Nature Notes: 8 June 2022

The early bird catches the sunrise

This is your reminder to get out of bed earlier. There has been a spate of incredible winter sunrises over the past week, all of which I may have missed. In my defence, the dogs didn’t want to get out of bed and someone needed to keep them warm. Luckily for us, plenty of Illawarra locals were up and about so we can enjoy the beauty after the fact.

Winter flocks of ‘green birds’

Have you noticed a fleeting flash of green in your garden recently? Female and young male Satin Bowerbirds look really similar to each other with their beautiful olive-green colouring. It’s not until about five years of age that the boys start to slowly acquire their adult plumage. Just a feather here or there to start and it’s not until they are about seven that they develop that stunning satin blue plumage.

In the meantime, over winter, the ‘green birds’ tend to stick together in small flocks, flying into parks and gardens looking for food. Most of the year they eat things such as fruits and seeds, during the summer breeding season they’ll add in insects and in winter when the rest of their diet is scarce, they’ll eat leaves or like this bird here, flowers!

A ‘Wild’ exhibition

Fabulously talented Illawarra local, Annie Appleton’s latest solo exhibition Wild is on at the Wollongong Art Gallery until 3rd July. The exhibition features charcoal drawings of animals from around the world including tigers, gorillas and our own koalas. Entry is free to both the gallery and exhibition.