Don Knowler

In the world of birds, lazy bird-watchers describe small and nondescript birds that are hard to identify as LBBs, or little bird birds. I was surprised to learn recently that in the mysterious and arcane world of mycology, fungi fanatics have their own term for similarly coloured, sized and hard to identify species – LBMs or little brown mushrooms. The term in fact does not relate to a range of species but to just one group or genus,  Tubaria. This contains one of … [Read more...] about The beating heart of the forest

THE hot-chip brigade – the gulls that try to steal our fast food on the waterfront – might be viewed as a nuisance but they are a vital indicator of the heath of the human environment. They are certainly not “rats with wings”, to use a pejorative description used by some members of the community who are not gull fans. Such is the regard that birders give gulls that a dedicated team of Birdlife Tasmania members each year conducts a survey of gull numbers far and wide to … [Read more...] about Gulls enjoy the good life

I camped out on the Domain at dusk last month to witness the amazing Dark Mofo light show spreading across the city – only to find the birds putting on a winter spectacle of their own. Birds were definitely not on the agenda after I lingered outside the Aquatic Centre after a keep-fit swim to see the Articulated Intersect art installation from a vantage point high above the city. I was a little early, and with time to kill I watched the sun set behind Mt Wellington, the dark … [Read more...] about Rosellas join the winter feast

In a fast-paced, fast-changing world there is something wonderfully reassuring about the predictability of birds and their place in the environment. ``All’s well with the world,” I always mutter to myself when I find the superb fairy-wren, the new holland honeyeater or green rosella where I expect them to be. With a little time on my hands at Lake Barrington in the north-west earlier this year I decided to take a stroll to an area of dry woodland on the lake’s shores where … [Read more...] about Looks aren’t everything

The tiny marsupial blinked through pin-prick, shining eyes. I was blocking his path as he tried to scurry into the undergrowth on Mt Wellington. Sharing a track with a dusky antechinus half-way up the mountain, we had both been caught out by a sudden change in the weather that brought a blizzard swirling around the peaks to the south. I did not have a winter coat, or a hat but my problems paled into insignificance when I considered those of the antechinus. A brown falcon … [Read more...] about A little friend in need