"Calling all Wildlife lovers!" ??…common Azure Kingfisher - not so fast?! This 'Tasmanian Azure Kingfisher' ( Calyx aureus subsp. diemenensis ) is endangered and endemic to Tasmania - and to our knowledge - has never been photographed on Bruny Island with only a handful of irregular 'unconfirmed' sightings in the past; 'hence, it was considered to have never existed on Bruny.' So, you could imagine our excitement in having this beautiful specimen frequent our 'Bruny Island Coastal Retreat's' nature reserve - obviously due to being exceptionally rare throughout Tasmania, let alone Bruny - but then our complete dismay to learn of the federal 'Department of Environment' (who are tasked with stopping Australia's world-leading and accelerating species extinction rate) having its job numbers slashed by a third, all in the same day!
What's the population of this beautiful bird - 'numbers are scarce estimates'? Are they holding steady or heading towards extinction - 'no one knows'? Unfortunately, the only authority that 'monitored such' is experiencing its own reclassification from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered and most likely hastening the negative trend for many Australian species by receiving yet another nail in their collective coffin!
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More Bruny Island Journal
Keepers of the Light: Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Cape Bruny Light keepers have been doing battle with nature since 1838. Tending the light to ensure that maritime travellers did not meet the same grisly end as so many before them had done, it was an arduous and unrelenting life.
A Spin of a Coin - Bruni D'Entrecasteaux
Following the coastline of Bruny Island, you might chance upon a rock formation that bears a striking resemblance to one of the great explorers in history.
Reconnecting—Nature, People, Place! "The Younger Heroes"
On a sunny weekend during February 2020, BrunyIsland.au was privileged to be able to offer one of our nature sanctuaries complimentarily to assist in the facilitation of Tasmania's first 'Younger Heroes' program; a fabulous non for profit, registered charity.
I have a room to myself and it is nature *
From the ramblings of a meandering mind, today I am wondering if the appreciation of nature is an intrinsic part of our soul or is something that we choose to acknowledge.
* Henry David Thoreau