Baby rabbits rescued from drowning by teenage boys

While walking our dogs of this afternoon we met two teenage boys crouched on the ground, digging with their hands to save five baby rabbits from drowning in their burrow. The ground was oozing with water and so were the bunnies.

The boy's eyes were tender with compassion as they lifted each of the five babies from the flooded burrow. The last to be retrieved looked dead, but cupped in the warmth of one of the boy's hands, it came to life -- slowly.

We left the baby rabbits in the protection of clumps of grasses, where sunshine fell on their lightly furred bodies: warming, drying. We feel certain that the parents will return, and move their family to a drier place, but I will check in a few hours to make sure this happens.

With dramatic flooding occurring throughout Australia, this small act of compassion -- by teenage boys -- towards helpless creatures warmed my heart; gave me hope for the future.

Flooding in the mutton bird rookery kills chicks about to hatch

With Australia in the grips of devastating floods, and torrential rain falling over huge areas, Phillip Island -- in the far south -- has not escaped damaging rains, flash flooding and deaths in the mutton bird rockery.


With only two days to go before the mutton birds hatch, a low-lying part of the rookery flooded today. Presumably the adults sitting on eggs would have escaped, although I can't be certain about that. I'm sure though, that the chicks in the eggs will have died.

Walking in the rain along the beach this afternoon revealed areas of bad erosion caused by over-loaded stormwater drains emptying into Western Port Bay. It is this type of pollution that's affecting the diversity of life in the bay.

A short, "Hello", due to a day in hospital

A short, "Hello", tonight, as I've spent the day in hospital in Melbourne having a fairly uncomfortable procedure. With instructions to do nothing involving physical effort, concentration or decision-making for the rest of the day and night, I've decided to reduce my blog content as well.

Best wishes to my friends throughout Australia and around the world -- and "Good night".

A national emergency is unfolding in Queensland -- and escalating

With news of devastating flood waters affecting much of Queensland, our hearts go out to all those people who have lost loved ones, and whose homes, property and businesses have either been swept away or inundated by floodwaters.

The whole country is in a state of shock, disbelief and deep sympathy and sorrow. Meanwhile torrential rain continues to fall, walls of water threaten more homes and instead of subsiding, the situation is escalating.

Sitting in my office -- on Phillip Island -- I'm surrounded by the vast waters of Western Port Bay and Bass Strait. Heavy rain is falling, and I'm finding it difficult to think of anything else but water and the escalating emergency in Queensland. Nothing but a tsunami could flood Phillip Island.

Hen and chicken reef announces low tide

From our house, a group of rocks (resembling a hen with chickens) exposes itself at low tide, and in doing so tells us whether or not we can walk along the beach to Grossard Point and beyond. In fact, it's possible to walk along the beach all the way to Cowes (the main town on Phillip Island), a distance of about 6 km.


At high tide, rocky headlands block the route to Cowes, but by walking west, you can walk about 4 km before rocks make progress difficult and slow.


It's possible to walk all the way around the island, but this takes several days and the tide needs to be low.

Our coastline has a blend of wide sandy beaches, rocky headlands and rocky reefs. When exposed at low tide, these reefs contain rock pools, and all manner of shellfish, sea weeds and other marine life. Sadly, in the 12 years we've lived on Phillip Island and explored these rocky ledges, the diversity of life in and around the pools has diminished. Pollution within Western Port Bay has to be the culprit.

An enormous oil rig passed by our window today

An enormous oil rig-- the Kan Tan iv-- passed by our sea-scape today. Standing at least 50 m above sea-level, and with six huge "legs" and three cranes it was an impressive sight.

Heavy duty red tugs, complete with heli-pads, towed the oil rig from Bass Strait to an anchoring point off Cowes, where maintenance work will be carried out. The Far Scinar tug pulled the rig, while the Far Fosna tug-- at the rear -- kept it towing in the right direction. Its progress was slow, which helped the "bush telegraph" alert people along the route.

The stage across which the oil rig moved -- Western Port Bay -- lay as flat as a pancake, a rare event in itself.

The Seal Rocks ferry sees more than seals

Once daily during fine weather (and up to four times a day when tourist numbers peak over summer) the Seal Rocks ferry crosses our span of Western Port Bay on its way between Cowes and Seal Rocks on the western tip of Phillip Island.

The main attraction is Australia's largest fur seal colony, and while moored in calm water, visitors can watch seal pups frolicking in the shallows; adults basking in the sun or lazing about on slippery black rocks; and males squabbling for territory. Congregating in numbers exceeding 10,000, they are an impressive sight with their dog-like faces, soulful eyes and their strong musky odour -- never forgotten!

On the way to and from Seal Rocks (a two hour round trip) passengers on the modern catamaran see Phillip Island's scenic north-west coast, and sometimes sight a white pointer shark (that love nothing better than a meal of seal pup!) or even a whale or two. The Seal Rocks colony is an important seal breeding area and nursery. About 5000 seal pups are born here, every year. Using satellite technology, transmitting devices (glued to the backs of bull seals) have obtained important information about their feeding habits and movements throughout Bass Strait and Tasmania.