www.abc.net.au//rare-footage-of-endanger/100225508

13.01.2022 Calling expressions of interest for 2020 Simpson Desert Trip! Join us for research in plants, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, birds and soil! Dates are 28th of April 2020 to 19th May 29th May to 19th June... If interested please email with DERG 2020 as subject headline for more details: [email protected]

12.01.2022 There aren't many people in the world who don't know & love budgies, which are said to be the 3rd most popular pet after cats & dogs. But many don't realise the Budgerigar is a parrot native to the deserts & semi-arid regions of Australia where they can gather in flocks of thousands. This tree of budgies was on our Cravens Peak Reserve, Queensland. More on Budgies: http://bit.ly/2oWUeTs

12.01.2022 A $1m donation to the fight against feral cats could help to double the size of or help genetically neuter cats, conservationists say. Sydney philanthropists Andrew and Jane Clifford have pledged to match every donation made to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy up to $1m before the end of the financial year, hoping to create a $2m fund to eradicate Australias cat plague.

09.01.2022 Last call out for volunteers for the DERG RatCatcher field trips to the Simpson Desert red playground! There has seriously been more logistical shenanigans with trip planning compared to the movement behind the scenes in Cricket Australia! We still have volunteer spots up for grabs in the first trip departing 10 April, returning Sydney 29 April. This first convoy will be headed by DERG Chief Investigator Glenda 'I love camels' Wardle and Operations Manager Bobby '5-time' Tamayo. Plenty of water and mud guaranteed, and that's just on the way into the red playground! Kindly get your Expressions of Interest/EOIs to CL ASAP: [email protected] Please feel free to share this call out amongst your respective networks! :) https://www.facebook.com/Ratcatchers-Desert-Ecology-Research-Group-University-of-Sydney-215607685142522/

09.01.2022 For generations the dingo has been considered one of the biggest threats to Australian livestock. One grazier has launched a campaign to re-set the debate, arguing that dingoes actually fulfill a vital role in the natural balance of the environment.

08.01.2022 https://www.abc.net.au//oasis-in-the-simpson-dese/11287328

08.01.2022 We know Monday morning can be tough so here's a photo of our incomparable Cravens Peak Reserve in far western Queensland to get you jumping out of bed. This was snapped by ecologist Aaron Greenville looking out from Number Three bore on the reserve, which is nestled at the edge of the Simpson Desert. Check out more of Aaron's ecology work on his website: aarontheecolog.wordpress.com/

07.01.2022 The parched landscape of outback South Australia is being rejuvenated by floodwaters that are now beginning to trickle into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre. Floodwaters from north Queensland have travelled about 1,000 kilometres to reach the ephemeral water source via the Channel Country. William Creek charter pilot Trevor Wright said the speed and volume of the water had been greater than expected. He said water had started to go into the northern end of the lake after filling Goyder Lagoon closer to Queensland. He said pelicans and black ducks were already arriving in the area, along with boaties keen to make the most of the rare occurrence.

06.01.2022 'Science matters, because science delivers solutions for humanity.' Find our more about the 21 new Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science: https://science.org.au/newfellows2018

06.01.2022 The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is investigating claims that photos it published which point to sightings of the endangered night parrot were staged. Former AWC ecologist John Young is credited with taking the first photograph of what has been dubbed the worlds most mysterious bird in Queensland in 2013. Last year Young said he had found a feather from the night parrot on Kalamurina Station, around northern Lake Eyre in South Australia, describing the July discovery as significant beyond what I could have imagined. But since then his work has been called into question, including by Australian National University academic Penny Olsen, who has suggested in her new book, Night Parrot, that some of Youngs discoveries most notably his 2013 photo were staged. https://www.theguardian.com//wildlife-group-investigates-c

06.01.2022 Showcasing new and recently updated data openly available via TERN repositories, including: - Researcher submitted data on the habitats and predator-prey interactions of desert-dwelling marsupials and spiders; and - Long-term monitoring data on the fauna of NTs Top End National Parks. http://tern.org.au/Data-Update-Dec17-pg32350.html

05.01.2022 Western Quolls were reintroduced to Arid Recovery two months ago. As well as making babies, the quolls have been busy hunting and eating bettongs. This is okay, and important. Since their reintroduction in 1999, our burrowing bettongs have had no mammalian predators and have bred up spectacularly, to the point that they are now overabundant.

05.01.2022 The Australian Wildlife Conservancy has had to retract research it published about the endangered night parrot after an investigation into whether sightings of the parrot were staged. An independent panel investigated evidence that was used to support reports published by the conservation group that claimed to have found traces of the elusive bird at Kalamurina Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia and Diamantina National Park in Queensland. The reports were underpinned by fieldwork by ecologist John Young, whose work on the night parrot has been called into question, including by Penny Olsen, an associate professor at the Australian National University.

05.01.2022 We have an exceptional opportunity for a Healthy Landscape Manager based in Longreach, Queensland. This job involves managing recovery programs for critically endangered species such as the Edgbaston Goby, Red-finned Blue-eye and the Night Parrot. The position also requires collaborative coordination of the people, land management and ecological activities across the Arid Riverine landscape. If you have a passion for conservation and want to make a real difference in protecting our natural environment, then click the link to find out more! bit.ly/2nO7NmK Applications close December 12.

03.01.2022 Call out for volunteers - limited spots for our next DERG RatCatchers field trip to the red playground - Simpson Desert. We have finalised trip dates: departing Sydney April 17 and return 7 May. Get your expressions of interest back to me ASAP, via: [email protected] As always, the RatCatchers community spans far and wide; please feel free to forward this call-out amongst your personal and professional networks.... http://www.desertecology.edu.au/ See more

02.01.2022 Professor Chris Dickman has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science for his ecological science research in deserts. See why he says: "Without science, it's not going to be possible to make the demands that we make on the environment, sustainable."

02.01.2022 An Aboriginal elder from south-west Queensland wants to preserve the 60,000-year-old culture and history of his people and the story of their life in the Simpson Desert before it is too late. Don Rowlands is a descendent of the Watti Watti family and is a Wangkangurru Yarluyandi elder living in Birdsville on the edge of Munga-Thirri National Park, which is also known as the Simpson Desert. Mr Rowlands has been the Queensland Parks and Wildlife senior ranger for Munga-Thirri since 1994 and during this time he has discovered numerous sites and artefacts left behind when his people moved out of the desert about 120 years ago.

01.01.2022 Call out for RatCatcher volunteers! We're now gearing up for our second field trip for the year to the red playground that is the Simpson Desert. The logistics for the trip remain fluid - no firm departure date as of yet, but looking likely around 11 or 12 June. Field trip duration approximately 2 weeks. We have limited volunteer spots available. Kindly get your Expressions of Interests to me as soon as possible: [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/Ratcatchers-Desert-Ecology-Research-Group-University-of-Sydney-215607685142522/