Blog

The call of the striated pardalotes echoed from the most unlikely place. I was on a tour of the historic convict coalmines site on the Tasman Peninsula when I was stopped in my tracks by the familiar “pick-it-up” refrain that I usually hear in my regular stamping grounds in the foothills of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. It’s one of the ironies of bird-watching that places of intolerable pain and tragedy for humans can be meccas for birds. I remember being spellbound by my first … [Read more...] about Hell on earth is heaven for winged wonder

Although summer is in full swing, the swamp harriers are already leading the way for the myriad Tasmanian nesting species that spent their winter on the mainland. My correspondents in country districts are reporting a steady movement of the elegant raptors towards Bass Strait. The harriers are the first to leave, leading another early departure, the satin flycatcher, before the other migratory species follow suit as autumn bites. I love to watch the low-flying harriers … [Read more...] about Harriers a sight to see as they head north

The World’s Ugliest Lawn competition has announced its winner for 2025 and I’ve put away the lawn-mower to enter this year’s contest, with the support of the turbo-chooks who have moved into my yard. My lawn and surrounding garden has all the qualities to put me in the running and join a previous winner of the global award who came from Sandford on the Eastern Shore. There’s knee-high grass in places, patches of dry, matted thatch and tangled vegetation at the edge of the … [Read more...] about My ugly lawn a cut above the rest

The gentle stare, the silent watch of a tawny frogmouth carried the message that autumn was on the way. The temperature may have hit 22 degrees, the hot sun casting dappled shadows over the Waterworks Reserve, but the frogmouth just knew. It was the same last year. At the height of summer, the frogmouth was getting himself in position to prepare for the change of season. This year the male frogmouth – soon to be followed by his mate – arrived at his favourite autumn and … [Read more...] about Time flies when you’re a tawny frogmouth

The snowy owl of Harry Potter fame is flying towards extinction. The worldwide birding organisation, Birdlife International, has revealed that the beautiful all-white owl is rapidly declining in the colder regions of the northern hemisphere. It has already been declared extinct in Sweden. Although the snowy owl – one of the largest owls in the world – has long been on the birders’ bucket list it came to prominence with the general public in the hugely popular series of Harry … [Read more...] about Hedwig’s wild cousins quietly face extinction