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The sound of spring echoed through the Waterworks Valley in mid-August, even though winter was refusing to loosen its grip and there was snow on Mt Wellington.  On a rare sunny day amid frost and snow, I heard the call of the striated pardalote, the first of the summer migrants to arrive in the suburbs. The swallow might herald spring in other parts of the world, but traditionally in Hobart the pardalote announces the end of winter with its resonant three-note call. Out in … [Read more...] about Spring arrivals herald summer

I DIDN’T need the weatherman on ABC television to tell me that a cold snap was on the way which would dump snow on the streets of Hobart. The black cockies were coming down from Mt Wellington about four days before the rare snow event at the start of this month. It was in fact the same day as weatherman Simon McCullock’s prediction that snow was arriving in coming days. According to southern Tasmanian folklore, the sight of yellow-tailed black cockatoos arriving in the … [Read more...] about Birds come in from the cold

When it has come to headline-grabbing news this northern summer in Europe, forget the war on terror, the war on illegal immigrants, the Greek financial crisis. Britain has been at war with its seagulls.  The “killer seagulls”, to quote no less an authority than The Times of London, have become such a threat to national security that the Prime Minister himself has had to intervene. Like the gulls themselves, the national media appears to be in a frenzy.   Along with The … [Read more...] about ‘Killer seagulls’ hog the headlines

The Tall Trees Drive winds its way along the south-eastern coast of Tasmania weaving and climbing through some of the most spectacular scenery in the state. The road may not be officially named and marked as such on the map – well at least as a major highway of note – but all the same it represents a must-see, and feel, tourist experience. Although the road has been promoted in the past as the Wielangta Forest Drive, it largely remains a hidden treasure and is known only to … [Read more...] about Scenic route reaches to new heights

MY late mother-in-law always said that when she returned to Australia from foreign travels she did not believe she was home until she heard the sweet flute-like notes of the magpie song. Jean Betts lived in Howrah where the sight of the magpies singing from the lampposts and telegraph wires cemented time and place. She’d even feed the magpies in her garden and stories of magpies dive-bombing passersby on the nearby Clarence Street would bring a smile to her face. In turn I … [Read more...] about Magpies the spirit of Australia