Don Knowler

Love is in the air. The birds, if not the bees, are very much in focus as we count down the days to the annual celebration of romance, Valentine’s Day, on Tuesday. Birds, in fact, have much to teach us humans about the art of love. Although birds have a markedly different evolutionary past, much of their behaviour shows remarkable parallels with our own. No other lifeform relies on song and dance to the same degree to not only woo partners and form relationships, but to … [Read more...] about Love flies high on St Valentine’s Day

A “city wren” flitted across an ocean of swaying kangaroo and wallaby grass, defying the advance of concrete and glass on the near-horizon. The Melbourne skyline was closer in the murky half-light than imagined, the steady rain blunting its angular outline. The urban wrens were a welcome sight because in cities across mainland Australia this beautiful little bird is fighting for survival. In Australia’s second city, however, the superb fairy-wren is getting by with a little … [Read more...] about ‘City wrens’ claim common ground

My heart sank when I saw a coot sitting alone on a bed of reeds at the Waterworks Reserve. A day previously the doting female had been fussing over four tiny chicks. Now my worst fear appeared to have been confirmed – a goshawk had come to call. I had watched this happy family from the beginning of spring when a coot pair began a courting ritual on the open waters of one of the reservoirs before gathering the reeds to build what became a huge nest standing about half a … [Read more...] about Reed all about it, coots rule

The sparrows of Salamanca Square have met their match – an eagle-eyed magpie who stands guard at the electric doors of Banjo’s. Over the years I have enjoyed the antics of the cheeky and smart sparrows who always seem to find their way into the bakery despite the efforts of staff to keep them out on the pavement. ‘The sparrows have enjoyed rich pickings of pastry and crumbs inside Banjo’s, timing their assault at the precise moment customers trigger the sliding doors. But … [Read more...] about Magpie ‘minder’ keeps sparrows at bay

It did not take long for me to break the first of my New Year resolutions. I visited the Waterworks Reserve after vowing in late December I’d give my favourite birding location a break. The promise was prompted by a reader who complained that I invariably write about the birds of the reserve and I ignore other locations, particularly the dry and sandy eastern shore where the bird life differs from the wet forests of the Waterworks Valley. The point was taken but I could not … [Read more...] about Resolution consigned to history