'Conservationists once asked: what is a bird without a tree to nest in?
This year, we may well wonder the grim inverse – what is a tree without a bird to nest in it? I can tell you. A tree without a bird is a miserable thing – and in a broader ecological sense, a tree without a bird could be in trouble.
In Australia, birds act in many roles that mammals or insects might fill elsewhere, from pollinating flowers to spreading seeds to keeping trees free of sap-sucking insects.
Bird flu doesn’t just threaten birds and mammals – it could well affect entire ecosystems.
Australia’s birds play vital roles in most ecosystems.
As honeyeaters squabble in the canopy, mound-builders such as orange-footed scrubfowls and Australian brush-turkeys turn over vast volumes of soil and leaf litter on the forest floor, as they look for bugs or make their giant mounds.
Their digging loosens and aerates the soil, giving seeds a better chance of germinating and encouraging leaf litter to break down.
In more open woodlands and shrublands, this work is done by birds such as malleefowl, quail-thrushes and babblers.
In Australia’s wetlands, plant-eating waterbirds such as black swans and whistling ducks disperse seeds and help balance plant growth, while insect eaters such as musk ducks do the same for aquatic invertebrates. As foraging herons and pink-eared ducks stir up mud at the bottom to flush out insects, they boost oxygen levels and circulate nutrients.
As seabirds and shorebirds move between coral reefs, mudflats, islands and oceans, they deposit nutrients. Guano and other organic matter from raucous seabird colonies supply nitrogen and phosphorus for a host of species – not least fish hatchlings.
My favourite group are the falcons. These swift predators cull sick and weak prey, keeping the species fitter and helping keep the lid on pest species such as starlings, rodents and locusts.
Bird flu is likely to hit some bird and mammal species very hard, but leave many others much less affected, if at all. Authorities estimate about 30% of Australian bird species are at high to extreme risk. Those at high risk face a “severe reduction” in population size, while the five species at extreme risk are potentially unable to survive.'
Penny Olsen Honorary Professor in Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University
Complete article at https://theconversation.com/from-the-coasts-to-the-plains-bird-flu-could-threaten-not-just-birds-but-their-homes-289709
"Conservationists once asked: what is a bird without a tree to nest in?
This year, we may well wonder the grim inverse – what is a tree without a bird to nest in it? I can tell you. A tree without a bird is a miserable thing – and in a broader ecological sense, a tree without a bird could be in trouble.
In Australia, birds act in many roles that mammals or insects might fill elsewhere, from pollinating flowers to spreading seeds to keeping trees free of sap-sucking insects.
Bird flu doesn’t just threaten birds and mammals – it could well affect entire ecosystems."
Penny Olsen Honorary Professor in Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University
Complete article: https://theconversation.com/from-the-coasts-to-the-plains-bird-flu-could-threaten-not-just-birds-but-their-homes-289709
4 lemurs die of human herpesvirus, including one that had been used in a 'lemur yoga' class https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/4-lemurs-die-of-human-herpesvirus-including-one-that-had-been-used-in-a-lemur-yoga-class
"Have you ever watched online videos of people “playing” with cats and noticed the cat doesn’t actually look like they’re having fun? If so, you’re likely better than the average person at reading cat body language.
Regular interactive play supports cats’ physical health, reduces stress, and strengthens the human–cat bond.
But according to our most recent study, what many people think of as “play” may not be play at all. In fact, these interactions cause cats annoyance or stress.
When playing, both human and cat need to tell apart behaviours that might be threatening in other contexts, such as sudden movements, swatting or chasing.
Research shows people struggle to interpret cat communication and often fail to notice when a cat doesn’t want to play. Even when they do notice, many people choose to continue anyway."
‘Lauf’ and ‘minceur’: the words that made a 13-year-old from Melbourne a world Scrabble champion
Dineth Fernando – who moved to Australia with his family in February – says he just needed to ‘find the word and play – that’s all’
It is common now for the term 'metred verse' (or 'metered verse') to be used of poetry with a metrical pattern. I am old enough to find this term slightly odd, since in the past the distinction was 'verse' and 'free verse'. 'Free verse' is now the default mode.
What terms do you use or find useful?
I am curious to hear from members of the forum.
Thank you in advance.
Australia's neighbour has spent years investigating how the lethal virus would impact its unique wildlife.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-bird-flu-mass-mortality-nz-response-vaccine/8vogcqplb
How healthy is Australia's media? Discuss.
Use a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 representing optimal health.
It’s the ABC’s job to be accurate and fair, not to chase the dangerous fallacy of ‘balance’
Acclaimed concert pianist Jayson Gillham is about to premiere a new composition, prefaced by comments about conflict in the Middle East.
"The pianist has mounted an independent four-city concert series titled Keys to Life – Two Friends, Two Pianos, alongside Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer, who is making his Australian debut.
Along with playing Debussy and Mozart, the piano duo will premiere a composition by Palestinian-Lebanese composer Houtaf Khoury.
Gillham intends to tell the audience that the composer has lived under bombardment in the Lebanese capital Beirut, before playing the six minute piece which is titled Isolated.
The first concert date in Melbourne on Sunday is almost sold out, and Gillham says it appears his stance has attracted new audiences to classical music.
“What I wanted to put together was a concert like what I would have done before any of this happened,” he said.
“I want to be uplifting and I want people to come together, and share a beautiful experience with them.”
"The pianist is also in Melbourne to obtain legal advice with an appeal one possible next step.
“I stand by what I believe in and why I brought the case, and all that hasn’t really changed despite the result,” said Gillham.
A crowdfunding campaign has raised about $190,000 to cover Gillham’s legal bills, but the pianist says he does not know how much the three-week trial has cost.
Keys to Life will tour to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney."
https://citynews.com.au/2026/pianist-loses-court-battle-but-fills-concert-halls/
"On Friday, the Federal Court found the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) did not act unlawfully by cancelling a scheduled performance by concert pianist Jayson Gillham, after he made statements that Israel had committed war crimes by targeting journalists.
Gillham argued the MSO took prohibited “adverse action” against him due to his political beliefs. The court dismissed the case on both factual and legal grounds.
The judge stated the accuracy or importance of Gillham’s comments was not relevant to his decision. He said the decision involved technical workplace laws, rather than broad issues concerning artistic expression or freedom of speech.
How this decision will affect freedom of speech for other musicians and artists in Australia is not clear."
"Ultimately, the discrepancy between the court’s findings on the Lattouf and Gillham cases means we must await future decisions to clarify the balance between the freedom of artists, performers and musicians to make statements on public stages, and protecting organisers’ commercial interests.
This ruling will impact how comfortable artists feel about sharing their political opinions on stage, or working as contractors for arts organisations who don’t explicitly share their opinions."
"A classical pianist who sued the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has lost his case after he alleged he was unlawfully discriminated against because of his views on Israeli forces killing Palestinian journalists.
Federal court Justice Graeme Hill handed down his findings on Friday, saying Jayson Gillham was an independent contractor and the orchestra had acted legitimately to protect its business.
Gillham had sued the MSO over a Melbourne concert he was contracted to perform on 15 August 2024, but which the MSO cancelled in what he claimed was an attempt to silence him over his political views.
During a performance four days earlier, the pianist had played a short piece called Witness, composed by multimedia artist Connor D’Netto, which he dedicated to Palestinian journalists who were killed by Israeli forces.
Introducing the work, Gillham had told the audience more than 100 Palestinian journalists had been killed and that the targeting of journalists in a conflict was a war crime under international law."
'Remember when Paul Keating talked about greater engagement in Asia? Or Kevin Rudd pushed for more Asian languages in Australian schools?
Well, the direction of our studies and engagement in Asia have only seemed to go backwards.
The grand vision at one point might have been an Australian population that had an awareness of our Asian neighbours, and all the opportunities they presented.
But now the problem is now rather more existential: will we even have enough Indonesian-speakers, or for that matter Mandarin speakers, or Japanese speakers to fill the ranks of our diplomatic corps in the future?
Will we have any deep academic knowledge of what is happening in our own region?'
"The first suspected case of a deadly strain of bird flu that has killed millions of birds and mammals worldwide has been found in Australia, the federal government has confirmed.
A wild migratory bird in Western Australia has returned a suspected positive result for avian influenza, which, if confirmed as the H5 strain, would mean the virus had finally spread to every continent on the planet.
The highly pathogenic H5 strain has devastated populations of seabirds, seals and other animals across the world."
"More than 13,000 seal pups have died on an Australian territory, as testing confirmed the spread of deadly H5N1 bird flu among penguins, seals and petrels on subantarctic islands.
The mass mortality of southern elephant seal pups on Heard Island, about 4,000km south-west of Perth and 1,700km north of Antarctica, was observed by government scientists conducting drone and ground surveys in October 2025 and January 2026.
Death rates were extremely high, averaging 76% across the island, and up to 97% in one location."
Why is it so? As soon as you think the system is working relatively well, and decide that it's safe to place orders from overseas to Australia, chaos ensues.
Just recently I've had a few deliveries from overseas which came via Australia Post Global. Absolute chaos. Nothing arriving when it was scheduled to arrrive. Arriving on schedule is important. It means that you can make sure you are at home, standing ready to receive the delivery. Makes sense, no? Otherwise there's just going to be a random shot at finding someone home and ready to receive a delivery.
Last week, two different orders of two of the same item were split in half, arriving on different days, none of which were the scheduled days. A couple fitted into the letter box, luckily. Others did not. Hours were wasted trying to find out what was happening. No information had come from APG or AP to alert me of a delivery.
Yesterday, delivery of another item was attempted. Received notice that redelivery would be attempted. Waited at home. No redelivery was attempted, although a notification stated that a redelivery attempt was made. Am informed in communciation with AP/APG that APG do not do redeliveries?! Finally discover, through many emails, that the item was left at an Australia Post collection centre. SIGH. I am expecting a delivery, not a trek to collect a parcel.
The Australia Post Global tracking numbers given to the customer are not recognised by Australia Post. Although I was checking MyPost, no information appeared. The customer has no idea when their orders may arrive.
Posting here to inform anyone sending their products to Australia from overseas via Australia Post Global that their customer may experience not only extremely disorganised deliveries/non-deliveries but much stress, too. It is SUCH A SHAME that Australia does not have a postal system that is even half-way acceptable. SIGH.
