ARTIST Bobby-Z Lambert gets a little help from his friends during the long and lonely hours he spends at the easel in his studio. The life of a painter can be a solitary one and it is not unusual to see pictures of artists with perhaps a cat, or a patient dog, amid the pots of paint and jars holding brushes. The great Rembrant might have had his favourite cat alongside him, but Bobby-Z chooses a feathered friend to go with his setting. Or should I say friends, because it … [Read more...] about Currawongs in the picture
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Tracks to oblivion
The hollows in the stony beach – from which hunting Aborigines once launched ambushes on seals – were not too difficult to find. I had been told what to look out for on a track along the Tarkine coast and I set out at dawn one morning to scour the beach for them. A flock of white-fronted chats were calling as they searched for invertebrates among kelp and chestnut teals were riding the waves in a rocky inlet as I cast my gaze over a beach of grey boulders the size of a … [Read more...] about Tracks to oblivion
Birds can make house prices soar
I have always suspected that there is more to the yellow-throated honeyeaters in my garden than meets the eye. They are not only creatures of subtle beauty, and a joy to watch, but I have now learned that their very presence in my wattles and bottlebrushes is actually increasing the value of the Knowler “mansion” in Dynnyrne. In fact, if I take into account the other species that are deemed “special” I might even be able to take out a mortgage for an extra wing. The … [Read more...] about Birds can make house prices soar
A swift case of mistaken identity
Driving through Kingston one chilly afternoon I caught a glimpse of the last of the swift parrots heading north at the start of winter. I stopped the car to study the birds closely because I didn’t want to fall into the age-old winter bird-watching trap – confusing swift parrots with musk lorikeets. Not a year goes by that I do not receive calls from readers during the winter months saying they have seen swift parrots. One well-known politician was on record one winter a … [Read more...] about A swift case of mistaken identity
Help for a fallen friend
PIGS may fly, as the expression goes, but the owner of the Inverawe Native Gardens at Margate was hardly prepared for the sight of a flying pademelon. There was Margaret Chestnut one autumnal afternoon, tending some newly-planted shrubs, when she saw what looked like a pademelon land with a thump right in front of her. Yes, her eyes were not deceiving her. It really was a pademelon that had apparently fallen right out of the sky. Mrs Chestnut moved forward to determine if … [Read more...] about Help for a fallen friend