The life and times of birds are not so very different from daily events in the human world. Eat and sleep, the daily grind of providing for the family, ill health and good fortune; ultimately it’s a struggle for survival on whatever level. Birds and humans live parallel lives, an existence controlled not only by the clock, the 12-hour division of day and night, but the division of the year into seasons. And ultimately we all share the adventure of a journey through life, … [Read more...] about And what time do you call this?
Archives for January 2016
The dawn of a new year
Just another day in the garden. Not quite. It’s New Year’s Day and I am engaging in a routine I always do on January 1: compile a checklist of birds spotted, to set me on course for a new year of bird-watching. Usually I choose a place rich in birds for my January 1 foray, sometimes in an exotic location, but this year I’m confined to my garden because of a knee injury. Not that I am complaining. In my garden I can still touch base with nature and a casual stroll will … [Read more...] about The dawn of a new year
Flame robin reveals itself at last
The portents for my bird-watching in 2016 look good after what I term a remarkable discovery in the Waterworks Reserve near my home in Dynnyrne – the sighting of a flame robin. My illustrious predecessor as the Mercury’s writer on nature, Michael Sharland, wrote in his Tasmanian Birds of 1948 that among members of the robin family, the flame robin was the one most likely to be seen in Tasmania. Well, 68 years on, I can write with authority that this is no longer the case. I … [Read more...] about Flame robin reveals itself at last