Don Knowler

Tasmanians have a reputation for being laid-back and friendly – and the same goes for our magpies. Although the national press at this time of year is always full of magpie attack stories and advice on how to counter aggressive birds, it’s a phenomenon largely absent from Tasmania. There’s no doubt magpies prove a serious problem on the mainland, from swooping posties on their rounds, to terrorising schoolchildren on their way to school. There’s plenty of advice in the … [Read more...] about ‘Chilled’ Tassie magpies give peace a chance

Tens of thousands of Australians are gearing up to take part in the Aussie Bird Count - the nation’s biggest citizen science project - which starts on Monday. During the event last year more than 60,000 people turned their eyes to the sky to tally an astonishing 3,608,545 birds, with the rainbow lorikeet holding the crown. When the count was first held in 2014, the lorikeet was also recorded as number one by the 9000 bird counters who took 20 minutes out of their week to do … [Read more...] about Australians at the ready for bird count

One of the greatest images of bird migration I’ve ever seen is of a flight of geese crossing a full moon, the birds in silhouette. Nothing could best portray the wonder of migration, in which many birds are guided by the moon and the stars on their epic journeys that can encompass the far ends of the earth. A supermoon on the night of September 18 came right at the height of the spring migration and I was out in the garden not just contemplating the remarkable sight of an … [Read more...] about Supermoon lights way for migrating birds

September 11 is auspicious for me not because it happens to be my birthday and the date of the infamous 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Centre in New Year – it’s a day to watch for the arrival of our welcome swallows. They should have turned up in good number just before September 11 but any delay makes me nervous. With growing reports of the decline in bird numbers, including swallows, my birthday has also become an unofficial cut-off point in the timetable I have … [Read more...] about Nervous wait for a welcome sight

My friends and I used to play a schoolboy prank on unsuspecting passers-by in the English town where I grew up. We stood on street corners gazing and pointing skywards, to see how many people would stop and do the same thing, trying to discover what we were looking at. It proved hilarious, with groups of people huddled on street corners for no apparent reason. More than half a century on, I was doing the same thing on the corner of Collins and Queen Streets in Melbourne’s … [Read more...] about Peregrines reach for the sky in Melbourne