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Guy Ballard

@guyballard.bsky.social
3.1K followers 898 following 155 posts

Principal Research Scientist, DPIRD. Part-time, Uni of New England, NSW. Dingoes, foxes, cats and quolls. Rock wallabies when time permits. Comments are mine.

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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
How sad. Banning the use of 1080 (in parts of Australia) is really a blow against #conservation and #biosecurity management. People might think they’re fighting cruelty but they’re really condemning thousands of animals to horrible deaths at the teeth, claws and diseases of invasive predators.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Let’s get #feralhorse skulls trending as landscaping features in Australia. Just one per house = no more feral horses… 🤔
Feral horse skull in a garden bed
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Out for a walk? Carry a bag and collect some rubbish. Doesn’t matter if it’s at home or on holiday.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Parasite of the day (be nice)
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Port Macquarie Creek (Home of many quolls!) Oxley Wild Rivers NP
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Middle Creek. Oxley Wild Rivers NP.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
A robber-fly takes out a Chrysomelid beetle. Biological pest control in action!
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Eastern bearded dragon, Nambucca River, NSW, Australia.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
A praying mantis ootheca on a native paper daisy was my ‘small find’ on the back paddock walk this morning. Christmas beetles are also enjoying several Eucalyptus spp. new growth but far fewer than last year (so far).
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Blessed are those willing to act in the face of environmental threats. Saint @judydunlop.bsky.social inspired all at her #ESA2025 talk on stopping cane toads in their north western tracks. All power to the WA toad ‘stoppers’.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Although introduced red #foxes do eat endemic #possums no one expected this in one of our cage traps this morning
A red fox sitting inside a cage trap.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
🧪 We were lucky enough to find these beautiful #snakes whilst checking our #possum traps this morning. I think they are ‘eastern small eyed snakes’ but happy to be corrected by any genuine herp-nerds.
Two snakes curled against a bare earth background.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
🧪 Wonderful to be in the field with some students this week. We are trapping #possums for a genetic study as well as seeking recaptures from our marked population. The view into the Sara River catchment isn’t bad either…
A landscape view looking down into the treed gorges of north eastern NSW, with misty clouds blowing through.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Research samples!!! 🧪 7 #dingo heads and 7 #feralcats from a great trapper who supports our research by providing samples from programs he conducts for public and private land managers. These will be used by multiple researchers to inform future predator policy and management.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Genuine question for Australian #bird #ecology On a recent trip I noticed Corellas and galahs dominating Casuarina spp. food resources I’ve previously observed being used by black cockatoos in and around northern NSW coastal towns. Any informed observations re competition? Is anyone working on it?
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
An assassin bug with ladybird prey. There’s always drama in the garden.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
This summer many local #Eucalyptus trees are suffering from #beetle damage. First we had cockchafers, then Christmas beetles. In some areas 100% of trees are very badly affected. Hopefully, given reasonable soil moisture, there’ll be new leaves soon. 🤞🤞
A Eucalyptus tree with extensive beetle damage, ie leaves chewed.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Nice to make the acquaintance of a fiddler #beetle in the garden yesterday. It was hanging out on some native daisies.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Another day, another Eucalyptus sp. feast for Xmas beetles. They have finally made it to the E. dalrympleana (Mountain gums).
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
In 2025 we will separate Canis familiaris into #dogs, nogs & fogs. Dogs still resemble ancient dogs, nogs are sufficiently ‘petified’ that they are unlikely to survive without people. Fogs barely resemble their forebears and are a shameful mix of toy, ugly sculpture and things real dogs would eat.😉
The world’s greatest dog, Dot, staring loyally at the camera.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) are having a wonderful time this summer.They are scarabs, locally associated with #Eucalyptus dieback. Here they are rapidly defoliating one of my E. scoparia (AKA Wallangarra white gum).
Christmas beetles feeding on a Eucalyptus tree with a wattle shrub in the background.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Rain is very welcome. No lightning strikes please. 🤞🤞
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
This dog vomit slime mould is having a lovely time decomposing these hardwood chips.
Dog vomit slime mould (looks like scrambled eggs) on some wood chips
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Notamacropus rufogriseus ('red-necked' wallabies). Rufus neck and rump. White lines on the face. Similar species include N. parryi and N. dorsalis
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Awww. Baby murder bags (AKA #feralcats) They are incredibly cute but will grow up to be killers of Australia's amazing endemic fauna.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Summer = hot #dogs Time for them to lay around in the shade for the next 6 hours.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
We've identified dozens of individual #feralcats at this site in 2024. Along with red foxes they are unwanted mesopredators.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Osphranter robustus, the 'common' #wallaroo. The species is sexually dimorphic with males (pictured) tending to be much darker than females. Commonly associated with hilly country, these large macropods are found locally in grassland, woodland and forest.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Next time you (foolishly) approach a #kangaroo for your own gratification, remember they carry these. (Not to mention their much more powerful hind legs). Please keep to yourself.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Wallabia bicolor, a 'swamp' #wallaby. Incredible macropods commonly (not exclusively!) associated with thick understorey. They are also a key prey item for #dingoes in our local area.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
With so much native vegetation, it’s no surprise the Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne are home to many native animals, including the Southern Brown #Bandicoot !!!
A southern brown bandicoot digging for food in an Australian native garden.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
The Botanic gardens at Cranbourne, Victoria, showcase the beauty and diversity of Australia’s endemic flora.
Kangaroo paws and native daisies in a curved garden bed.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne, Victoria, are a National treasure. So happy to visit them y’day.
Landscape gardens.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
That feeling when you’re working on your laptop, after an inspiring conference, and your friend sends you a message saying that he’s tracking foxes 🦊 in Finland 😳
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Dr Annalie Dorph will be presenting on a National management decision tool for #feralcat management this afternoon at #ESAus2024 Def worth a listen at 14:30 in Room 104! @ecolsocaus.bsky.social
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Feeling burnt out by all the amazing 🔥 talks at #ESAus2024 ? ; ) Lessons from #dingo watching at 10:30 today in Room 103. Hope to see you there! @ecolsocaus.bsky.social
A PowerPoint slide with a dingo.
Lessons from dingo watching
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Dr James Pay throws down the gauntlet: ‘Tassie wedge tailed eagles are the best’…
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
The big hole in the ground where we had our team Xmas party today. Very apt for a bunch of wildlife professionals.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Some days you’re the #owl Monday’s you’re the #rat
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Tree wombat on the ground. Some ppl call them #koala 🤷🏻‍♂️ #wildoz
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
More #enshitification Feral deer have spread into another section of National Park.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
5 wet years post- #megafires has seen species like shorteared possum spread out in the local landscape.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Sometimes a #quoll just has to stand up for himself.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Still not extinct. #lyrebird #postfire #cameratrapping
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
The floor is lava, kangaroo style.
3 kangaroos all jumping at the same time on a bush track.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
What an incredible shame people established #foxes in Australia. They are wonderful animals but terrible pests.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Sometimes the #dingoes study us! Doing some prep for a talk at this year’s @ecolsocaus.bsky.social conference and came across this image of 3 males from diff. known-age cohorts moving together.
A dingo stares at the camera while two others walk behind him in a bush setting.
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Guy Ballard @guyballard.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Great day at the local swimming hole. Cool, clean water, plenty of wildlife about and almost no people.
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