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Living with wildlife

Have you see an endangered species in the wild? Would you like to keep native bees? How many birds come to your garden?

Join us and learn about our local native species – whether it’s enjoying wildlife encounters in your own garden or helping save threatened species in the bigger backyard of Port Stephens.

Why Your Garden Matters

We help you create a wildlife-friendly garden by offering hints and tips on how to attract local wildlife to your garden, what to plant and how to keep wildlife as safe as possible while they’re visiting. Includes a habitat planting guide and brochure.   Read more

A Tale of Two Islands

The graceful Gould’s Petrel is one of Australia’s conservation successes, brought back from near-extinction three decades ago. Though land-based threats were managed successfully, recent declines in its population pose a puzzle, and have sent Dr Yuna Kim of the Australasian Seabird Group and BirdLife Australia’s Emily Mowat out to sea to find the answers.   Read more

Shorebirds and Seabirds on and off the Port Stephens Coastline

This year, EcoNetwork’s annual bird forum focussed on shorebirds and seabirds, and our local community had a rare opportunity to hear from experts and researchers who outlined their latest bird monitoring and recovery programs.   Read more

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind!

How many people reading this have been swooped by a magpie at this time of year – late winter/early spring? Yes magpie swooping season is upon us – but where I live, there hasn’t been a single incident that I know of. It’s really not that common but when it happens it can be very serious.   Read more

Hands up if you feed wild birds in your garden?

Don’t feel guilty – you’re not the only one! At least one in three Australian households feed birds – whether they admit it or not! Perhaps there’s a way that people and wildlife can, and should, co-exist for the benefit of both.   Read more

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind!

I heard a loud thud above my head and on looking around, I found a bar-shouldered dove lying on the ground feet in the air. It had crashed into our bathroom window and died almost instantly. Find out how window strikes by birds could and should be avoided.   Read more

Citizen Science and the Port Stephens Dolphin Census

Citizen Science and the Port Stephens Dolphin Census By Iain Watt, Marine Parks Association and President EcoNetwork Port Stephens. The Port Stephens dolphin census has not been held since pre-COVID, …   Read more

The ancient connection between Eucalypts and Koalas

Eucalypts are extraordinarily ancient – over 100 million years ago these flowering trees existed with the dinosaurs. Koalas are surprisingly ancient too – around 40 million years ago their evolution split from wombats that remain their closest living relative.   Read more

Sister Cities to celebrate wetlands connection

The Councils of Port Stephens, Newcastle and Kushiro, Japan, will this year celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Sister Wetlands Agreement. The Port Stephens Sister Cities Committee aims to foster community awareness of, and participation in, the conservation of these crucial wetlands used as habitats for the Latham’s Snipe and other migratory species.   Read more

NSW Shark Management Program in Port Stephens

The Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park protects some of the state’s most spectacular and rich marine biodiversity, including shark species. Sharks are a natural part of healthy oceanic and estuarine environments.   Read more