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“You’ve got to get them young,” Linley Grant said as she spread out the paraphernalia of birdwatching on a desk at Campbell Street Primary School. There were feathers and old nests, binoculars, identification charts and brightly coloured maps showing bird migration routes. There were cards to be handed out displaying Tasmania’s 12 bird species found nowhere else on earth and to top it all, a stuffed masked owl and wedge-tailed eagle, the latter towering over the children … [Read more...] about Birds fly high on the school curriculum

Shrieking gulls wheeling high in the sky broadcast there was tension in the air. Looking about me, I noticed the flotillas of Pacific black ducks and coots were behaving strangely on the open waters of the smaller of the two reservoirs at the Waterworks Reserve. The ducks and coots were huddled together in a tight circle, whereas usually they are spread out across the expansive waters. I soon discovered what was causing concern on a beautiful spring day – a white-bellied … [Read more...] about Sea eagle stirs ripple of fear

The soothing song of a grey butcher bird serenaded the Hobart bushcare community as members gathered last month for their annual year-end barbeque. Even in celebration with beers and wood-fired pizzas, a couple of hundred bushcare volunteers could not escape the call of the bush which sees them contribute, collectively, many hours of hard but enjoyable toil each year to help maintain our city’s wildlife wonders. The song of the butcherbird provided a fitting endorsement of … [Read more...] about Birdsong the call of the wild

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

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