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Rob Davis

@pezoporus.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.1K following 577 posts

Assoc. Prof. in Wildlife Conservation at Edith Cowan University. Editor in Chief: Pacific Conservation Biology. Studies birds, herps, rodenticide impacts on wildlife. Living on 5 acres in Western Australia on Whadjuk Noongar country. www.wildlifelab.org

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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Illegal firewood harvesting is a major issue in our forests. At one of my study sites in state forest, I came across this old habitat jarrah which had been cut down over the weekend. Probably by someone intending to illegally sell it as firewood. This problem is widespread and increasing.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Guessing you haven’t seen what they do to bushland? There’s a narrow window for control before the bush gets taken over for good.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
One of today’s jobs was to make the most of the remaining soil moisture and start digging up freesias. Though they have beautiful flowers, they are a significant weed in Perth which is a perfect climate match to their native South Africa. They are spreading rapidly on our block unfortunately.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
☹️
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I’m thrilled to have such a good chilli harvest. Only problem with this is / it’s just a week past winter. I’ve never had chillies fruit through winter before. We’re 330mm down on rain so far and much warmer than usual. Concerned about the summer ahead.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Great talk last night by @drbel.bsky.social, Dr Magali Wright and @ollydove.bsky.social on social media impacts on orchids. Trampling, sharing of sites for threatened species and even groups tracking down translocation sites for a critically endangered species to post pictures in the enclosure.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
What a lucky day. I saw the most amazing Aussie reptile while out in the bush yesterday. Surprisingly this Thorny Devil was in a highly cleared and fragmented agricultural region, giving further importance to retaining and managing native vegetation remnants.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Thanks Mandy. Interesting indeed. I might be in touch further with you…!
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I am sure others have seen this before and surely First Nations people. Drop me a message if you have any more info.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It’s not every day something i casually observe in my backyard and post online ends up being a potentially world first observation! au.news.yahoo.com/clever-magpi...
au.news.yahoo.com
Clever magpies filmed using 'bold' technique on Aussie property in 'world first'
Three leading experts in magpies have never seen the behaviour before.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A 7 second reminder of why we do controlled fuel reduction burns on our 5 acre bush block. This is in winter. Can you even imagine mid summer, 45C and howling winds?
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Interesting learned behaviour from our Perth Hills magpies. They seemed to have learned that there’s good pickings to be had in front of a cool bush burn.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The unusually dry winter means preparing for a potentially scary summer ahead. This weekend involved burning off close to the house.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
On Owl Awareness Day an important reminder that no conclusive evidence of South-west Australian Barking Owls has been produced since my last call for information in 2022. This taxon nay now be extinct. bioone.org/journals/bul...
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
A sad find on a road near my place. This beautiful female Koomal (South Western Brushtail Possum) had a fairly developed baby in the pouch that was also (presumably) killed on impact with a speeding vehicle. Nobody had stopped to check. Another one of the many avoidable wildlife deaths.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to my first Handbook of Birds of the World profile with @teamswiftparrot.bsky.social We revised the state of knowledge for the Regent Parrot including new info from Western Australia. You can check it out here: birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/...
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Red sky in the morning heralding (I hope) some much needed rain. In our highest rainfall month with a mean of 175mm expected, we’ve had just 13mm so far.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
They have been many times I believe. I’ll be following up.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
House Crow. A new addition to my Aussie list. Considered an invasive species of concern, these often turn up on ships but are quickly eliminated. A pair has been hanging around for a few weeks south of Perth, with apparently no action by authorities.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Sunrise at the Irwin River, Dongara.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Fleshy mistletoe (Amyema miraculosa) looking fantastic on a Santalum in mid-west WA.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Mid-winter WA style
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
In winter it’s as beautiful and quiet but summer is getting increasingly busy. It’s still a small piece of paradise though.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
A few days scoping fire research last week in the stunning Walpole wilderness. We’re studying the effects of prescribed burning on biodiversity to better inform fire management.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Hardcore!
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Lovely specimen!
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
In less than one minute you can see why they call our native grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea preissii) nature’s flamethrowers!They can exceed 1000 celsius. This was during a “cool” fuel reduction burn on my property. It is not advised to burn them more frequently than every 5-6 years.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Got this lovely young male Scarlet Robin in my mist net this morning ❤️
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
It’s pretty hit and miss for when they have these sorts of more unusual plants. Muchea is a far more reliable bet but mostly is tubestock.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Yeah it’s out your way do a good choice. I got this at Zanthorrhea but I think Muchea might also have it
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Same for me but they don’t touch this
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I love Hakeas and am grateful to have found this Hakea multilineata in a nursery a few years back. It’s very uncommon in cultivation but a hardy species from the nearby West Australian wheatbelt. It’s easily coped with the hot and dry Perth Hills conditions.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Ok so it should be river…not rover
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
The Crested Pigeon was never a bird seen in Perth when I was growing up. I was surprised to see three this morning alongside a busy footpath on the Canning Rover in inner city Perth. The latest urban adapter is doing well. Invasion of the ‘burbs nearly complete 🤣
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The amazing @rebeccajquah.bsky.social had another PhD chapter published. This study examines two keystone mycophagous marsupials the boodie and woylie. Bec used DNA metabarcoding to work out what they were eating. Her work inform translocations. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Sporadic Appetites: Unearthing the Fungal Diets of Two Mycophagous Mammals Across an Australian Climate Gradient
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
🤣 it wishes!
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Oh no! Sorry to hear that.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
And mostly I got the generator so I can still use my coffee machine 🤣
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Fingers crossed it’s not been too bad
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
And as per usual in our rural region, the power has taken with it the entire mobile phone network as the tower batteries run out. So grateful for our Starlink to keep us connected and safe.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
The morning after the first of the winter storms has created chaos across the South-west. Some 290 power outage areas and over 30 000 affected. Lots of rain but no trees down on ours. Grateful for my trustydiesel generator to get us through the day ahead with power restoration time unknown.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Looks like we cruised past the 4C minimum
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Cosy! Got our state of the art efficient slow combustion cranking tonight as it dips to 4C. We should be able to make good on my aim of getting through winter with wood from our property - thanks to the summer storms of the last few years.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
They are literally stuffed with olives
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
🤣
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
The olive harvest begins in our orchard. Let’s see if I can do a better job of preserving them than last time. Any easy and good methods? Please share!
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Yep am aware of that. Did this piece a few weeks back theconversation.com/australian-f...
theconversation.com
Australian farmers are battling another potential mouse plague – what is causing it?
In parts of Western Australia and Southern Australia, mouse numbers are reaching plague proportions.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Hakea season has started. My favourite genus of Australian plants! Western Australia has 3/4 of all the Hakea species and most of the well known horticultural cultivars.
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Pic had been edited to make it less graphic due to content warning
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Rob Davis @pezoporus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Last night I heard the eerie sound of a fox crying. I went out the back door and saw two glowing eyes in the darkness. It ran a short distance away watching me. Then I noticed the remains of a Quenda (bandicoot) it had just killed. Our native fauna has no hope with feral predators.
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