Don Knowler

If Australians think the coronavirus lockdown has been tough, spare a thought for the crows. That is the view of one reader who says that a lack of roadkill – caused by reduced traffic on local roads at the height of the pandemic – had resulted in the crows going hungry. The reader phoned to give an account of a vast flock of crows descending on his property at Ouse to fight over the carcass of a single rabbit. He said the flock numbered at least 100 birds. “They were … [Read more...] about Lockdown ruffles crows’ feathers

Cold, dank and grey, even the birdsong was muted during the winter solstice? My hands freezing, my feet like blocks of ice, on the shortest day of the year I was about to turn back home after an early-morning foray to the Waterworks Reserve when a flash of fiery red caught my attention. There on the road ahead of me, the tarmacadam still sparkling with frost, stood the tiny figure of a scarlet robin. There was a time when the sight of a robin would not have been unusual, … [Read more...] about Moggie menace takes huge toll on birds

Swift parrots are known to undertake the longest migration of any parrot worldwide but one bird has taken marathon flight to a new level. Instead of landing at the usual destination of Victoria or southern New South Wales after a flight from Tasmania, the long-distance parrot overshot the Australian mainland altogether last month and ended up on Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. The single parrot landed on a chicken coop and its arrival was immediately brought to the … [Read more...] about Swift parrot spreads its wings

Birds can teach us a lot about ourselves and the world we live in. I am reminded of this fact each year when I set off on the annual count of seagulls conducted by Birdlife Tasmania. It is important to keep an eye on our silver, Pacific and kelp gulls because – along with all species of birds – they are a vital barometer of environmental health. In Tasmania’s urban areas it has been found that the silver gulls who cadge and steal food at fast-food outlets and feed on food … [Read more...] about Gulls the canary in the coalmine

The golden, button leaves of the rare fargus beech brighten the sombre early days of winter when chilly winds laden with sleet and snow begin to bite in Tasmania. The changing foliage of the fagus, or tanglefoot as it is also known, spur both local nature lovers and tourists at this time of year to visit the highlands where Australia’s only deciduous tree is found. This year, however, the Coronavirus pandemic put a stop to such outings. Obeying the lockdown, I was … [Read more...] about Plants and birds reveal a link to China