Don Knowler

Amid all the frenzy and excitement over the Matildas campaign, Tasmania’s “Mr Football”, Walter Pless, found himself distracted by events off the pitch. On the eve of the Matilda’s game against France, Walter had been counting down the hours by reporting on a lesser game, the Glenorchy Knights versus Riverside Olympic at KGV Park in Glenorchy. Forget the 3-0 victory for the Knights, Walter was recording the antics of two peregrine falcons on one of the floodlight … [Read more...] about Peregrines score goals of their own

It wasn’t the promise of lemonade scones and the chance to catch up with my birding mate, Denis Abbott, that lured me to the panoramic setting of the restaurant at the Mt Nelson Signal Station. It was the prospect of seeing the first arrival of spring – a striated pardalote. According to my records, the straited pardalote is always the first bird to arrive, beating the official harbinger of spring, the welcome swallow, by two weeks on some occasions. Although it has been … [Read more...] about Warm welcome for early striated pardalotes

It’s that time of the year when rats and mice are rampant in our homes, and the time of the year when our beautiful birds of prey are exposed to dangerous rodenticides. Some types of rat and mice poisons can be harmful to birds if they pick up dead and dying rodents and so we must be careful with the products we choose at the supermarket or in the hardware store. I’ve written about the danger of rodenticides in the past and this winter I had a chance to put this knowledge … [Read more...] about Beware rodenticide danger to birds of prey

Before I go to bed each night, I pause for a few minutes to listen for the call of the boobook owl. It doesn’t happen often but if I am lucky I hear the onomatopoeic “boo-book” call carrying far and wide from the wet forest above my home in Dynnyrne. It’s special – especially if I stand on my drive and listen to the owls on star-lit summer nights – because I have always been intrigued by these curious birds. My knowledge of owls is lacking, however. As night hunters they … [Read more...] about Wisdom, knowledge flies on silent wings

Now the Southern Ocean is a lonely place Over troubled waters and restless skies You’ll see those mollymauks rise and dive. Wherever I go, I can’t escape birds. I was taking a time out from birding at a Festival of Voices concert when a song about seabirds featured on the program. It was not surprising really. I was enjoying a performance of sea shanties by a choir of old salts, The Stranded Wailers. Why don’t you ride the wind and go, white seabird Ride the wild and … [Read more...] about Mollymawks sing a sad song