Mahers Landing is no place for millionaires’ yachts, but it has plenty of riches for those who are willing to see.
 A smooth stingray, Port Phillip Bay. Photo: Sarah Speight / Flickr. Thanks to Steve Irwin, stingrays have an image problem. Mark Robertson delves deeper.
 Observing his aquarium, Mark Robertson realises that love and lust are powerful emotions, no matter what the species.
 Discus fish by Drriss & Marrionn You don’t have to go far from home to observe the splendours of nature, writes Mark Robertson.
 A Giant Gippsland Earthworm peeks out from its exposed burrow. Photo Dr Beverley Van Praagh By Mark Robertson OUR Bass Coast is rich in varied habitats – beaches, remnant bushland, estuaries, farmland and urban environments support varied and, often, rare species. One habitat which is often literally overlooked is the subterranean world which stretches from the subtidal through to the lofty Bass hills. All sports of creatures excavate and inhabit our rich soils – including us humans.  Muttonbird wreck. Photo: Venus Bay Observation Project By Mark Robertson
EACH day the high tides deliver a new treasure trove to our golden beaches (anyone remember what was written at the entrance of Wonthaggi?). The physics of our moon and sun interpose to cover our shores with a new strandline, each one slightly unique. Add in the barometric readings, wind direction and strength, and the sheer uniqueness of each high tide is apparent.  Illustration of paper nautilus" (Argonauta) by Philip Henry Gosse, from Natural History: Mollusca (1854) By Mark Robertson
BACK in the olden days (the `60s and `70s), the centrepiece of many homes was the china cabinet, a glass-fronted tomb containing all the special and delicate treasures one accumulated and displayed: Royal Doulton figurines, special teacups and saucers, curios from the P&O cruise to the far east, and those strange silver-plated cake tongs, the least-used device ever invented.  The kraken, Engraving by Edward Etherington, 1887 By Mark Robertson July 16, 2016 IF I were to design a totally alien species – given my formative childhood diet of B-grade sci-fi, James Bond and The Three Stooges – it would consist of writhing tentacles, green blood, huge eyes capable of ultra-violet vision, multiple hearts, a voracious parrot beak, jet propulsion, smokescreens, and the ability to change colour instantly.  Echidna at Harmers Haven. Photo: Leonie Smith By Mark Robertson MY FIRST echidna encounter for the season was in October – the Saturday of the Moto GP. I was enjoying a great coffee at the Hicksborough store, watching the motorbikes heading towards Phillip Island, when a lady stopped her car suddenly. An echidna had decided to cross the Bass Highway. Soon the traffic had halted, waiting for it to decide whether to wander across the busy road or attempt to burrow into the warm bitumen. A motorcyclist picked it up (leather gloves have more than one use) and deposited it on the "nature strip", and the traffic once more flowed. |
Close encounters with the natural worldMark Robertson writes about the strange and special species that share our Bass Coast home. Archives
August 2018
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