Off Track
254 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 41 ratingsOff Track, with Ann Jones, is an Australian radio show and podcast which combines the relaxing sounds of nature with awesome stories of wildlife and environmental science, all recorded in the outdoors.
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Episodes
The sperm whale's clicking tale
July 28, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBNext to nothing was known about sperm whales in the Southern Ocean. That is, until the Australian Antarctic Division started listening to their clicks.
Edible ocean conservation with a side of chips
July 14, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBTwo PhD-qualified fisheries scientists have jumped ship to open a eco-friendly fish and chip shop, aiming to put their philosophy of sustainable ocean use into practise.
Earworms from planet earth IV
July 07, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBOff Track listeners from all over the globe have been recording the sounds of nature on their phones. Listen as a panel of experts takes us through the latest batch of Earworms
Huge personality in a tiny package
June 30, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBDo individual birds have consistent, unique personalities? Zoologist Dr Michelle Hall is trying to find out. This program has been selected from the Off Track archives for you listening pleasure.
When Jamie fell in love with the mountains
June 23, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBDistinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick has been crawling across lawns for more than 70 years, it's just that this one is on the top of a mountain and is full of plants from the cretaceous.
Farming, dancing and stories of this land
June 16, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBCan thousands of years of Australian agricultural practices be translated into dance? This week, Bangarra Dance Theatre takes on Bruce Pascoe's revision of pre-colonial Australian resource management as it premiers Dark Emu.
Earworms from planet earth III
June 09, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWhat does your world sound like? Listeners have sent recordings to the Off Track inbox, and now we all get to listen. Close your eyes and take in the earworms.
Taste test the new ABC Kids nature and music podcast
June 05, 2018 17:00 - 3 minutes - 5.3 MBIf you like nature and have some kids in your life, here is a short taste of a new ABC podcast called ABC Classic Kids.
Mother and Daughter take flight
June 03, 2018 17:00 - 7 minutes - 9.62 MBPODCAST BONUS. Two women, armed with a pencil and a violin, take on the history of birdsong.
Two musicians and 30 million years of birdsong
June 02, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBSong began in Australia when the first songbird sang its opening note. 30 million years later two classically trained musicians use their instruments to trace the birds' story in song.
A heart full of wing beats
May 26, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWhen nature documentaries show elephants at a waterhole, Peter Langdon goes crook at the telly. He wants them to zoom in on the bird sitting in the tree in background. [This repeat program is carefully selected from the Off Track archive for your listening pleasure]
Three geckos and three thousand cows
May 19, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBScientists strap tiny bum-bags onto geckos in the middle of the night on an outback cattle station. They are tracking how cattle grazing impacts tiny lizards. PLUS BONUS #FieldWorkFail
Earworms from a cockatoo tree
May 17, 2018 12:05 - 29 minutes - 41.1 MBFrom a tiny sound recorder in a Victorian sheep paddock comes a startling array of sounds - some identifiable and some complete mysteries. Relax and let this earworm do its work.
Cockatoo wail, fledge or fail
May 12, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBThe wailing calls of the red-tailed black cockatoos that live in Australia's South East are being used to help change the future for the failing species.
Cockatoo wail, fledge or fail
May 12, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBThe wailing calls of the red-tailed black cockatoos that live in Australia's South East are being used to help change the future for the failing species.
A morning with the birds
May 05, 2018 17:03 - 11 minutes - 16.1 MBFor International Dawn Chorus Day, here's the sounds of an Australian autumn morning, crisp and bright.
Night shift in a darkened forest
May 05, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBListen to birds and possums communicating about land grabs, politics and sex. To celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day, this program about a forest chorus is from the Off Track archive.
Hobart Airport lets sleeping echidnas lie
April 28, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBDespite all the noise of planes coming and going, the echidnas at Hobart airport are digging in to hibernate.
Things that go grunt in the night
April 21, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBIf a koala bellows in a forest and a scientist isn’t there to record it, does the koala exist at all?
Intimate aliens
April 14, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBRobert Adlard says that parasites are intimate aliens, and that our dislike for them stems from their ability to surprise us with their closeness. They are intimate aliens.
Penguins impossible to hate
April 07, 2018 03:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBThe tiniest of Australia's penguins were once victorious over development at Phillip Island in Victoria.
Flora fatale, the plants with a thirst for blood
March 31, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWith an aggressive mass-murder-then-compost strategy, these tiny plants are the most heinous of herbs.
Flora fatale, the plants with a thirst for blood
March 31, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWith an aggressive mass-murder-then-compost strategy, these tiny plants are the most heinous of herbs.
The devil and the monster cray
March 24, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBThe worlds biggest freshwater cray click clacks across rocks, a devil spends a night in the clink and scientists scramble to save the Tarkine.
Earworms from planet earth II
March 17, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWhat does your world sound like? We asked, and you sent us earworms from planet earth. Close your eyes and take a trip.
Jack Absalom: a renaissance bush-man
March 10, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBFrom parrot poacher to bush-craft expert on the national stage, Jack Absalom was a real-life Crocodile Dundee before Crocodile Dundee was a twinkle in a film producer’s eye.
Go outside and play
March 03, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBWhat do the first female mayor in Australia and a glamorous ballerina with a diplomat husband and a Russian pseudonym have in common? They established marvellous playgrounds.
Australia's extraordinary rainforest woods
February 24, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBMorris Lake says we have a lot to thank gymnosperms for. This repeat is appearing in your feed because after ABC Wild Oz, Ann needs a little break.
Eight legged wonder of the world
February 17, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBSpiders can be beautiful, timid, fluffy and even give up their lives for the sake of their children.
The life below the Brisbane River
February 13, 2018 17:00 - 6 minutes - 8.7 MBYou can't see through the murky water of the Brisbane River, but when you have an underwater microphone you can listen to the life below.
How to evolve your dragon
February 10, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBA water dragon with dappled markings like shadows through leaves tilts her head and waves her arm. It’s not a friendly wave. It’s the water dragon equivalent of the middle finger.
Flying teddy bear found in Brisbane forest
February 06, 2018 16:00 - 4 minutes - 6.42 MBThe greater glider is listed as vulnerable in Australia and it moves through the tree tops eating eucalyptus leaves without a sound.
To feed or not to feed
February 03, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBFeeding the birds can heal a multitude of human wounds. Some people are even drawn to the practice of bird feeding to atone for the perceived sins of humanity.
Seeking nature on the Gold Coast: paradise lost or gained?
January 27, 2018 02:05 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBWith more canals than Venice, Queensland’s Gold Coast is a highly altered environment, where remnants of untouched vegetation are few and far between. Yet, tourists still flock there seeking to experience nature first hand among the theme parks, high rises and nightclubs. This is a classic Off Track handpicked from the archives for your listening pleasure.
The strange case of the peppered tree frog
January 19, 2018 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBJodi Rowley is a frog detective from the Australian Museum and she’s sewing together a patchwork of clues to try to find the peppered tree frog in the New England Tablelands. {For RN Summer we're playing the best programs from the RN archives, and this one first aired in November, 2016}
Looking forward, looking back
January 12, 2018 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBFly-in to a place where the earth's ancient geological past and the most cutting-edge computing technology collide. A place where taking a picture of the dawn of time is almost a reality. {For RN Summer we're playing the best programs of the year, and this one first aired in April, 2017}
The rodent and the walking stick
January 05, 2018 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBThe fates of the black rat and the phasmid are as intertwined as the air roots of a banyan tree. The survival of one is linked to the extermination of the other, and the battle is on. {For RN Summer we're playing the best programs of the year, and this one first aired in June, 2017}
Live long, little lizard
December 29, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBAfter 35 years, some of the same sleepy lizards are still alive, still with the same lizard partner. Now, they will have a new scientist. {For RN Summer we're playing the best programs of the year, and this one first aired in April, 2017}
The improbable tale of the outback fish
December 22, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 38.9 MBHow does a fish the size of a toothbrush head, with bright red fins and big blue eyes, end up living in a puddle of water in the middle of the Australian outback? This story is about one of the rarest fish species in the world, and it's simply epic. {For RN Summer we're playing the best programs of the year, and this one first aired in May, 2017}
Australian Magpie wins and sings
December 11, 2017 16:00 - 9 minutes - 13.2 MBThe public have spoken, and the Magpie is the winner of the Bird of the Year for 2017. So let's hear from the magpies themselves.
The colourful life of the Australian Magpie [Repeat]
December 10, 2017 16:00 - 28 minutes - 39 MBPlucked direct from the Off Track archives so that you can better understand 2017's bird of the year: the magpie.
Nature Snack - a pied butcherbird practices its song.
December 09, 2017 15:30 - 7 minutes - 10.6 MBThe sweet singing butcherbird has inspired symphonies, such is the clarity of its tone.
Earworms from planet earth
November 10, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBWhat does your world sound like? We asked, and you sent us earworms from planet earth. Close your eyes and take a trip.
Tasmania is the roadkill capital of the world
November 03, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBPossum, tawny frogmouth, platypus, turtle, quoll, endangered devil and raven. No animal is immune to death on Tasmanian roads where 32 animals die every hour. This episode of Off Track has been selected from the archives.
Hit the frog and toad
October 27, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBIt was thought that cane toads couldn't survive, and certainly couldn't breed as far south as Sydney. That thought was spectacularly wrong.
Hit the frog and toad
October 27, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBIt was thought that cane toads couldn't survive, and certainly couldn't breed as far south as Sydney. That thought was spectacularly wrong.
Gardening for the Dead
October 20, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBDoes the decomposition of our loved ones make the soil unsuitable for some plants? And why do grave sites sink? This program has been drawn from the Off Track archives.
The princely snow leopard and its poo
October 13, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBPreserving species that are both rare and elusive has led an Australian whale specialist to the Himalayas to search for big cat poo.
Sniffer spaniels get the doggone weeds
October 06, 2017 23:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBA daisy which flowers in bursts of yellow and orange is threatening Australia's environment and agriculture. Luckily two spaniels stand in its way.
Ghost claws on a unicorn
September 30, 2017 00:30 - 28 minutes - 39 MBFrom the murky waters of the Murray River emerges a rare monster with an underbelly of red berries and claws of ghostly white.