Mundoo Island Station

09/12/2025

I am honoured to have once again been selected as a mentor in the 2026 Australian Rural Leadership Foundation National Mentoring Initiative.

I have previously been a mentor in 2 rounds of the Drought Resilience Leadership Mentoring Program and in the National Mentoring Program.

My 4 previous mentees are lovely women from WA, Qld and Vic. We had fabulous journies together and I hope I enhanced their ability to be community leaders, face adversity, navigate challenges and create a work/life balance that suit their individual lifestyles.

I’m excited to meet my new mentee and assist her journey through the program throughout 2026.

Mentors play a powerful role in strengthening communities. They offer encouragement, share experience and help others find their footing during times of uncertainty. In rural, regional and remote Australia - where leadership is often informal and deeply local - mentoring helps build resilience, one relationship at a time.

03/12/2025

I received results from FrogWatch SA for 4 frog surveys I recently submitted. It is so easy and fun to record your local frog species.

The following species were identified in my surveys:

Crinia signifera (Common Froglet, Clicking Froglet)

Limnodynastes dumerilii (Eastern Banjo Frog, Pobblebonk, Bull Frog)

Limnodynastes tasmaniensis - West (Spotted Marsh Frog, Spotted Grass Frog)

It is very easy to download the Frog Spotter app to record frog surveys on your phone. Once all questions about the environment are answered and a 3 to 5 minute recording of the frogs calling are submitted, you will receive an email with species identified from your recording in a few days.

I took this photo of an Eastern Banjo frog a few years ago on Mundoo Island.

11/11/2025

I was honoured to be invited to attend the Murray Darling Basin Authority Leadership Summit.

I met some interesting people with interesting views about the river system.

The presentations and workshops were enlightening and our participation was well received. It is magnificent that the MDBA seeks opinions from stakeholders.

10/11/2025

Lest we forget

10/11/2025

Whilst on the theme of unusual nature sightings on Mundoo Island in the saltwater of the Coorong, South Australia.

In July 2020, I videoed this Rakali (Native water rat) with either an eel or Lamprey (I can't tell). The Rakali tumbled often, trying to drown it maybe, before heading off to it's nest in the reeds.

I have often seen Rakali eating fish, yabbies or crabs but this was extraordinary!

06/11/2025

Today I saw another extraordinary nature happening!

Just like the Tiger snake fishing amongst the rocks in the saltwater of the Coorong two weeks ago, today I saw a Great Crested grebe actively fishing amongst the rocks.

I normally see the grebes diving in deep water for fish 🐟

29/10/2025

These regal-looking Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) were enjoying the sunshine in the Coorong. Something caught their attention 🤣

They are the world’s largest species of tern, are common and widespread. They predominantly feed on fish.

21/10/2025

On Saturday I conducted my annual Waterfowl and Wetlands survey for the Dept of Environment of Water. I was assisted by Russ and Joylene Morcom.

There were large numbers of Pacific black duck and Grey teal and smaller numbers of Mountain duck, Chestnut teal and 7 Musk duck. There were many Great crested grebes.

It was exciting to see a flock of over 60 migratory shorebirds, including Red-necked stint with a few Curlew sandpipers amongst them.

It is the time of year that we expect to see the stunning migratory shorebirds arrive back to our shores after flying 10,000km to the arctic regions of the Northern hemisphere, such as Siberia and Alaska for breeding.

The 10,000km flight back through the East-Asian Australasian Flyway includes a number of stop-off spots for the birds to rest and feed in the Yellow Sea and Korea in order to continue their migration to the shores of Australia and New Zealand to feed before migrating back to their breeding grounds six months later. They cannot survive winter in the Northern hemisphere as the land freezes over and they have no food or shelter.

The Coorong provides a rich source of food for the birds and it is exciting to see some of them arrive with signs of their colourful breeding plumage.

20/10/2025

This is exciting!

Experts are unaware of anyone capturing it on camera before. Find out more.

18/10/2025

We had an amazing encounter with a Tiger snake in the Coorong today whilst undertaking the Waterfowl survey for SA Dept of Environment and Water.

The snake disappeared underwater for about 4 minutes. We thought it was drowning. But to our surprise it popped up with a fish in its mouth.

I have never seen a snake dive in salt water hunting for food! We see snakes swimming in our waterways but this is a first!

Edit: a number of people are saying this is not a Tiger snake. I had the ID confirmed on iNaturalist and the Australian Snake ID site.

13/10/2025

These Red-necked stint were sheltering from the blustery wind in the Coorong. Due to their plump appearance and no feather damage they have likely ‘wintered’ in the Coorong rather than migrated 10,000km to their breeding grounds in the tundra of Siberia and eastern Alaska.

22/09/2025

I photographed this rare leucistic swan last week on Mundoo Island.

Leucism is a result of defects in pigment cells that are caused during development.

This is only the second I have seen on Mundoo.