Lying 80 kilometres west of Sydney, the Blue Mountains National Park is one of the most popular bushwalking destinations in NSW. More than 8 million people visit the mountains each year trampling over 140km of tracks and trails. But what not many people realize, is that when the darkness falls and the trails are deserted, […]
Author: Margarita Steinhardt
Margarita Steinhardt is a wildlife ecologist by training but more of a naturalist by inclination. She has graduated with Master of Wildlife Conservation degree from Macquarie University in Sydney and is currently based in Australia. Margarita has been photographing wildlife for a number of years, throughout her work and travels in Thailand, India, Africa, and Russia, as well as Australia. What drives Margarita is the excitement of a new destination and new species to be found and photographed there.
Critically Endangered Swift Parrots visit Sydney
This year, the Critically Endangered Swift Parrots visited the Mt Annan Botanic Gardens in western Sydney. There estimated to be no more than 2000 of them left in the wild. These attractive little parrots breed in Tasmania and fly north to the mainland in winter. While on the mainland, Swift parrots are nomadic, following the […]
War dancing Pygmy elephants of Borneo’s Deramakot Forest Reserve
While looking for the Clouded leopard in Borneo, we came across the herd of Borneo Pygmy elephants in Deramakot Forest Reserve a few days in a row. Unlike most pygmy elephants that would retreat at the first sight of a vehicle, this herd was very relaxed. They were happy to stay on the road and […]
Birds along Palm Jungle track in Royal National Park
After weeks of rainy weather the sun has finally come out in Sydney and to celebrate I headed out to Royal National Park to hike along the coastline and to do a bit of birdwatching along the way. I took a train to Otford and the birdwatching started before I even got to the park. […]
Gliders of Royal National Park
A spotlighting walk in Royal National Park turned up quite a number of Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and a tiny and extremely fast Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) – the smallest gliding mammal on earth, that is literally smaller than a mouse and seems to be constantly on the move. Unlike the ‘disappearing in a flash’ […]
Sydney pelagic trip
As I headed out on a pelagic wildlife watching trip out of Sydney with Halicat I was really keen to see a new species of whale. Which wasn’t not too much to ask for, given that the only whale species I have seen are Humpbacks, Right whales and a pod of Pygmy Killer Whales. The […]
Birds and frogs of Bowra Sanctuary
A sudden cold snap in Sydney this weekend provided a good reason to stay indoors and to catch up on some trip reports. In May 2012 I had the opportunity to visit AWC’s Bowra Sanctuary in southern Queensland for a few days. Bowra is an internationally known hotspot for Australia’s threatened birdlife. The 14,000 hectares […]
Beaches without people
Australia’s Top End beaches are off limits for swimming. And for a good reason. If a Saltwater crocodile won’t get you, a Box jellyfish probably will. As a result, in contrast to the rest of Australian coastline, Northern Territory beaches are often virtually empty. And what happens if you take people away from the beach? […]