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What's happening in July
Above the snowline
With snow blanketing Australia's alpine regions it's time for the hardy plants and animals that live there to employ some ingenious tricks to make the most of the cold conditions.
Sunfish seekers
While southern Australia shivers through winter one of our strangest marine neighbours heads north like any other sensible sun seeker.
Watching our waterways
Some of the most turbid, salty and infrequently flowing rivers in the world, Australia's inland water systems are one of our most precious and challenged resources.
Bold eagles take flight
If you spot two enormous birds locked together in what appears to be a soaring, tumbling battle for dominance of the sky, then look again!
More July events
Changing times
Thursday, 7 July 2005
Australia's animals and plants are already reacting to climate change. Fairy penguins are breeding earlier, gum trees are flowering at different times and birds are migrating prematurely. There's something afoot in the world of nature: the times really are a-changing!
Platypus spurred to action
Thursday, 15 July 2004
Spurred on by the urge to breed, male platypus leave little in their wake but a graceful bow wave as they race upstream to challenge intruder males or charm resident females into joining them in a sinuous mating dance.
Winter wattles
Thursday, 3 July 2003
Why do some wattles bloom in winter while so many other plants hunker down for the cold weather?
Magpies behaving badly
Thursday, 4 July 2002
In winter and early spring, many Australians start scanning the skies for a crazy black and white bundle of feathers as the magpie Gymnorhina tibicen starts breeding and raising its chicks.
Feast of the albatross
Thursday, 5 July 2001
In the ocean near Wollongong a banquet is being prepared. The table has been laid, and a sumptuous spread of seafood is ready to eat. Guests are arriving in their thousands, hungry, thin and anxious to tuck in. They have travelled a long way to attend this feast, but they know it will be worth it. This is no ordinary meal, and most of the guests won't eat like this again for two years.
Butterflies take a winter break
Thursday, 20 July 2000
Common Crow Butterflies have a neat trick for dealing with dry winter weather. Around June or July, they gather in large numbers, settle down among the trees and put their lives on hold for months at a stretch. When these Crows hang out in the thousands it can be a spectacular seasonal sight in the bush.
