On a beautiful autumnal morning, a sea-eagle flew over South Hobart on outstretched, quivering wings. It had come from the east and as the eagle crossed my home with slow, steady flaps, it tilted its wings and swerved to head in the direction of Kingston. I was out at the washing line at the time, but dropped the wet clothes to dash inside to check the list I have compiled over the years of birds spotted in or above my garden. Although on rare occasions I had seen … [Read more...] about Sea-eagle makes it to the garden list
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Peregrine’s spirit still soars
The Tasmanian tiger was still roaming the Tasmanian grasslands and the swift parrot flew in its thousands when Mercury writer Michael Sharland put pen to paper 100 years ago to start what has become one of the longest-running nature columns in the world. The motivation for the column had two aims – to draw attention to wildlife’s wonders and to highlight threats facing our fauna and flora. “These nature notes are introduced with the object of arousing an interest in, and … [Read more...] about Peregrine’s spirit still soars
Half century of birding triumph
The yellow wattlebird was firmly in my sights when I first arrived in Tasmania 20 years ago, the biggest of the honeyeaters and a species found nowhere else on earth. Swotting up on its song, however, I was a little shocked to learn that it was described in a bird book as sounding like someone “vomiting”. Indeed, local birders had dubbed it the “chuck bird”. I soon discovered what they were talking about. To this day I call it the “hangover honeyeater’’ after a memorable … [Read more...] about Half century of birding triumph
Eager students lend a hand
In leafy Tasmania with its constant background sound of birdsong it is hard to imagine a world without trees or birds. But the image of a contrasting dystopian world was revealed by a Chinese student last month who had arrived at the banks of the Sandy Bay Rivulet to lend a hand in a conservation project. The student was not being critical of her country, just agreeing with a talk I had just delivered to the Friends of the Sandy Bay Rivulet and their helpers undertaking weed … [Read more...] about Eager students lend a hand
Sound of silence as migrants leave
On the last day of summer two weeks ago, I found the woods and forests strangely silent. Although the approach of winter usually comes slowly in our valley, some beautiful warm and sunny days making a mockery of the seasons, this year summer appeared to slip from my grasp, as if overnight. I had given my usual bird-watching spot, the Waterworks Reserve, a miss for a week while each day I walked along the foreshore of Sandy Bay and Taroona, following in the footsteps of … [Read more...] about Sound of silence as migrants leave