The forests slumber, they are in their long winter dream. They are not totally silent and comatose, of course. The resident birds still sing, but in a cold, muted fashion, intent only on maintaining contact with each other and warning of danger. The robust songs to declare territory and attract mates will come later. I always liken the dormant forests to sleep in humans. We can’t survive without seven or eight hours of shuteye to recharge mind and body. It is the same with … [Read more...] about A symbiosis between body and soul
Once common birds at risk
Author Rachel Carson’s dystopian vision of a silent spring is rapidly being realised, according to a global survey which pays particular attention to our falling bird populations in Tasmania. The report on the state of the world’s birds reveals a biodiversity crisis largely driven by land clearance and intensive farming, with once-common species now at risk. One in eight bird species is threatened with global extinction, says the State of the World’s Birds report, a … [Read more...] about Once common birds at risk
Pathways through the cosmological landscape
The equinox came and went this autumn and I didn’t even notice. Funny that, because I’m always confused by a moment in time divided equally between night and day. I’m not alone because sometimes birds forget to migrate during the equinox in mid-March and start to sing, because they think it’s spring. Not so the longer division of day and night, the winter solstice on June 21 this year, which records the longest night at the same time the northern hemisphere is recording the … [Read more...] about Pathways through the cosmological landscape
Battle to save the last of the line
The young bird, fresh out of the nest, was like any fledgling of any species. A slightly comic air, ungainly, unbalanced, unwary at the feeding station. The gentle, warm rain had given its new and growing feathers a spiky appearance, and decorating its beak and head were dots of bird seed. A young bird in summer, the new breed of the season, but this orange-belled parrot carried a greater significance here at the end of the earth, in the southwest wilderness of Tasmania, … [Read more...] about Battle to save the last of the line
Diplomats with wings
Moves to bring North Korea into the international fold might have dominated the headlines in recent weeks with President Donald Trump’s intervention but a feathered ambassador travelling from both Australia and New Zealand got there first. The bar-tailed godwit, whose epic round-trip migratory journey of at least 24,000 kilometres requires a stopover in North Korea, has for the past 10 years created a conduit for communication between the “hermit state” and a western nation, … [Read more...] about Diplomats with wings