Field Naturalist and Nature Writer
Welcome to Tanya Loos’s website! Featuring natural history writing on the beautiful flora and fauna of the Wombat Forest, Victoria and further afield, and science writing with a focus on ecology and biology. You will also find practical advice on living with wildlife.
Daylesford Nature Diary
Six Seasons in the foothill forests
Praise for Daylesford Nature Diary
“The remarkable Tanya Loos has identified key indicator species for seasonal changes and described them in delightful prose and engaging photographs. Who can resist the appeal of the puggle, an early spring baby echidna indicator?”
Alan Reid, OAM, environmental educator and author of Banksias & Bilbies.
“Attractively produced and well-illustrated… the six seasons and their features are well-described. [The stories] are short and easy to read, covering all sorts of things an observant naturalist might come across: bats, wattles, ghost fungi, mosses, greenhoods, swifts, rosellas, echidnas, wood ducks and many more.”
Roger Thomas, Nature Notes, Ballarat Courier.
“There is much to recommend in this charming and well-written book. The author takes an innovative approach and lays the chapters out according to the seasons of the local Indigenous peoples. The resulting accounts contextualise the wildlife in both space and time that harks back to such seminal natural history classics as eighteenth century naturalist Gilbert White’s The Natural History of Selborne.”
Review in Australian Birdlife magazine. December 2013.
Latest news…
Monthly blog posts describing natural events in the Wombat Forest, ecological explorations, my recent published writings, book reviews and more…
Looking for lyrebirds ethically in ‘rona times
What is it that makes life worth living? Friends, family, a job well done, creativity expressed. And for me and many of my friends and colleagues it is the pure pure joy of being in nature and experiencing a magic moment. This year has been stressful. I am grateful to...
Fungi and Wallabies
It really is a wonderful fungi season in central Victoria – both the Wombat Forest and drier forests to the north are filled with an ever changing array of spectacular forms. This bounty represents the fruiting bodies of these organisms – and they also provide food...
Silvereyes – autumn visitors
While the human world is in upheaval, it is lovely to see the usual autumn visitors to my bush garden – the Silvereyes. These tiny birds are a very sweet and attractive garden visitor, with olive green, bright green and grey plumage, and a ring of miniscule silver...
Close encounter with Tawny
The question I am most frequently asked is “I have found a bird that seems to be hurt – what should I do?” It is always the same answer – capture the bird using a tea towel or towel, and place into an appropriately sized cardboard box. Then pop the box in a quiet room...
Sweet Bursaria in masses of flower
This summer has seen a spectacular flowering of Sweet Bursaria. In mid-January I visited Tipperary Springs and the creekline vegetation was all aglow with creamy white flowers. The air smelt sweet and hummed with the buzzing of flies and bees. Sweet Bursaria is very...
The bushfire crisis: how to help
The internet and social media is awash with hundreds of ways to held wildlife and humans in this bushfire crisis, this time of climate emergency. This post is a summary, while by no means exhaustive, hopefully it will help guide you. I will be adding to it! I have...
Our local stars: daisies
One of my favourite things about early summer is the abundant flowering of a prime patch of Showy Podolepis along the top track of Tipperary Springs.These wonderful native daises are appropriately named for they are indeed very showy! Packed densely along the path,...
Book review: The Big Twitch written 12 years ago!
I was looking through my old filing cabinet last week and I discovered a hand written book review: The Big Twitch, by Sean Dooley. Now I have the great pleasure of working with Sean in the communications team at BirdLife Australia, and so it was very sweet to read the...
Kingfisher returns: kek kek kek!
A Sacred Kingfisher started calling at our bush block today– with a loud and far- carrying ‘kek kek kek kek’! These brilliantly coloured birds are summer visitors to Victoria, and their calls may now be heard in woodlands and open forests throughout Victoria. Although...