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
Parrots are learning to exploit the “animal internet” to make friends. As incredible as it might sound, a new study has helped lonely parrots make video calls to each other. Animal lovers have long known that birds which normally fly in flocks often suffer from isolation and loneliness when they … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
Bird-watching is worth more than $280 million each year to the Australian economy and for this reason Birdlife Australia says it makes sense to protect our birds. This time last year the birding organisation set out to put a price on the heads of the birds in economic terms and found in its survey … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
The song of the European cuckoo rang out through the rafters of St James’ Church Hall on Elizabeth St last month, filling the air with the curious two-note refrain that has inspired musicians over the centuries. This time it was the Hobart Guitar Society mimicking the bird, performing Going Cuckoo … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
An eastern rosella sat on a WWI memorial plinth, surrounded by his chattering flock who were plucking seeds from the grass of the Solders Memorial Avenue on the Queens Domain. It so just happened to be Anzac Day but I had not gone to the solders’ walk to honour the fallen in the Great War. My aim … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
It’s called the “sad robin” and it has reason to feel as sombre as its drab, uninspiring plumage. It may be a member of the colourful robin family but by its dull appearance you would never know it. The family name of robin evokes an image of shimmering, flaming red breasts; the sad, or dusky … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
When people gather for outdoor events involving food and drink anywhere near the Tasmanian coast they can expect gate-crashers to arrive at any moment – flocks of gulls looking for a hand-out of food. A group of friends gathered at the Snug Caravan Park at the end of summer were expecting to be … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
© Donald Knowler . All rights reserved.