The biggest citizen science project to hit Australian shores, the Aussie Backyard Bird Count, is taking place from October 20-26 and Tasmanians are being urged to join in. Thousands of people from across the country are heading into their backyards, local parks or their favourite open spaces to conduct a census of our birds. The event is the first of its kind in the country and it draws its inspiration from the Big Garden Birdwatch in Britain, which each year has about … [Read more...] about Citizen science aids birds
On The Wing
Passport to birdland
Birdland is a magical place where it’s possible to escape all the pressures and stresses of the environment of the city created and inhabited by one species – humans – and immerse yourself in a less one-dimensional world. Birdland is nowhere in particular, and does not have to be special or noteworthy. It could be in the wildest of wild forest, or in suburbia. It could be a pristine beach, a few hectares of eucalypt woodland, or a neatly manicured city park. It could be a backyard. That’s the magic of birds; they bring beauty and wonder to every corner of the planet, wild or untamed, and my On the Wing writing is their celebration.
Lewin’s rail brings birthday surprise
MY birthday this year coincided with the two-monthly meeting of BirdLife Tasmania and I was faced with a dilemma: enjoy a celebratory evening with my family or hear a talk on endangered species. I chose the latter. As I explained to my wife and son, I’ve reached the age when birthdays are not a time for celebration and, anyway, BirdLife Tasmania meetings always turn up something interesting, a sort of celebration in themselves. This year it looked like the meeting might … [Read more...] about Lewin’s rail brings birthday surprise
Rare pardalotes in need of help
A new generation of 40-spotted pardalotes has been roaming the white gum woodlands of Bruny Island scouting nesting sites for the breeding season. The young pardalotes are the product of an ambitious program last year to supply 200 nest boxes to help halt the staggering decline in the numbers of these tiny birds, which are only found in Tasmania. The program is being run over four years by bird researcher Amanda Edworthy, with the aim of not only giving the pardalotes … [Read more...] about Rare pardalotes in need of help
Birds fly back in time
New Holland honeyeaters squabbling with brush wattlebirds over the nectar and pollen of a winter-flowering grevillea, forest ravens crossing the sky and the distant “clink, clink” of the clinking currawong. Not much had changed in 177 years, from the time that Captain Andrew Haig built an elegant home, Narryna, on Hampden Rd in Battery Point. I must have passed the house built in the Greek Revival style a hundred times over the years and never ventured in but that … [Read more...] about Birds fly back in time
A simple twist of fate
A REVIEWER described the latest phase of Bob Dylan’s career as a bit like bird-watching. You spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen, but if you're lucky you experience an occasional moment of true magic. It was like killing two birds with one stone, a birdwatcher marking time before the Melbourne leg of Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour 2014, and seeing a kookaburra spear a hapless sparrow on the St Kilda Waterfront. A simple twist of fate. Until reading the review … [Read more...] about A simple twist of fate