The ridge above Weathertop Crest within The Cape is an ancient sand dune, from which wonderful vistas can be had of the Bunurong Coast, overlooking the wild Bass Strait. The panorama extends to Cape Woolamai in the west and Cape Liptrap in the east with the mountains of Wilson’s Prom beyond. At the west end, … Continue reading Quiet time on the ‘ridge’ … →

Finally … we have had some decent rain to break the spell of dry weather and we are into a seasonal change—midway through autumn. Things are fresh, the nights are a bit cooler, the water tanks are topped up, there is a touch of green in the landscape and the wetlands are pumping with water. … Continue reading Beautiful songsters … skilful hunters →

The Cape lives in a challenging coastal environment that has become heavily degraded since European settlement. Extensive rewilding of the estate’s drainage lines into reconstructed water features and retention of important habitat buffers with the adjoining Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Reserve have helped restore some of it’s past glory. However, there remains a dearth of … Continue reading More habitat, more trees … and more Koala? →

Some of our coastal birds are easy to identify while others can be a bit perplexing. Most beachgoers know the Seagull (real name is Silver Gull) which is famous for snatching and devouring your chips at the beach.  But there are a couple of other Gulls, slightly larger, which can be easily mistaken as the … Continue reading Gull(ible) … Kelp or Pacific? →

‘Expect the unexpected!’ A front of wild storms and a very brief period of hot weather in our neck of the woods threw a ‘spanner into the works’ recently. No power, no communications! But the natural world went about it’s daily business without disruption, seemingly unaffected and unaware by what was going on in our … Continue reading Life goes on … well sort of! →

A slightly different Cape Chatter this time around. We follow the nesting stages of a couple of stunning native bees (Megachile) which have finally taken to my ‘bee hotel’ in the garden. While sceptical at first, they do work! More sobering is the state of the current Hooded Plover breeding season on the nearby beaches. … Continue reading Welcome to The Hotel Megachile →

Welcome back to Cape Chatter for 2024. I hope everyone in Australia had a pleasant festive season break and followers in the northern hemisphere aren’t freezing too much! The weather here in Cape has been a little different—we are yet to get any significant heat, it’s been a tad humid along with some nice rainfall … Continue reading Slithering into 2024 … →

In this final issue of Cape Chatter for 2023, we look at the frenetic activity of some local Honeyeaters feasting on nectar and also review what’s been happening in the natural world at The Cape over the last year. A very merry and safe festive season for all the ‘Chatterers’. After a short break, we … Continue reading Festive foraging … and the year that was →

Just when we thought we were in for a very dry spell leading into summer, valuable rain has continued to fall— topping up the creek line, ponds and wetlands, providing a real pulse to this ecological system … and the wildlife is loving it.

Just when we thought we were heading for a long dry spell like many parts of Australia, the heavens opened and we have had some nice drenching rain to put some green tinge back into scenery. It has been a mix of strong easterlies, storms and precipitation, and on the coast, a series of high … Continue reading “Raindrops keep falling on my head” … →