Archives for November 2024

Three gannets bobbing on a heaving ocean gave a hint of what was to come. The gannets - black and white, with a yellow sheen to the head and nape - gazed down at the surf with a look of anticipation. Their steel-blue eyes had settled on a patch of water about the size of a bowling green that appeared remarkably calm and flat. Other birds arrived. Short-tailed shearwaters darted in, followed by crested terns. The birds knew something was afoot, something stirring under ocean … [Read more...] about Whale of a time on bird quest

Shy and secretive, our little penguins are usually out of sight and out of mind until tragedy befalls their colonies. They only come to notice, hitting the headlines, when they are the victim of dog attacks although one celebrated penguin hit the news last year by trying to gain access to a Hobart Waterfront pub. The penguin was found on the steps of the main bar of the Post House Hotel after apparently coming ashore at Brook St Pier. Putting aside amusing penguin antics, … [Read more...] about Dogs emerge as major threat to penguins

On the surface it’s a mere, dusty track climbing into the heart of my local reserve. I can never ignore it, though. It calls to me, lures me, seduces me, and I always feel compelled to explore the magical world beyond its leafy margins. The track leads from the far side of the lower lake at the Waterworks Reserve and its crushed mudstone glows golden in sunshine. After rain, it is clothed in a more restrained shade, that of tarnished copper. To the refrain of golden … [Read more...] about Track opens window on the world of nature

Swift parrots were zinging around the treetops of the gums surrounding the Mt Nelson Oval, a location virtually guaranteed to see them after the migratory parrots have arrived from the mainland in spring. I had struck lucky after failing to find them a few weeks earlier. Blue gums in the area were not in flower – as happens some years – and so I thought the “swifties” had given the location a miss this season. But an American birder I chatted to at the Waterworks Reserve … [Read more...] about Operation flock and awe to see our ‘swifties’

High above the Raptor Refuge at Kettering a wedge-tailed eagle sat atop one of the aviaries. I took a double-take, thinking for a moment that one of the eagles undergoing rehabilitation had escaped. No, this eagle was truly a wild specimen, taking a time-out from riding the thermals to view his kin whose lives on the wing were less fortunate that its own. The refuge’s owner and operator, Craig Webb, said the sighting was not unusual. A wedgie or two came every day to perch … [Read more...] about Keeping an eagle eye on our birds of prey