Dancing on the Edge of the World
Everyone has a story about birds. They are all about us and are our contact point with nature. The birds I see are usually in an urban environment and so I concentrate on these in my writing. I don’t pretend to be an expert but birds of the city and suburb are also the ones that most people identify with, the species you do not need a compass and binoculars to seek out. A scarlet robin singing in a garden is just as exciting as a swift parrot in an ancient forest and is worth just as many words in my On the Wing writings, which appear weekly in the Sunday Tasmanian.
By Don Knowler
My heart sank when I saw a coot sitting alone on a bed of reeds at the Waterworks Reserve. A day previously the doting female had been fussing over four tiny chicks. Now my worst fear appeared to have been confirmed – a goshawk had come to call. I had watched this happy family from the beginning … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
The sparrows of Salamanca Square have met their match – an eagle-eyed magpie who stands guard at the electric doors of Banjo’s. Over the years I have enjoyed the antics of the cheeky and smart sparrows who always seem to find their way into the bakery despite the efforts of staff to keep them out … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
It did not take long for me to break the first of my New Year resolutions. I visited the Waterworks Reserve after vowing in late December I’d give my favourite birding location a break. The promise was prompted by a reader who complained that I invariably write about the birds of the reserve and I … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the “corvid” one for me, presenting an opportunity to study Australian crows beyond the single species than occurs in Tasmania. Crows and ravens appear to have been a constant backdrop of lockdown and self-isolation. Some may see crows as portents of doom as … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
At the start of a new year, I always look back at the past 12 months do a tally of what bird stories have dominated the headlines across the world. Without doubt, 2022 was the year of the emu. Two stories stand out, but then again emus also made the news in 2021 when a mob of the birds were banned … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
“You’ve got to get them young,” Linley Grant said as she spread out the paraphernalia of birdwatching on a desk at Campbell Street Primary School. There were feathers and old nests, binoculars, identification charts and brightly coloured maps showing bird migration routes. There were cards to be … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
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