Archives for August 2026

Right on time, the migrant birds are returning to Tasmania for the breeding season. It’s as though their lives run like clockwork. The metaphor of the clock is not so far-fetched when you think time and timing is so vital to avian lives. As sure as the neighbourhood clockmaker in Sandy Bay puts out his “now open” sign on the pavement each morning and withdraws it at dusk, the birds attend to their daily rituals. These, of course, are not performed to the ticking of a clock … [Read more...] about Striated pardalotes on time like clockwork

A shimmering azure sky pierced by darting white shapes, far out to sea and coming closer. Greater crested terns on the wing, hunting fish in the calm, silky waters of the Derwent off Long Beach, Lower Sandy Bay. It was a delight to see them bowing their heads to spot fish just below the surface of the water, then tilting their long, pointed wings before dropping likes stones, hitting the waves with a splash and then emerging with a wriggling, silver fish, in their yellow … [Read more...] about Bird flu and a day of heartbreak

The magnificent world of Tasmania’s birds is portrayed in a new book by noted birdwatcher and photographer Els Wakefield but this is not just a work featuring exotic and rare species. Els with her photography and insights give equal weight to those species that are familiar and common. The silver gulls that frequent the fish punts on the Hobart quayside is a case in point. Els reveals she and her late husband, Bill Wakefield, had a role in determining the lengthy life … [Read more...] about Memories of birding amid rock pools and wrack

A seven-year-old boy singing the praises of his favourite bird, the eastern rosella, has become an internet sensation. When Miles Phillips decided to write a song about the beautiful bird that had landed on the deck of a holiday resort he had no idea that a video of him performing the catchy tune would garner close to two million views on social media. It has also been played on several radio stations and been compared to the work of Taylor Swift and the Ramones. It all … [Read more...] about Tweet success of little boy’s rosella song