Zero degrees each morning was quite a novelty.

So was leaving the freezer bottles outside my tent in the evening, and finding them frozen solid the next day - no fridge required! Ice on the windscreen (that's a first for me in WA) and an unforgettable misty and atmospheric Friday morning. Then, 'blue sky' days and wonderful Dryandra scenery.

I never expected so many birds in winter. 50 species - that's a personal record. While Sean was seeing his 200th Numbat (Wow! Awesome) the score for me was........Echidnas 4: Numbats 0.......Ah well, a reason to return again soon.

But I had the ultimate thrill - my 'nemesis' bird - a Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, flew into a small tree next to my car when I was packing up. I heard the song and saw every detail as it did a 360 deg. turn. DRYANDRA - simply the best!

Kath Lindann

Photos  ©Kath Lindann 

Since I was very young I have always had a passion for wildlife, especially wildlife spotting. It probably started when my parents would take me and my sister on safaris in Southern Africa. We enjoyed the challenge of finding as many animal species as possible in the amazing National Parks.
 
Western Australia’s mammal emblem, the numbat, always intrigued me, and when I first visited Dryandra Woodland I fell in love with the area due to the open woodland habitat and the variety of wildlife found within. It bought me back to those safari days in Africa.
 
Finding a numbat in the wild is a challenge I compare to finding a leopard in the African savannah. I drove through a National Park in Namibia from end to end, covering every track possible, and on day three of my 15 day journey I had two separate leopard sightings.

Fantastic!

Did I have any more leopard sightings after that? No.

That is what it is like for numbat in places like Dryandra, Boyagin and Perup. The numbat are out there and you have every chance of a sighting, but do not be disillusioned if for hours, days or maybe even a few times going to these reserves you do not have a desired result.

And so we have covered the first two important points of numbat spotting:

PATIENCE and LUCK! 

Click 'read more' to see a gallery of Sean's incredible numbat photos.

“We take off the head, then we squeeze the juice and seeds onto the ice cream - it’s got to be Peter’s ice cream though, otherwise it doesn't follow true family tradition”, smiles Troy Bennell (Ngalang Wongi Aboriginal Cultural Tours).

‘Pigface’, what an ugly name for such a beautiful flower.

The Aboriginal (Noongar) people call it ‘Bain’ – it is one of the many native plants and flowers that were foraged, long before European settlement.

Much more than just for food or medicine, wildflowers were also used to make hunting, gathering and other tools. The ancient knowledge, handed down through many generations, as to how and when the flowers can be used is critically important, “you can’t just harvest pigface any time, you need to recognise when it’s right” says Troy, “the signs are in the colour and maturity of the flower”.

For the Noongar people in Australia’s South West region, August and September mark the Djilba season. Characterised by the blooming of wildflowers, this is the time when, traditionally, the Noongar people would journey to the coast. 

Zooniverse needs your help! But...what is ZOONIVERSE?

The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers - hundreds of thousands of people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Our goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, datasets useful to the wider research community, and many publications.

At the Zooniverse, anyone can be a researcherYou don’t need any specialised background, training, or expertise to participate in any Zooniverse projects. We make it easy for anyone to contribute to real academic research, on their own computer, at their own convenience.
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You’ll be able to study authentic objects of interest gathered by researchers, like images of faraway galaxies, historical records and diaries, or videos of animals in their natural habitats. By answering simple questions about them, you’ll help contribute to our understanding of our world, our history, our Universe, and more.

With our wide-ranging and ever-expanding suite of projects, covering many disciplines and topics across the sciences and humanities, there's a place for anyone and everyone to explore, learn and have fun in the Zooniverse.

We are absolutely delighted to announce our newest ecology project, Western Shield – Camera Watch. This project has been built by researchers in Australia using our project builder. They need you help to look through thousands of camera trap images from Western Australia and identify the animals you see in them. Get involved right now at www.zooniverse.org/projects/birgus2/western-shield-camera-watch

Written by VETTI KAKULAS - PerthNow

​IT’S the cool and tasty superfood that even non-vegans love.

Now quinoa is about to win a new legion of fans with a WA-made liquor.
An East Perth distillery is about to launch Australia’s first quinoa spirit.
The Whipper Snapper Distillery has teamed up with Narrogin-based 3farmers to create 100 bottles.
Project Q, which has an alcohol content of 47 per cent, will be available next week for $185 a pop.
Whipper Snapper founder Jimmy McKeown said his business aimed to be innovative in all areas.

Written by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Photos copyright AWC.

AWC has just completed an historic translocation of numbats from the largest feral cat-free area in Australia (Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary) to the second largest cat-free area in Australia (Mt Gibson).

This is the first translocation of numbats back to Western Australia and is a critical step in preventing the extinction of this endangered species.

Nine numbats were airlifted from Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary in western NSW and released within Mt Gibson’s 7,800 ha feral predator-free area early last week. The numbat has an estimated population of less than 1,000 mature individuals and is declining, primarily due to predation by feral cats and foxes. This is the first translocation in a series of proposed numbat translocations to Mt Gibson. Working with the WA Government and Perth Zoo, AWC will establish a genetically diverse founder population, which is expected to grow to around 240 Numbats – increasing the global Numbat population by almost 25%! For more information on this project and how you can help save the Numbat, visit http://australianwildlife.org/…/mt-gibson-endangered-wildli…
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AWC ecologists are radio-tracking each numbat daily to monitor the success of the translocation.

Ed: Many thanks to the AWC for providing this article to the DCVC. Numbats are endemic to the Dryandra region, and you can follow more about the local numbats on this Numbat Taskforce facebook page.

Written by Gretchen Reynolds

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.

Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago.

City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show.

These developments seem to be linked to some extent, according to a growing body of research. Various studies have found that urban dwellers with little access to green spaces have a higher incidence of psychological problems than people living near parks and that city dwellers who visit natural environments have lower levels of stress hormones immediately afterward than people who have not recently been outside.

But just how a visit to a park or other green space might alter mood has been unclear. Does experiencing nature actually change our brains in some way that affects our emotional health?