The worlds of literature, art and wildlife collided on Bruny Island recently when the local community launched a bird book to promote the natural wonders of the twin islands. Writers and artists are at the forefront of the battle to save endangered wildlife and habitats but their role often goes unacknowledged. The Bruny Island Environmental Network (BIEN) set out to put the world of art and literature in the spotlight when two years ago it launched a book project, … [Read more...] about Like, poetry, birds ignore frontiers
Archives for November 2014
Fishing with dynamite
Some birders I have met have this ability to literally charm the birds out of the trees. They are masters of the ancient birding art of “pishing” – making bird sounds by pursing the lips to attract the target bird’s attention. Birds are innately curious and any unfamiliar sound that vaguely resembles a bird call will entice them to come and have a look. My attempts at pishing usually fall on deaf ears but I decided to hone my skills recently in readiness for late spring and … [Read more...] about Fishing with dynamite
Last piece of the summer jigsaw in place
Word spread through the birding community at the end of October that the beautiful satin flycatcher had arrived, the last piece of the summer migratory jigsaw. Noted bird photographer Alan Fletcher tipped me off, sending me two pictures he had taken of male satin flycatchers in previous days. I hadn’t seen the species myself, or even heard their unusual metallic call, and immediately I set off in pursuit, to a location at the Waterworks Reserve where I had seen the migrants … [Read more...] about Last piece of the summer jigsaw in place
Punk bird on the march
The “punk bird” is on the march across Australia and it is not improbable that some day it might bring its anarchy to Tasmania. You have to see the “punk bird” and been witness to the punk revolution in Britain in the 1980s to realise how apt the description of the species is. This is a bird with a cocky waddle, with wings that whistle when it flies at high speed and a spiky hair-do. We are talking here of the crested pigeon which in the past half century, and particularly … [Read more...] about Punk bird on the march
In search of Errol Flynn
A white-faced heron hunted galaxias in the Sandy Bay Rivulet, at the point where it crosses Errol Flynn Beach and merges with the Derwent River. Jollytails, spotted mountain and climbing galaxias …. the heron was having a field day but I was less interested on this spring day in the natural history of the rivulet than its place in man’s modern, and ancient, history. Errol Flynn Beach is dominated by a large artwork proclaiming “1909”, the year the Tasmanian destined to … [Read more...] about In search of Errol Flynn