Reports of birds being on the brink of extinction are so common that they are like bereavement notices in newspapers – they tend not to be noticed unless you know the people involved. The shock news recently that the secretary bird of Africa was facing extinction certainly felt like an impending death in the family. The secretary bird featured in a study by Birdlife International which revealed nearly 50 per cent of the world’s birds were under threat. Although many … [Read more...] about Secretary bird losing ground
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‘Villain’ starling takes centre stage
All the world’s a stage in the avian world and when it comes to a global performer the starling tops the bill. Although originating in Europe, starlings introduced by European colonisers have spread across the world, where in a never-ending drama between good and evil it has certainly become the villain. It raids crops, spreads disease and makes its home in the most disruptive and destructive of places. Not a week goes by during the spring and summer months when I don’t … [Read more...] about ‘Villain’ starling takes centre stage
The ‘freeloaders’ are back in town
The cry of the cuckoo has been ringing out across my street in recent weeks. The “freeloaders” are finally back in town, if a little late. Although I have never been a fan of cuckoos and the upheaval they sow in the bird world, I found myself – possibly against my better judgment - seeking them out this year instead of the more beautiful and benign woodland birds who are tricked into rearing cuckoo young. Strangely, the cuckoo’s call at the start of spring had fallen … [Read more...] about The ‘freeloaders’ are back in town
Avian superstar flies 13,560 kilometres nonstop
Somewhere out there on the mudflats of Tasmania is an avian super-star – a shorebird capable of flying non-stop for 13,560 kilometres. A bar-tailed godwit, merely named 23464, has beaten the world record for non-stop flight on an epic journey from Alaska to Tasmania. The flight of the godwit was tracked over an 11-day period as it crossed the Pacific to land at its final destination in Anson Bay, north-east Tasmania. As revealed by the satellite tracking device attached to … [Read more...] about Avian superstar flies 13,560 kilometres nonstop
Our birds surviving on a wing and a prayer
Our neighbourhoods are falling silent as birds suffer dramatic declines in number, writes Don Knowler A green rosella sang a tuneful melody on my return from the Sunshine Coast, where I had travelled to escape the tail-end of winter. Together with my feathered friends, some of my other neighbours were also in tune as I made the rounds of my street to thank members of the unofficial neighbourhood watch for keeping an eye on my house, and the resident over the road who put … [Read more...] about Our birds surviving on a wing and a prayer