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The sulphur-crested cockatoos had returned to Hobart earlier than usual, a big flock of them frolicking at the Waterworks Reserve towards the end of summer. There was drama in the air, however, when I discovered that one of the young cockies had been caught in a tree. The early return looked set to turn to tragedy. The cockies that we see in Hobart during the winter months tend to spend the summer feeding in the upper reaches of the Derwent Valley, and only return to the … [Read more...] about Lucky cockie flies free

MUTTONBIRDS once flew in such large flocks that they blotted out the sun and turned the ocean black when vast carpets of the seabirds settled on the waves. In 1798, English navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders estimated that there were at least 100 million birds within a single flock sighted in Bass Strait. The abundance of the short-tailed shearwater – to give the species its common name used beyond Tasmanian shores – was compared at the time with the vast numbers … [Read more...] about Muttonbirds hit stormy seas

The strange, mysterious and exotic came to the Derwent this autumn and I’m not talking about the latest exhibition or event at the Museum of Old and New Art.  A pair of nankeen hight herons took up residence on the banks of New Town Bay and much to my delight I managed to see the beautiful birds after being alerted to their presence by local residents. The night heron is not usually seen south of KingIsland – where there is a long-established breeding colony – and so it was … [Read more...] about The exotic and mysterious comes to town

ON a British winter’s day, as cold as it gets, I finally put to the test the only piece of scientific research I have ever conducted – to address the notion that European blackbirds introduced to Australia in Victorian times have developed an Australian accent.  Anecdotal evidence of the “okker” blackbirds has long fascinated me and over time I have attempted to determine whether it is true or not from the Australian end – namely by getting friends over in Britain to dangle … [Read more...] about Okker Aussie blackbirds sing own song

BIRDWATCHERS gathered on wetlands across Australia earlier this month for a “farewell to shorebirds” celebration to send the migratory waders on their way to breeding grounds on the other side of the world. But in truth there was not much to celebrate. Shorebird numbers are in freefall because of the draining and degradation of the wetlands in which they live over their whole migratory range, which stretches from the far south of Tasmania to breeding grounds within the … [Read more...] about If wetlands go, birds will follow