Science & Nature

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© 2025 The Illawarra Flame

Science & Nature

Science & Nature

Commelina confusion

The beautiful blue flowers of Commelina (Commelina cyanea), also known as Scurvy Weed, are appearing around the region in large numbers at the moment. There isn’t that much blue in the plant world, relative to other colours, so it’s always pleasant...

Science & Nature

Restoring Sharkey’s Beach through Bushcare

When I chat to Mark Fetterplace about his Coledale Bushcare group, I get to the most important question right off the bat: is it Sharkys, Sharkies or Sharkey’s Beach? If you’ve been in any community Facebook groups, you’ll understand why I...

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

My delightful discovery of a local little-legged lizard: the three-toed skink

Last week, I came across a special little critter in my garden in Berkeley. I was digging a new garden bed for native plants along my back fence. The fence happens to share its boundary with a reserve, meaning we do come across interesting creatures...

Science & Nature

Beetling About with interesting station finds

This month some interesting ‘roadkill’ from the platform at Helensburgh railway station. On the left is a Serrodes campana moth, in the family Erebidae. I saw several of these on the platform after Christmas, but forgot to photograph the good...

Science & Nature

Backyard Zoology: Towradgi beach gets the seal of approval

Were you lucky enough to see the seal hauled out at Towradgi beach last week? A haul-out is when a seal temporarily leaves the water to rest or recuperate. If you’ve seen the seals down at the break wall in Narooma launching themselves out of the...

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

Introducing Blackthorn and its butterfly friends

This is another article that didn’t start with a plant, but instead with an insect! Last week we had the adventure of the non-Stink Bugs on an Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), and this week it’s the surprise appearance of a butterfly...

Science & Nature

Backyard Zoology: A bandicoot in the hand is worth two in the bush

There’s no way around it, when we live with nature, we affect nature and it affects us. It’s in the front of my mind when trimming back plants around our yard. Tiny crab spiders launch themselves on silken ropes, and plant hoppers leap skyward...

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

The strange case of the stink bug that wasn’t

Social media is lighting up in 2025 with images of all kinds of insect: native bees, bugs, beetles, flies, wasps and many more. Invertebrate biodiversity really seems to be having a moment. I normally use this column to write about plants, but am...

Science & Nature

Bird of the Month: White-faced Heron

The White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) is February’s bird of the month. This waterbird is common across most of Australia and is a familiar sight in wetlands and along coastal rock platforms. However, their adaptable habitat preferences...

Science & Nature

On the hunt for unseasonable ghosts

The thing with writing about nature is that you quickly learn how little you actually know. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the basics of Omphalotus nidiformis, aka the ghost mushroom. Ghosties fruit in rotting or dead wood and at night, to...

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

Yellow Hibiscus blooms in coastal swamps

In flower right now is one of the prettiest local Hibiscus plants, the Swamp Hibiscus or Hibiscus diversifolius. And that’s really saying something, as Illawarra is home to the splendid Hibiscus splendens which I featured a few weeks back. Swamp...

Science & Nature

Sniff out a Fragrant Fern near you

Illawarra is home to dozens of ferns, as attested by the new book by local botanist Kevin Mills, South Coast Ferns. They come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny filmy-ferns to tree ferns 20m tall or more. I love seeing each and every one of them...

Science & Nature

Beetling About, painting rare species

Australian Museum entomologist Dr Chris Reid shares a story of painting rare beetles. Many of the world’s rarest species are known to be so rare because their entire populations are easily mapped out. For example, on small islands, where the thing...

Science & Nature

A rare corpse flower and why it’s okay to do your nature watching online

Putricia can be visited from 8am until 6pm daily. Once she blooms, Palm House will be open until midnight the following day.

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

Beer traps and other snail remedies

Prompted by readers who reported snails were infesting their gardens and their letterboxes – even eating this magazine! – we asked Merilyn House of Helensburgh Landcare for tips. Is your garden being overcome by snails? Are snails eating your...

Science & Nature

Tree of the Month: Tree Heath

On Friday, December 13, Kieran’s Banksia Bushcare group took home the 2024 Fostering Community Spirit Award at Wollongong City Council’s volunteer recognition ceremony at the Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow. Read the full story here

Science & Nature

Bird of the Month: Topknot pigeon

The bird of the month for January is the Topknot Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus), a unique-looking large pigeon species occurring along the eastern coast of Australia. This species is frequently seen in large flocks feeding on fruiting trees high...

Science & Nature

The joys of nature watching

Oh what a difference a month can make. In the December edition I wrote about a nest of Tawny Frogmouths, the much-loved, odd-looking nocturnal birds, that appeared across the road. As chicks, these birds are even more hilariously funny looking...

Amanda De George

Science & Nature

Dr Rip’s Science of the Surf: What’s that beacon?

Ultimately though, when it comes to beach and rock platform safety, anything helps. You can find NSW ERB locations on the Surf Life Saving website

Prof Rob Brander

Science & Nature

Tree of the Month: Brown Beech

Kieran Tapsell of Banksia Bushcare shares his local tree of the month Brown Beech (Pennantia cunninghamii) can be found throughout the Illawarra. It has distinctive alternative, oval shaped, bright green leaves, with undulating margins. It is often...

Science & Nature

Bird of the Month: Crimson Rosella

The bird of the month is the Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans), a colourful member of the parrot family found throughout south-eastern Australia. In the Illawarra, they favour woodland and forested areas dominated by eucalyptus trees but will...

Science & Nature

A classy grass showing off right now

Right now many local grasses are looking simply spectacular. I’ve previously featured the Native Sorghum (S. leiocladum), Basket Grass (Oplismenus sp.), Pygmy Panic (Panicum pygmaeum) and the Love Grasses (Eragrostis species) and they’re all doing...

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