Don Knowler

As British television personality Michael Portillo went to air on SBS with his latest travel adventure in Indonesia, something was missing. The armchair bird-watcher looks and listens for birds when locations near and far are on the screen but beyond the commentary by Portillo on his Great Asia Rail Journey there was an eerie silence in the rainforest that formed his backdrop. In one corner of the world it appeared Rachel Carson’s frightening prophecy of a “silent spring” … [Read more...] about Where the birdsong has fallen silent

The Pointer Sisters led the way in the quest to find a rare and protected bird ¬- the stubble quail. With keen eye, ear and nose the Sisters came with all the equipment for their unique trade to locate the elusive bird hidden in a grassy, wet paddock in the wild country surrounding Bothwell. The Pointer Sisters, of course, are dogs. To be more precise they are named Tessa and Maggie, Tessa a German short-haired pointer and Maggie a Vizsla-German short-haired cross. To see … [Read more...] about Pointers on the stubble quail scent

Trying to identify the song of the only native thrush found in Tasmania, I received a shock when I discovered the ABC had dubbed the species the “fart bird”. I took a double take: was I really reading this about the Bassian thrush? But there it was, not so much in black and white, in audio on ABC Radio Melbourne’s Afternoons with Jacinta Parsons. Jacinta was in conversation with BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley who was detailing ongoing research into how the Bassian thrush … [Read more...] about ‘Fart bird’ debate purely hot air

Singing lessons for a bird? It seems implausible in the wondrous world of nature but that is the prospect in store for captive-bred teenage honeyeaters looking for love. The regent honeyeater is one of Australia’s most threatened bird species and conservationists have hit a snag in their efforts to save it from extinction. They’ve discovered the captive-bred birds do not know how to sing the right love songs to attract mates. Programs to breed rare species in captivity to … [Read more...] about Love is in the air for regent honeyeaters

Ancient rituals linked to the winter solstice have been given a modern twist in Hobart in recent times with the advent of Dark Mofo and its mid-winter swim. I didn’t need a cold plunge in the Derwent, though, to tell me we were moving from the dark into the light with the lengthening of daylight on Tuesday last week. The sweet melody of a male golden whistler told me the worst of the winter would soon be over. We might have human rituals to celebrate mid-winter but the … [Read more...] about Whistler’s song signals end to winter