Macca's Meanderings

 Hi again Dolphins have also been a significant part of our marine research recently. One day last week when the wind was light we headed northeast from Cape Croker to the southern part of the Arafura Marine Park. This is the most northerly marine park in Australia. We observed several pods of dolphins. As you can see in the photo below, the sea state was very flat.  The map below shows to southern part of the Arafura Marine Park sitting to the northeast of Croker Island.  Sometimes if we stop the boat dolphins will come and play around the boat however these were on the move to somewhere.  The calm sea state produces great visibility in the water. PhD candidate Natalee is standing at the bow of the boat with the camera. She provided the three great photos below.  The researchers can identify dolphins by their dorsal fin as each has a different shape and different markings. This one has a few 'war wounds'.  Usually dolphins keep the eyes below the surface as they come up to bre

Hi In the previous post I mentioned that we were planning some marine research during the latter part of this year. After a lot of issues in the community and a change of location we finally got out on the water last week. What a joy that was! We were joined by three Charles Darwin Uni (CDU) researchers and one from WWF. This project is funded by the Commonwealth Marine Parks so we had one of their managers come along for a few days. The Mardbalk rangers from Goulburn Island also joined us. This photo shows the CDU and Mardbalk vessels. There is turtle in the nearest vessel.  The turtle is measured for length and width, a flipper tag attached to one of the front flippers, a DNA sample taken from one of the rear flippers and then returned to the water ASAP. The wet towel covering her head is to minimise any distress. A small sample of skin tissue for DNA analysis. We also attached trackers to some however at $4K each  there was a limited supply so we only placed these on the breeding ma

Hi For many months now the south easterly winds have been very persistent, preventing us getting out in the boat. This week the wind strength dropped off so we took the opportunity to do a boat patrol to the outer islands - Oxley, Lawson, McClure and Grant Islands.  Making good progress on a gentle sea.  These islands are popular turtle nesting areas. Below the photo shows four turtle tracks going up and down the beach. These tracks are made by female turtles seeking to find a spot to lay her eggs. Green turtles are the most common turtles in this area.  Note the dead trees along the beach. We are seeing this more and more as high tides come further and further into areas where salt water has not been seen.  We came across this Flatback turtle. They usually stay out in deeper water and only come into shallow water to nest so it was interesting to see this one near McClure Island.  Later this year we will be doing some marine mega fauna research with Charles Darwin Uni (CDU) and World W

 Hi from Croker Island  Recently the Commonwealth Government Biosecurity vets visited to conduct their annual survey of animals and deliver some autopsy training for the rangers and community members. This is done to pickup any diseases entering our northern borders before they progresses too far south. Diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Disease or Lumpy Skin Disease are all in Indonesian. If they were to establish themselves in Australia this would result in huge losses for our primary industries.  The animal survey is conducted in a helicopter due to the lack of road access to many areas along our remote northern coastline. They have a platform shooter onboard who shoots the animals - at Croker Island these are usually feral pigs. Flying over the island they look for some pigs that can be shot in an open area where the helicopter can land nearby. The pilot has to position the helicopter so the shooter can get safe shots away. Below they were able to shoot about 5 sma

 Hi Last weekend we flew into Darwin for the weekend. Laura was flying up to Darwin for a friend's wedding. She had not met niece Amelia yet so I think the wedding was more of an excuse.  Dean, Kristy and their little family.  Aunty Laura meets Amelia. Granny and Pa with our grandchildren - a real blessing.  While in Darwin a friend from Inverness in Scotland was passing through Darwin. It was great catching up with Bev.  Trevor and Leonie were in town for the wedding. Leonie and Nancy met in the maternity ward in Gove hospital back in 1984. We have kept in touch even since.  Recently the Garngi rangers have been busy with our carbon abatement early dry season 'cool' burning. This involves both ground and aerial burning and if done well reduces the amount of carbon that ends up in the atmosphere. We receive some good income from this work.  For the aerial burning we use a Robinson R44 helicopter. The rear left door is removed and an incendiary machine is fitted in that spac