Time and place, birds are a living link with history. The Tasmanian birdsong that lifts our spirits each day is the very refrain heard by the first people to inhabit these lands 40,000 years ago, the first European explorers (Charles Darwin among them) and the others who have shaped our history. When I refer to time and place I mean that no two places in the world have the same birds. It’s always been that way. The birds of Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane are … [Read more...] about A conversation on birds
New Nature Writing
I strayed from the path of traditional, or pastoral, nature writing years ago when I discovered not only urban landscapes rich in wildlife, but anthropomorphism, irony, and bottles of red wine and bourbon with birds on their labels. As a young reporter, I had been impressed by the New Journalism of the 1960s which took reporting into the realm of the novel and short-story and a few decades on I found what were termed New Nature Writers breaking with tradition and exploring similar territory.
Although I still treasure the book that was my introduction to words about nature, Gilbert White’s The Natural History of Selbourne published in 1788, I now find inspiration in one of the new journalists, Hunter S Thompson. Thompson might not have written of nature as such but his words “I write with rage and ink” have an irresistible resonance that carries far beyond the suburbs to the wooded hills of the horizon.
Penguins under pressure from selfie craze
Stanley, North-West Tasmania - It’s just after sunset and tourists have gathered to see a popular wildlife attraction - penguins emerging from the ocean. Travelling from surf to sand is always a difficult journey for the penguins but in recent years another hazard has emerged to join the menace of dogs, cats and even traffic on roads adjoining penguin colonies. It is the mobile phone. A craze for “selfies” is riding the waves at tourist locations where the penguins are the … [Read more...] about Penguins under pressure from selfie craze
The Birdbath
AMID the flutter, the vibrancy of life, John Simmonds was thinking of death. If he believed the television screen in the corner of his room, life was all smiles and blue skies. It was spirited, lively, action-packed and fast-paced with happy endings. And here he was in a wheelchair, a paraplegic. John Simmonds, tired of television, would look out of his window at the birdbath positioned in the centre of the garden lawn. Over the years he increasingly looked to the … [Read more...] about The Birdbath
Last stop on the shimmering way
A PEREGRINE falcon witnessed Stan Jones’ last journey on the 296 bus. A black cockatoo and a butcherbird were there, too; providing a fitting and appropriate send-off for a man who flew with them in his thoughts daily, at least until today. Stan Jones was retiring after a life on the road. It had been a good life because most days he drove the Opossum Bay bus out of Hobart. For 40 years the bus driver had told his passengers they were on the greatest, most beautiful, most … [Read more...] about Last stop on the shimmering way
Ley lines plot a flight of fancy
Over millennia, the rich diversity of birds inhabiting the Hobart area have followed ancient ley lines shaped by the landscape and the seasons. The first Tasmanians, the Muwinina people, and Charles Darwin in his ascent of kunanyi/Mt Wellington followed them, too. And even today the marathon runners participating in the Point to Pinnacle share the same route negotiated in spring by migrating crescent honeyeaters and eastern spinebills, moving from winter territories near … [Read more...] about Ley lines plot a flight of fancy