Listen to Dinosaurs in Australia!

Dinosaurs calling in Kakadu?
Well, maybe! Listen in! HD 
The sounds are the calls of the Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) defending their territory - slowed down 150%!

Take a look at  the Earth Minute we posted back on Thursday, July 16, 2015.  Remember: Sulfur-crested Cockatoo on the Defense (Kakadu, Australia)  when a common brush-tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula arnhemensis) disturbed the birds?

 

Also Take a Wildlife Cruise on the Yellow Water, Kakadu (birds and saltwater crocodiles)

• More Australian Earth Minutes
• Flying Fox Bats in Cairns
• Spotting a Lace Monitor in the Wild

Experience Mamukala Wetland at Dusk - Kakadu, Australia

A healthy wetland teams with life. Australia's Northern Territory is the home of Kakadu National Park and Mamukala Wetland.

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As twilight falls, thousands of birds flock into the wetland for the night.  Life surrounds you in every direction.

Magpie geese are an iconic species of Australia's northern monsoonal wetlands.  Their black and white plumage is hard to miss, but on this day they were all smeared reddish-brown from feeding in the mud. 

An ancient species they diverged from the evolutionary branch containing all other modern water fowl in the late Cretaceous. They have a prehistoric look and as the only existing member of their primitive family, they are a living fossil. At the water's edge two pied herons hunt for small invertebrates and fish.

At the edges of the wetland wallabies forage. The droppings from thousands of birds nourish a rich green tapestry of plant life.

Kakadu is a treasure of wildlife diversity and human spirituality. 

Take a cruise on the Yellow Water 

and discover 

more Earth Minutes in Australia

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Wild Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on the Defense

Earth Minutes are happening all around you. Sometimes you just have to listen and eavesdrop on encounters between other creatures.

In the forest at Kakadu National Park in Northern Australia, a group of sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) are squawking. They raise their yellow-plumed crests and extend their wings to appear larger and threatening. High in the trees, they are having an Earth Minute. Something is causing them to be defensive. Is it a predator?

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common brushtail possum in the "Y" of the dead tree

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula arnhemensis) poses no threat to the cockatoos. This small marsupial is a plant-eater like the parrots. Most likely, the cockatoos were returning to a favorite nesting cavity in the dead tree and found the possum had moved in. I'm sure the cockatoos thought the possum was a rude squatter. Equally, the possum seemed to feel it had awoken to a nightmare.

Hear a group of birds making a lot of noise? Investigate. You might experience an Earth Minute of your own.

Also Take a Wildlife Cruise on the Yellow Water, Kakadu (birds and saltwater crocodiles)

• More Australian Earth Minutes
• Flying Fox Bats in Cairns
• Spotting a Lace Monitor in the Wild

Earth Minutes with Wildlife

• Sea Birds on Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Watch a Snowy Egret
• Bewick's Wrens Build a Nest

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Take a Wildlife Cruise on the Yellow Water, Kakadu, Australia

There are few places in the world with the primal feel of Kakadu. Take a cruise along the Yellow Water at sunset; Discover the birds and crocodiles that call it home.

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forest kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayil)

Kakadu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory is an area of humid forest and extensive wetlands. It is a sacred place to the Aboriginal people and a World Heritage Site.

Here thousands of birds shelter in the wetlands and forest, while saltwater crocodiles lounge along the river banks and fiercely protect territory.

female saltwater crocodile

In a two-hour cruise with an Aboriginal guide, we saw thirty-five species of birds, including: five species of heron/egrets and three species of kingfishers.

little kingfisher

 The little kingfisher (Ceyx pusillus) is the smallest kingfisher in the world. This tiny hunter is only the size of a hummingbird, yet it plunges down into the water to grab minnows with the same skill as its larger relatives.

Kakadu is a special wild place, one not to be missed. We planned our whole visit there using their amazing website http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/

More Earth Minutes with Australian birds:
Seabirds on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

More Earth Minutes in Australia

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