Don came across a pair of red-rumped parrots stripping a flannel flower. The flowers were too immature to have set seed, so he guessed the birds might have been feeding on the flower buds. Very little is known about the diet of our native parrots, so it’s often...
Sexing Peewees While filming a segment for Burke’s Backyard, Don noticed a pair of peewees foraging in his garden. Peewee (Grallina cyanoleuca) The peewee or Australian magpie-lark is also known as the mudlark, because it builds its nest from mud. The mud nest...
Soccer Budgie Don visited Mervyn and Sally Abrams and their amazing budgie, Beau. Beau uses his cage as a home base, but from 7am to 7pm he has free range of the house. He starts by having breakfast with Merve and Sally, helps them to do a crossword or two, then goes...
Lizzie’s Lumps Scott Cam was very worried when he discovered a large lump on his dog, Lizzie. Lizzie is the site manager on Backyard Blitz. The lump suddenly appeared on her front leg, and grew at a tremendous rate. Scott took Lizzie to see the Burke’s...
Don and the Burke’s Backyard team travelled to the Snowy Mountains in south-eastern New South Wales. They met with some of the people who live in the high country and asked them what they think of Australia’s wild horses, the brumbies. Damage to national...
Dogs are often referred to as ‘man’s best friend’, but the relationship between man and dog may be much more important than we realise. Research just completed suggests that dogs and humans co-evolved – we’ve certainly changed them to...
Dr Paul McGreevy, from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Sydney University, is a specialist in animal behaviour and welfare science. Recently, he and his research colleagues have been looking at the incidence, cause and effects of stereotypic behaviour, such as...
There are around 700 species of birds in Australia and they figure very prominently in our natural ecology. Many of them play an important role in the pollination of native plants. Others, such as crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), do not. Don showed some crimson...
Don pointed out a group of Crimson rosellas feeding on the fruits of a white cedar tree. It is well known that these fruits are poisonous to humans and livestock, however the rosellas return to this particular tree every year. They eat all the fruit and never seem to...
Over the years, Burke’s Backyard veterinary consultant, Dr Rob Zammit, has been asked hundreds of questions about dogs. The good news is that he’s written all the answers down in a new book titled Dogs – 101 Answers to Commonly Asked Questions. This...