Don Knowler

When people gather for outdoor events involving food and drink anywhere near the Tasmanian coast they can expect gate-crashers to arrive at any moment – flocks of gulls looking for a hand-out of food. A group of friends gathered at the Snug Caravan Park at the end of summer were expecting to be harassed by gulls but one of my readers reporting the event says that the birds were noticeable by their absence. “Surprisingly there were no gulls present,” said the reader in his … [Read more...] about Gate-crashers spoil the party

Bird-lovers in Australia are casting anxious eyes to an outbreak of avian influenza which is decimating bird populations in the northern hemisphere and South America. The bird flu has not reached Australia yet but the convenor of Birdlife Tasmania, Eric Woehler, says it is just a matter of time before it arrives here. Dr Woehler said that the current outbreak and spread of bird flu in Eurasia was of serious concern to researchers and conservationists in the Southern … [Read more...] about Australia on alert for bird flu

The last of the migrants have slipped away. Summer friends making off without even a goodbye, a cheery shout from the treetops, see you in September. They are conspicuous by their absence. The summerbirds and satin flycatchers no longer flit among the treetops, and the welcome swallows and tree martins leave clear airspace in park glades and across the surface of the twin reservoirs at the Waterworks Reserve where I usually see them hawking insects. An eerie quiet also … [Read more...] about Goodbye summer vistors, see you in September

I was reminded that wildlife is literally on our doorstep last month when I caught Covid and was forced into self-isolation. Bird-watching had to be confined to my garden for seven days but I was not complaining. It gave me some new material for a talk I was scheduled to give to the Lenah Valley Garden Club on gardening for birds. And in the long hours spent peering out of the windows overlooking my garden I also had time to take stock of what I had achieved with my … [Read more...] about Birds in search of a garden ‘oasis’

An eastern rosella sang from a high perch atop a rope ladder in Legacy Park on the Queens Domain. The children’s park was established a few years back as a nature-based play space and the singing rosella was a powerful affirmation of what the Hobart Council had achieved with its design. Children and their exposure to nature had been very much part of my focus this year after I read about the “playground revolution” that the Age newspaper in Melbourne said was sweeping the … [Read more...] about Children in nature’s wonderland