Preparations are continuing for the 2014 Field Season at Eric the Red West.
The crew list is close to being finalised. We had more than 20 wonderful keen engaged applicants for new crew spots, and Lisa has succeeded in squeezing in one or two more than we had decided we could possibly fit!
Dave and Lisa are heading out to Bimbi Park this week to finalise the accommodation.
The organisers are busy reviewing all of the paperwork we need to make this all official such as field guidelines and risk assessments.
Pip will once again be camp chef next year, and is busy planning all sorts of yummy, cheap and filling food for more than 20 people a day.
Dave and Lesley are reviewing equipment, making sure all the chisels are sharp machinery serviced.
... it's going to be fun.
Monday 25 November 2013
Friday 22 November 2013
Our footprints on Bush Telegraph
Dr Tony Martin talks about our amazing bird and dino footprints on ABC's Bush Telegraph:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/ancient-bird-tracks/5102708.
Tony comes on just after the 28 minute mark.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/ancient-bird-tracks/5102708.
Tony comes on just after the 28 minute mark.
Sunday 10 November 2013
Rookies Day
Saturday 9 November 2013
2014 Rookies
This weekend we will visit Flat Rocks with more than 20 new volunteer applicants for the 2014 dig season. We'll put them through their paces, showing them how to tell the spot bone in the rock, carry equipment up and down the stairs, move rocks and bucket water. I'm not sure whether we'll do the traditional dig-a-big-hole-in-the-sand or not; that skill is far more useful at Flat Rocks than Eric the Red West. It will be a fun but full-on day. We may even find some good fossils.
Monday 4 November 2013
Important Dates - 2014 Field Season
Rookies' training day - Sunday November 10th
Eric the Red West dig - Saturday February 1st to Saturday February 22nd
Friends' Day at Flat Rocks - Sunday March 23rd
Eric the Red West dig - Saturday February 1st to Saturday February 22nd
Friends' Day at Flat Rocks - Sunday March 23rd
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Dinosaur Cove bird footprints.
A new paper on the footprints that Sean and Alan found at Dinosaur Cove has been published by Tony Martin et al in the journal Palaeontology. Here are some links:
Tony's blog entry.
Tony is from Emory University in Atlanta - here's their press release.
And some technically minded will want to read the actual paper.
Tony's blog entry.
Tony is from Emory University in Atlanta - here's their press release.
And some technically minded will want to read the actual paper.
Saturday 26 October 2013
Bird Tracks from Dinosaur Cove
Finally! Dr Tony Martin et al have announced that the footprints that Sean and Alan found at Dinosaur Cove in 2010 may be Australia's oldest bird tracks. Check it out at ABC Science Show.
Wednesday 9 October 2013
2013 Field Report back cover
Back cover |
A number of artists have generously allowed us to use their work on our covers including Peter Trusler and Brian Choo.
The first Field Report was 14 pages long and covered a long dig at Dinosaur Cove as well as the first dig at Flat Rocks.
Our new report is 72 pages in full colour and features 25 individual contributors.
In 2009 Alanna created a new template that has allowed us volunteers to do a professional-looking layout ourselves.
Crew and Friends (not a Friend, join here) can pick up their copy of the 2013 Field Report at the Report Day at Melbourne Museum on 12 October, or will receive one in the post in the coming weeks.
Sunday 6 October 2013
2013 Field Report
2013 Field Report |
Crew and Friends (not a Friend, join here) can pick up their copy from the Report Day at Melbourne Museum on 12 October, or will receive one in the post in the coming weeks.
Saturday 5 October 2013
Palaeo Barbie circa 2000
In the early 2000s, Palaeo Barbie was a regular crew member. Unwilling to be a mere participant, she loved spending time in 'The Hole'. Sometimes we had to leave her there overnight searching for one more dinosaur bone. She emerged slightly darker than when she went in...
Before... |
After... |
Recovering |
Monday 30 September 2013
Jeremy Burton is a Dad!
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Yesterday at the Australian Synchrotron
The team |
Tuesday 24 September 2013
Dinosaur stamps are here
Australia Post has issued a set of dinosaur stamps for Stamp Collecting Month. Twenty years after the iconic 1993 stamps by artist Peter Trusler, James Gurney has produced a stunning release: http://auspost.com.au/education/scm/students/about-stamps.html.
Saturday 21 September 2013
School Holiday Program
Once again Mike Cleeland is running the Steps of the Dinosaurs school holiday program at Flat Rocks. Check it out at http://www.sgcs.org.au/holiday_booking.html.
Thursday 19 September 2013
New Dinosaur Stamps to be released 24th September
Next Tuesday (14th September) sees the release of a new stamp issue - "Australia's Age of Dinosaurs". These stamps (actually 5 dinosaurs and one amphibian) were drawn by Dinosauria artist James Gurney, with scientific advice from Tom Rich. This release comes 20 years after Australia Post's first set of Dinosaur Stamps, release in 1993 and drawn by Peter Trusler. Exciting!
Wednesday 18 September 2013
Dragging drums
Gerry in 2000 |
Monday 16 September 2013
Raising the flag on Flat Rocks
Friday 13 September 2013
The System
Thursday 12 September 2013
How Safety Standards have changed since we started...
The site |
Check out Nicole in the lawn chair in the background, and the bunch of diggers standing around in the background with cups of tea.
Wednesday 11 September 2013
About 2000?
Nicole |
Tuesday 10 September 2013
Another old photo
Sunday 8 September 2013
Cocktail dresses and Power Tools
Saturday 7 September 2013
Archives circa 2004
Friday 6 September 2013
Another old photo
Another from the archives
Thursday 5 September 2013
One from the archives...
Andre Coffa, Scott Handsacker, and Mark Lockhart manhandle Doris |
Doris assures me that her friends did not drop her (and hence are still around to tell the story).
Monday 26 August 2013
Dates for the 2014 Field Season
We've locked in some dates for the 2014 Field Season:
Rookies' briefing at Melbourne Museum on Saturday 12 October
Rookie's training day on Sunday 10 November.
Eric the Red West from 1 - 22 February.
We'll run a Friends' Day at Flat rocks after the ETRW dig - more details later.
Rookies' briefing at Melbourne Museum on Saturday 12 October
Rookie's training day on Sunday 10 November.
Eric the Red West from 1 - 22 February.
We'll run a Friends' Day at Flat rocks after the ETRW dig - more details later.
Saturday 17 August 2013
Maxillae
Remember the ornithopod jaws that Mary and Sharyn found at Eric the Red West this year? Dave has let slip that these are actually maxillae (that is, upper teeth rows not lower). As Dr Tom Rich keeps telling us, because they are a weaker bone, maxillae are a lot rarer than mandibles (lower jaws) - in fact, it is not unusual to find 20 mandibles preserved for every maxilla. So once again, our Eric the Red West site has yielded the unexpected.
Friday 16 August 2013
2014 Field Season speculations
I popped into the Museum yesterday to pick up some old photos that might be fun to put in the 2013 Field Report. Whilst I was there, I had a cup of tea with Dave and Lesley and some of the other DD crew. We still have not locked in dates for the 2014 Field Season.
Most likely outcome - we will run a Rookies' training day at Flat Rocks in November or so, a 2 or 3 week dig at Eric the Red West in February, and Friend's Day at Flat Rocks in March. Eric the Red West is not accessible enough for it to be a good Friend's day venue, and just a little too far away for it to be a good Rookies' day site.
There are two things that are really preventing us from locking things in: Museum Victoria is planning to relate the Vertebrate Palaeontology collection from under the Royal Exhibition Building to within the Melbourne Museum building (Dave would need to oversee that rather than run a dig), and funding could still magically appear for the Koonwarra dig by 2014 (which could be an eight week dig and cancel other plans).
So watch this space - I'll post dates as soon as I can.
Most likely outcome - we will run a Rookies' training day at Flat Rocks in November or so, a 2 or 3 week dig at Eric the Red West in February, and Friend's Day at Flat Rocks in March. Eric the Red West is not accessible enough for it to be a good Friend's day venue, and just a little too far away for it to be a good Rookies' day site.
There are two things that are really preventing us from locking things in: Museum Victoria is planning to relate the Vertebrate Palaeontology collection from under the Royal Exhibition Building to within the Melbourne Museum building (Dave would need to oversee that rather than run a dig), and funding could still magically appear for the Koonwarra dig by 2014 (which could be an eight week dig and cancel other plans).
So watch this space - I'll post dates as soon as I can.
Tuesday 6 August 2013
Dinosaur stamps
I managed to get a sneak peek at the "Prestige booklet" that Dr Tom Rich has been working on for the Australia Post dinosaur stamps due out later this year. It looks awesome! Diggers and regular readers of this blog may even recognise a few of the people in it. Sorry this post is somewhat of a teaser - I'll link to the Aussie Post website as soon as they publish images.
Sunday 4 August 2013
Pulling out Sea Spurge at Crayfish Bay
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Sharyn's art show
Sharyn Madder (who has dug with us since 2009) is showing her amazing art at Cambridge Studio Gallery from August 7th to 24th. Opening drinks are on Saturday August 10th. Check it out!
Sunday 28 July 2013
Two short films
On Friday night two short films by Dinosaur Dreaming Diggers screened at the Brunswick St Gallery.
Joe Burgess, who dug with us this year, presented an early cut of the "Australian Megafauna Project". I had not realised it involved life-sized models. These interact with our modern urban environment between shots of scientists (including Erich Fitzgerald and David Pickering) showing us the bones that remain. It's hard to explain. Go see it next time it screens.
David Hocking dug with us from 2007 to 2009 and is a PhD candidate in palaeontology. You may remember his video on Leopard Seals. David presented "Life on the Rocks" a short film about the fur seals that he has been studying. These live off the coast of Phillip Island. The film includes a scene where a juvenile seal is caught in order to remove the fishing net caught around his neck, and some footage of a mother seal greeting her pup. Perhaps David will post it on-line. I'll let you know if he does.
Joe and a short-faced kangaroo |
Joe Burgess, who dug with us this year, presented an early cut of the "Australian Megafauna Project". I had not realised it involved life-sized models. These interact with our modern urban environment between shots of scientists (including Erich Fitzgerald and David Pickering) showing us the bones that remain. It's hard to explain. Go see it next time it screens.
David Hocking dug with us from 2007 to 2009 and is a PhD candidate in palaeontology. You may remember his video on Leopard Seals. David presented "Life on the Rocks" a short film about the fur seals that he has been studying. These live off the coast of Phillip Island. The film includes a scene where a juvenile seal is caught in order to remove the fishing net caught around his neck, and some footage of a mother seal greeting her pup. Perhaps David will post it on-line. I'll let you know if he does.
Tuesday 23 July 2013
ABC Gippsland coverage of our plesiosaur tooth
Click here to see the ABC coverage of our big plesiosaur tooth, including some audio from Dr Erick Fitzgerald from Museum Victoria: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/07/22/3808304.htm?site=gippsland
Thanks Mike for finding the story.
Thanks Mike for finding the story.
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Lock in Saturday 12th October.
Field Report Day will be Saturday 12th October at the Melbourne Museum. More details will be available to crew and Friends (Not a Friend of Dinosaur Dreaming? Join here.) closer to the date.
Tuesday 2 July 2013
A new paper on one of our plesiosaur teeth
Dr Roger Benson from University of Cambridge, who dug with us in the Otways in March 2011, has (in conjunction with Dr Erich Fitzgerald, Dr Tom Rich and Professor Pat Vickers-Rich) published a paper about our freshwater plesiosaurian in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
If you find the paper abstract a little technical, Travis Park (who has dug with us since 2010) explains what it's all about in his blogozoic post.
If you find the paper abstract a little technical, Travis Park (who has dug with us since 2010) explains what it's all about in his blogozoic post.
Thursday 27 June 2013
Field Report Day
Planning has started for Field Report Day where we show off fossil finds to Friends (not a Friend? Join here) and Crew. It is most likely going to be Saturday 12 October at the Melbourne Museum. Friends and Crew will recieve their invitations once we have confirmed the date.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
20th Anniversary Field Report
Planning has started on the 20th Anniversary Dinosaur Dreaming Field Report. We're searching old photos and looking through the archives, to bring you some stories of way back when. Hopefully I'll find some cool stuff whilst searching that I can share on this blog.
Sunday 9 June 2013
2014 Field Season
The 2014 Field Victorian Cretaceous Field Season could well be a single 3-week dig at the Eric the Red West (ETRW) site in the Otway formation. This site yielded two ornithopod jaws in an 8-day dig last season (thanks to Mary and Sharyn!). In previous years Mary found a mammal jaw, Alanna found what Dr Rich tells us are two partial upper teeth (and to an expert like him apparently that's obvious), and Cate found her first ever tooth, And of course, the partial ornithopod skeleton that started it all.
We do not think that we will be running Flat Rocks in 2014, and the Koonwarra dig is such a large logistical project that it's too early to tell whether it will be 2014 or 2015.
ETRW is much less accessible and much more difficult to find than the Flat Rocks site, so over the winter we will put some thought into a practical way to run our annual "Friends Day". Once we figure that out, Gerry will be in contact with the Friends.
We do not think that we will be running Flat Rocks in 2014, and the Koonwarra dig is such a large logistical project that it's too early to tell whether it will be 2014 or 2015.
ETRW is much less accessible and much more difficult to find than the Flat Rocks site, so over the winter we will put some thought into a practical way to run our annual "Friends Day". Once we figure that out, Gerry will be in contact with the Friends.
Saturday 8 June 2013
Steve Broady's bone
A couple of weeks ago Mike Cleeland dropped off a fossil bone, found by Steve Broady at Eagle's Nest, near Inverloch. The bone was obviously crushed and a little distorted but after preparation it became clear that it is a metatarsal (a bone in the foot) of a dinosaur. It is probably the second metatarsal from the right foot of an ornithopod dinosaur. It measures approximately 13cms in length, which means it is larger than the metatarsals preserved in the three partial ornithopod skeletons from the Otway Group.
It will make an excellent addition to the dinosaur Collection at Museum Victoria. Well done Steve.
It will make an excellent addition to the dinosaur Collection at Museum Victoria. Well done Steve.
Ornithopod metatarsal found by Steve Broady at Eagle's Nest |
Saturday 25 May 2013
Some finds at Eagles Nest
A couple of weeks ago a team led by Mike Cleeland collected four bones from Eagles Nest. One of them was this interesting limb bone from near "Lesleys Lair" that Steve Broady found. It appears to be crushed along its length, which may be an indication of a theropod. They collected most of it, and went back for the rest on this Saturday 18th May, plus one other small platy bone.
Steve Broady's bone |
Pip found this interesting specimen in two parts from an erratic west of Eagles Nest. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is included in recognition of Pip's British heritage. |
Saturday 11 May 2013
Gastroliths
For many years, Mike Cleeland has been delighting young visitors to the Flat Rocks site with his famous searches for dinosaur remains, both during the dig and more recently through the Bunurong Environment Centre.
Most trips, at least one visitor finds a dinosaur bone, and a couple of others isolated, rounded stones in the conglomerate. For many years, Mike has speculated that these may be gastroliths (stomach stones). Recently he stumbled across a University of California Museum of Palaeontology (UCMP) article that summarises the current thinking. There is still no evidence that small-bodied ornithopods or toothed theropods used gastroliths. Of course, nothing says that they couldn't have...
So I reckon Mike's going to keep sending young visitors home with a gastrolith and encouraging them to learn a bit more science.
Sunday 5 May 2013
Koonwarra 2014
A larva (maybe caddis fly?) from the 2013 Koonwarra dig |
It's pretty exciting...
Friday 3 May 2013
From Peggy
Sunday 28 April 2013
Koonwarra 24 April
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