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The turf wars have returned to my garden with the onslaught of winter. The ravens and currawongs are once again engaged in battle over the scraps of food I leave out for them each morning. And this year another protagonist has joined the fray – a grey butcherbird. The resident forest ravens have the garden to themselves before the raiders arrive at about the time of the official start of winter on June 1. Grey currawongs might be seen all year but their numbers start to … [Read more...] about Butcherbirds win out in the turf wars

A wedge-tailed eagle soared across the sky in front of me. High above South Hobart it rose and fell, twisted and turned, a silhouette against the backdrop of kununyi/Mt Wellington, which was bathed in soft sunlight in the first week of winter. My focus should have been on the “wedgie” – the fourth largest eagle in the world – but on this occasion I was bowled over by the mountain itself. The day previously it had hidden behind low cloud. Kunanyi is a mountain of many … [Read more...] about Drawn to a mountain bathed in soft sunlight

The 240 kilometres of ocean separating Tasmania from the big island has kept us safe from the scourge of city parks in Melbourne and Sydney – the Australian white ibis. This strange, mercurial bird goes by the name of “bin chicken” and “tip turkey” in some parts. In its more aggressive moments it is also known as the “sandwich eater” and the “picnic pirate”, so it’s a welcome relief that it rarely reaches Tasmania on its travels and does not breed here. Despite its … [Read more...] about ‘Tip turkey’ gives up on life in the city

New research has suggested bird-watchers are laying a “golden egg” when it comes to domestic tourism. The travel trade has at last been able to separate birders from other tourists to determine what they contribute to the economy. It comes to a staggering $282 million per year. Until recently, quantifying the scale of birdwatching tourism in Australia was difficult because of a lack of data. But Birdlife Australia has used statistics from a survey conducted by Tourism … [Read more...] about Happy birders prove to be golden whistlers

A scarlet robin sat on an exposed twig, bathed in a mellow, yellow autumnal light. After a day of torrential rain, the clouds had lifted and so had my spirits. A robin on a low perch, its head moving from side to side, his eyes trained on insects flitting in the kangaroo grass beneath him. Not normally an uncommon sight in the great Tasmanian outdoors. All the same I had been complaining over coffee to a birding friend the previous day that there seemed to be a shortage of … [Read more...] about Storm clouds carry a silver lining