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Handsome, striking; a male peregrine falcon, the fastest creature known to nature, perched amid the tangle and chaos of the human world, sitting atop a lamp tower on the Tasman Bridge. He sits upright, jerking his head about him. Looking up, looking down, his eyes following the flight of starlings arrowing towards their winter night roosts on the bridge’s concrete spans. They are returning at day’s end from feeding forays into the country. The starlings know the peregrine … [Read more...] about Chaotic world belonging to man and beast

My television birdwatching has reached new heights in recent weeks with the return of Game of Thrones. To be honest, I’m more of a Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul viewer myself with a little “Nordic noir” thrown in, and I had so far resisted the demands of my family to make each episode of the fantasy saga a family experience. That was until I heard the cry of a raven. My ears pricked up and I was hooked. By some remarkable coincidence – although in my experience, … [Read more...] about No dark wings and dark words here

Each year birdwatchers in Tasmania set out to monitor populations of migratory shorebirds – and each year they record staggering declines in numbers of these remarkable birds. BirdLife Tasmania has in fact the longest data sets of shorebird numbers stretching back more than 40 years. These figures make sobering reading. One species of the group of birds commonly called waders, the curlew sandpiper, is hardly ever recorded in Tasmania these days, after being counted in the … [Read more...] about Wader counts make sobering reading

Standing at the summit of the Glenorchy tip to the north of Hobart with grey clouds over the mountain threatening snow, it occurred to me there was a downside to birding. Once upon a time it was enough to just watch birds, and revel in the beauty of their plumage and sweet melodies. Now it’s incumbent on the birder to also engage in citizen science to record bird numbers, especially of the many species decreasing in population across the country. So on a winter’s day here I … [Read more...] about Numbers holding but gulls not in good shape

A few years ago a bird of prey feared by my neighbourhood songsters stopped visiting my garden and I had my suspicions as to the reason why. At the time wildlife biologist Nick Mooney was warning that a new range of anticoagulant rodenticides were taking a toll on birds of prey. Mooney said that a more powerful second generation of the rodenticides which hit with a single dose had replaced a slow-acting earlier version. Both the rodenticides were still on the market, and … [Read more...] about Raptors face rat-poison peril