My late mother-in-law always said that after her foreign travels she knew she was back in Australia when she heard the call of the magpie. At dusk at Brisbane airport recently it was the echoing call of another Australian bird species, a Torresian crow, that told me I was on home soil after arriving on a flight from Taiwan. The Torresian crow not only told me I had arrived in Australia but l was actually in Brisbane. Australia has five members of the Corvidae family – … [Read more...] about Caw blimey, I just navigate as the crow flies
On The Wing
Passport to birdland
Birdland is a magical place where it’s possible to escape all the pressures and stresses of the environment of the city created and inhabited by one species – humans – and immerse yourself in a less one-dimensional world. Birdland is nowhere in particular, and does not have to be special or noteworthy. It could be in the wildest of wild forest, or in suburbia. It could be a pristine beach, a few hectares of eucalypt woodland, or a neatly manicured city park. It could be a backyard. That’s the magic of birds; they bring beauty and wonder to every corner of the planet, wild or untamed, and my On the Wing writing is their celebration.
Frogmouth comes calling for bird count
Around midnight, preparing to go to bed after a night of sport on the television, a weird and wonderful sound drifted through the open windows from the garden. A soft, deep, continuous, ooo-ooo-ooo rhythm. I knew what it was immediately. A tawny frogmouth, although it was the first time I had heard it in my garden. A new species for my garden checklist, bringing the total to 57 species. It’s taken 25 years to clock this number but all the same it demonstrates how rich … [Read more...] about Frogmouth comes calling for bird count
First Nations team up to track muttonbirds
Aboriginal peoples at opposite ends of the globe have teamed up to plot the epic journey of a feathered adventurer, the short-tailed shearwater or muttonbird. First nations rangers in Western Australia are joining with their native-title counterparts in Alaska on a ground-breaking project after expressing alarm at falling numbers of shearwaters at both ends of their global range. The knowledge-sharing research aims to ensure the survival of the migratory … [Read more...] about First Nations team up to track muttonbirds
White storks keep Ukraine hope alive
Birds are said to act as the “canary in the coalmine’’ to warn of threats to the environment from hunting, land clearance and pollution. The same notion is now being applied to the impact of war. With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the worst fears of bird-lovers have been realised. Along with the colossal toll in human life which we see daily on our television screens, the country’s birdlife is also suffering. When Russia invaded four years ago I wrote a column … [Read more...] about White storks keep Ukraine hope alive
Platypus steals wood duck show
A pair of wood ducks catching the last rays of a dying winter sun had the shock of their lives when a duck-billed platypus leapt from the water in the Cascade Gardens and joined them. The ducks were resting on the flat concrete sluice which carries the Hobart Rivulet to the boulder trap catching rocks and tree trunks before they can block the watercourse closer to the central city. The platypus had been swimming and diving in the substantial concrete-lined trap before … [Read more...] about Platypus steals wood duck show