Bright little microbats 
Microbats rely on insect activity and thrive when insects are out in numbers. Come spring, bats in their thousands rouse themselves from a period of quiet or a winter holiday and take to the skies.
 

Droughts and flooding rain 
According to paleoclimatic evidence, El Niño-induced droughts, and La Niña-induced downpours, have been around for many thousands of years. And while east coast Australia feels its effects, particularly in spring and summer, El Niño weather patterns influence climate all over the world, from the Americas to India and China.
 

Lovely lichens and fruiting mosses 
Across Australia, mosses and lichens are starting to reproduce and spread themselves around. Lichen are the termites of the plant world, but also used to be the source of the colour purple! Mosses, on the other hand, are a garden's friend, holding soil together and keeping in moisture.
 

Your winter photos 
Frosty mornings, snowy days, autumn leaves or deep blue skies. Many of the best opportunities for photography occur during winter while the sun is lower in the sky and the weather is more variable. We asked you to brave the chill and get out into nature with your camera. Wrap yourself up and visit the winter gallery.
 

Migrating mermaids 
In the shallow waters off Australia’s northern coastline, dugongs, feeling winter’s chill, are braving shark-infested seas to travel hundreds of kilometres in search of warmer water and greener (seagrass) pastures.
 

Soaring the Glory 
It's early morning in the Gulf Country and a great rolling mass of cloud is rapidly approaching. For the aborigines the arrival of the Morning Glory signified abundant birdlife to follow. For a growing group of extreme gliders it's the key to an indescribable experience. Abbie Thomas investigates.
 

Western Australia wildflowers bloom 
Western Australia has one of the most spectacular displays of wildflowers anywhere in the world. At least 12,000 plant species live across the State, with more discovered every year. Yet the soils here are among the most barren in the world, and it hardly ever rains. What's going on?
 

Outback Twitchathon 
The Lab's Bernie Hobbs joined a crack team of birdwatchers in western NSW for 36 hours of manic 'look - it's a Striated Pardalote' and 'is that a Western Gerygone I hear?'.
 

Emu chicks emerge 
Across inland Australia, thousands of striped emu chicks are beginning to appear. While most birds wait for longer days in spring before breeding, for Emus itís reversed. Itís shortening days that switch on their reproduction instincts. And thatís not the only reversal. Itís broody males that spend uncomfortable winter weeks on the nest, without food or drink, before doing sole parent duty for the next year and a half.