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Eleven of the 12 Tasmanian birds found nowhere else on earth can be spotted with ease at the Waterworks Reserve just a few kilometres from the Hobart CBD. It was an interesting talking point when I was asked to discuss the avian treasures of the reserve on the ABC Radio Drive program recently. The birds, though, were not the only focus. The presenter of the program, Kylie Baxter, also invited listeners to describe why the reserve in general was important to them. Kylie was … [Read more...] about A special place in our hearts

High in the sky, a white goshawk battled wild winds and the attention of an angry kelp gull. Flying against the backdrop of a snowy kunanyi/ Mt Wellington, the all-white goshawk might have believed the peak offered it camouflage as it patrolled the airways. But the raptor was mistaken. Its fluttering wings revealed its menacing presence to watching eyes Ironically, the mountain should have been free of snow in the last few weeks of spring but an unseasonal blizzard brought … [Read more...] about Winds of change embrace the white goshawk

The godwits that arrive in Tasmania and New Zealand each summer are known for their epic flights that span the far north and south of the globe. One plucky godwit, however, has stretched the limits of endurance by finally arriving in New Zealand after being forced to make a dramatic U-turn back to Alaska after 33 hours of non-stop flight. All was going well for the male bar-tailed godwit after he took off from tidal flats in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim delta on 11 September. … [Read more...] about Godwit clocks up the air miles

The “bully boys” of the bird world, noisy miners, were muscling up one afternoon when a flock of starlings strayed onto their patch outside the Hobart Aquatic Centre on the Domain. The starlings didn’t stand a chance when they arrived to hunt insects in the mown grass surrounding the pool complex. They were soon sent on their way. Noisy miners are often mistaken for an introduced species with a similar name, the Indian myna found in mainland cities. The noisy miners are … [Read more...] about Starlings no match for ‘bully boy’ miners

Terry the turbo-chook fixed me with a long, curious stare. He stood alone on a wet patch of grass just inside the Waterworks Reserve, set back from the road so he would not be unduly disturbed. The idea of a single bird out of the flock – a loner – seemed foreign to the avian world where most feathered creatures congregate as part of a flock. The way Terry looked at me as I walked past he was probably thinking the same thing. Two loners adrift in the world. I named the … [Read more...] about A turbo-chook in search of love