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It’s the most spectacular of Tasmania’s birds. A gem of a creature which sparkles and shines as it dashes about the state’s West Coast waterways. The azure kingfisher has always been in my sights but for years I had not had the opportunity to search for it, beyond a cursory hunt along the banks of the Gordon River out of Strahan one summer. Now the hunt was on in Bathurst Harbour in the far south-west with tourist cruise operator, Pieter van der Woude, whom I think was as … [Read more...] about Stunned by a flash of light

Although the early bird is said to catch the worm, it was not be at the Waterworks Reserve a few weeks ago. I’m usually a late starter but I had set out ultra-early to do some reconnaissance for a pair of American birders who wanted to see some of our endemic species. I had in mind both the beautiful and the curious, like the green rosella and the “turbo-chook”, the Tasmanian native-hen, but I was soon stopped in my tracks by a possible sighting of one of the less … [Read more...] about A song of sadness rises from the woods

The swift parrot flew in its hundreds of thousands when the Mercury first hit the streets of Hobart 170 years ago this month. The white gums on the Domain were alive with the now endangered forty-spotted pardalote and, over the river on the eastern shore, the Tasmanian emu dodged hunting parties across the coastal plains of Rokeby before becoming extinct. The Mercury has been celebrating its 170th milestone and the replica pages produced by the newspaper have revealed how … [Read more...] about Tasmanian emu consigned to pages of history

The calming effects of birdsong and the health benefits of a walk in the woods have now been found to provide a refuge for students suffering from anxiety and stress in the computer age. Research into what the Japanese call “forest bathing” has in the past been directed at adults and the benefits derived from exposure to nature as a whole. Now researchers in the United States have looked at how under-pressure students can benefit from not just immersion in the world of … [Read more...] about Students turn to birds for mental health

My backyard buddies were there for me on the shortest day of the year, lifting my spirits as I headed out into the cold. The winter solstice rite I call it, summoning all my energy to do a lengthy bird count in the garden as I sense the cosmic tide is turning, winter is on the way out, spring beckons. I don’t need my watch, or the calendar to feel change in the air. There’s something innate and primordial, visceral, that sets my seasonal body clock. It’s most apparent in … [Read more...] about Birdsong greets the winter solstice