A REVIEWER described the latest phase of Bob Dylan’s career as a bit like bird-watching. You spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen, but if you're lucky you experience an occasional moment of true magic. It was like killing two birds with one stone, a birdwatcher marking time before the Melbourne leg of Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour 2014, and seeing a kookaburra spear a hapless sparrow on the St Kilda Waterfront. A simple twist of fate. Until reading the review … [Read more...] about A simple twist of fate
Unwelcome nests hard to swallow
SWALLOWS may be the winged wonders of spring but they can test our patience when they choose to nest over a window or door. Cleaning up the mess from their droppings can be frustrating for even the most avid wildlife lover and it’s the price we have to pay for the joy of watching their antics as they swoop after insects on summer nights. There’s also the joy of watching the breeding cycle, the courtship displays, nest building and the rearing of young. Unfortunately, I … [Read more...] about Unwelcome nests hard to swallow
Hunted harrier now farmer’s friend
The swamp harrier, so long the victim of persecution on farms along with other birds of prey, is now being billed as the “farmer’s friend”. As farmers prepare for a new season of planting and reaping, the value of the harriers in rodent control is being promoted by the Agricultural Contractors’ Association of Tasmania. It is advising farmers that if they want to increase their yields, they should exercise “due care and protection” when dealing with the harriers. Since the … [Read more...] about Hunted harrier now farmer’s friend
‘Mission impossible’ to find tiny parrot
Birdwatchers on the mainland have been conducting what can be described as a “mission impossible” this winter to track down the last of the orange-bellied parrots. The coastlines of Victoria and South Australia have been the subject of the search to locate the mere handful of the parrots that have migrated from their breeding grounds in southern Tasmania to spend the winter on mainland coastal saltmarshes. There are believed to be fewer than 50 orange-bellied parrots alive … [Read more...] about ‘Mission impossible’ to find tiny parrot
A wing and a prayer
A STRIATED pardalote is hopefully winging its way back to Bruny Island after receiving a helping hand from conservationists there last breeding season after it fell from a nest. The pardalote received some tender, loving care from Wildcare volunteers at the historic Bruny Island Quarantine Station after they found it in trouble just before Christmas. Volunteer caretakers at the quarantine station on South Bruny, Lyn Donald and Kel Callaghan, said “a little ball of fluff’’ … [Read more...] about A wing and a prayer