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Every Christmas Day I set off with my binoculars to take part in a Yuletide tradition unknown to Australians. It’s called the Christmas Bird Count and for more than a century it was been celebrated among birders in the United States with the same gusto which in other western countries is reserved for turkey and mince pies. The count doesn’t actually have to take place on the big day. Any convenient date within the week of Christmas will do. The Christmas holiday in the … [Read more...] about Christmas tradition strictly for the birds

A hand-coloured engraving of a passenger pigeon hangs above the desk in my study. It’s one of my most prized possessions, bought on a whim when I lived in New York in celebration of a hero of mine at the time, a Scottish artist and poet named Alexander Wilson. The Scotsman chronicled the great migrations of the now extinct pigeon and gave his name to several bird species, among them Wilson’s warbler which I just happened to see in Central Park on the day I bought the … [Read more...] about Cancelled – Wilson’s glorious warbler

Two plovers stood looking forlorn on a patch of grass off Davey Street. Just a day previously I had seen the plover pair with two chicks and now the young were nowhere to be seen. I feared the worst. It’s not unusual to see masked lapwings – to give them their common name outside of Tasmania – raising young in the most unlikely of places. We all have plover stories at this time of year. They nest on grass verges, the fringes of football fields and even on the open, grassy … [Read more...] about Masked lapwings safe in the shadows

A New Holland honeyeater made the most of early-flowering crimson bottlebrushes in a cottage garden one fine spring day. The honeyeater chirped with excitement as it flitted from flower to flower, dipping its head between the spiky petals. Golden pollen clung to its black-and-white head so it looked like a different species. A larger and more aggressive yellow wattlebird watched what the new holland was up to and muscled in, out to claim the pollen and nectar treasure as … [Read more...] about A battle in the bottlebrushes

A bunch of red and yellow roses had been placed near the base of the Silver Falls just above Fern Tree. Such tributes are usually to be found on war memorials spread throughout the country on Remembrance Day, November 11 and it was puzzling to find picked flowers at this beautiful location. The falls had in an instant become a shrine but in honour of whom for what? Remembrance Day had been in my thoughts because 24 hours previously, on an outing to Richmond, I had seen … [Read more...] about A tranquil place to yearn for