Victoria University Island Biology Field trip July 2018
Thirteen students from Victoria University Wellington New Zealand came to the island for a week to go out into the field and observe, measure and test the various Island Biology theories learnt in classwork. All enjoyed the island and its treasure trove of natural history, and hope to return some day for further research or […]
June 2018 Friends weeding ecotour
This was the 84th Friends of Lord Howe Island weeding trip. Twenty-two People came along, and hours was contributed to conservation on the island. A variety of weed species were tackled, including a garden escape Sweet pea, and the coastal morning glory Ipomoea cairica. We also continued follow up at the Edie’s Glen weeds to […]
May 2108 ABC Gardening Show visit
In May the team from ABC Gardening show visited the Island filming segments for screenng tbis year. The three stories filmed were – an overview of the Island and its flora; the effort to rid the Island of weed species – including footage of Friends of Lord Howe Island at work; and food production on […]
April 2018 shearwater plastic research
This April 2018 shearwater research fortnight was a busy one – we processed about 180 birds – either lavarging to monitor plastic, or necropsy dead ones to see what plastic was present. We had two film crews here – BBC making a major plastic documentary for September screening in UK, and Huffington Post TV for […]
Birdweek March 2018
March is an excellent time for birds on the island – most of our summer seabirds are still on the island, and the Providence petrels have just returned for winter breeding. Nine people attended and enjoyed the many excursions to various seabird colonies and forests. On Mount Eliza “The climb was rewarding with numerous Red-tailed […]
Inaugural Sea Slug census February 2018
In conjunction with the National Marine Science Institute at Coffs Harbour we ran the first Sea Slug census for Lord Howe Island. Over the weekend locals and visitors took part in snorkel, scuba and reef walk searches fir sea slugs. A total of 76 species were collected , including 21 that had not been recorded […]
Shark Research February 2018
In February researchers from WA University, led by Jonathan Mitchell, were on the Island to carry out the first detailed study of the Galapagos whaler shark here. This is the most common shark in Lord Howe Island waters, and this is the only Australian location for this species, which is also found on other oceanic […]
Mount Gower flora surveys
As part of the pre-rodent monitoring, I have been working with OEH staff to monitor the flora by putting transacts in various forest types and record all plants and seedlings along the transects. For these February surveys we were camping on the Mount Gower summit for 3 nights. As the walk up to the summit […]
Shearwater census January 2018
With colleagues from IMAS in Tasmania and British Natural History Museum we carried out a population census of the Flesh footed shearwaters on the Island. These birds face a number of threats such as long line fishing and plastic ingestion, so it is essential to carry put regular surveys and monitor the populations. We mapped […]
November 2017 Birdweek
Nineteen people came along to participate in the November 2017 Bird week. The peak breeding season for the island’s seabirds put on a good show for us all the walks. The weather allowed the pelagic trip to Balls Pyramid, and all were excited to see the rock itself plus the Kermadec petrel and White bellied […]