Michael and I were delighted to share exciting moments of monitoring Malleefowl mounds on an episode of The Guardian’s “Look at Me” podcast. I’m getting a bit of a reputation for talking about animal poo (or scat) a lot, and this is strongly reinforced towards the end of this episode. Somehow, I end up being described as both “wholesome” and “weird” because of it!
Hosted by science journalist Rae Johnston and ecologist Chris McCormack, from Remember the Wild, the Look at Me podcast series is one of our favourites because it focuses on unusual Australian animals. The animals that aren’t so cute (like the eye-less marsupial mole, and the Giant Gippsland earthworm), or animals that are really hard to find (like Malleefowl) finally get their time in the spotlight.
It’s hard to remember what our lives were like in a pre-Malleefowl era. We’re lucky to see these elusive birds on our property here in Patchewollock, often with the added bonus of showing our eco-tourism guests as well. Michael and I were interviewed as part of this podcast as we volunteer with the Victorian Malleefowl Recovery Group to do annual monitoring in Wathe Flora and Fauna Reserve. It’s fantastic to be part of “potentially the largest single-species citizen science project IN THE WORLD” (that quote comes from Chris McCormack on the podcast so it must be true!) and to do some “bushwalking with purpose” each year in the Mallee.
We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did.
Ps. Patchewollock and the famous spilt grain incident gets a mention, as it should, being the most talked about Malleefowl story in the Patchewollock Hotel if you ever choose to identify as a bird nerd in the pub!