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A new generation of 40-spotted pardalotes has been roaming the white gum woodlands of Bruny Island scouting nesting sites for the breeding season.  The young pardalotes are the product of an ambitious program last year to supply 200 nest boxes to help halt the staggering decline in the numbers of these tiny birds, which are only found in Tasmania. The program is being run over four years by bird researcher Amanda Edworthy, with the aim of not only giving the pardalotes … [Read more...] about Rare pardalotes in need of help

New Holland honeyeaters squabbling with brush wattlebirds over the nectar and pollen of a winter-flowering grevillea, forest ravens crossing the sky and the distant “clink, clink” of the clinking currawong. Not much had changed in 177 years, from the time that Captain Andrew Haig built an elegant home, Narryna, on Hampden Rd in Battery Point. I must have passed the house built in the Greek Revival style a hundred times over the years and never ventured in but that … [Read more...] about Birds fly back in time

A REVIEWER described the latest phase of Bob Dylan’s career as a bit like bird-watching. You spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen, but if you're lucky you experience an occasional moment of true magic. It was like killing two birds with one stone, a birdwatcher marking time before the Melbourne leg of Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour 2014, and seeing a kookaburra spear a hapless sparrow on the St Kilda Waterfront. A simple twist of fate. Until reading the review … [Read more...] about A simple twist of fate

SWALLOWS may be the winged wonders of spring but they can test our patience when they choose to nest over a window or door.  Cleaning up the mess from their droppings can be frustrating for even the most avid wildlife lover and it’s the price we have to pay for the joy of watching their antics as they swoop after insects on summer nights. There’s also the joy of watching the breeding cycle, the courtship displays, nest building and the rearing of young. Unfortunately, I … [Read more...] about Unwelcome nests hard to swallow

The swamp harrier, so long the victim of persecution on farms along with other birds of prey, is now being billed as the “farmer’s friend”. As farmers prepare for a new season of planting and reaping, the value of the harriers in rodent control is being promoted by the Agricultural Contractors’ Association of Tasmania. It is advising farmers that if they want to increase their yields, they should exercise “due care and protection” when dealing with the harriers. Since the … [Read more...] about Hunted harrier now farmer’s friend