Feathers are still flying over foreign “interference” in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest. The 2023 prize went to a bird also found in Australia after a surprise intervention by the host of a top-ranking American television talk show, John Oliver. The winner was the puteketeke, known as the great-crested grebe in Australian waters, and in my annual prize for the top bird story of the year the graceful bird comes out tops. The New Zealand bird contest has long been … [Read more...] about Bird of year campaign accused on foul ploy
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.
Christmas tradition strictly for the birds
Every Christmas Day I set off with my binoculars to take part in a Yuletide tradition unknown to Australians. It’s called the Christmas Bird Count and for more than a century it was been celebrated among birders in the United States with the same gusto which in other western countries is reserved for turkey and mince pies. The count doesn’t actually have to take place on the big day. Any convenient date within the week of Christmas will do. The Christmas holiday in the … [Read more...] about Christmas tradition strictly for the birds
Cancelled – Wilson’s glorious warbler
A hand-coloured engraving of a passenger pigeon hangs above the desk in my study. It’s one of my most prized possessions, bought on a whim when I lived in New York in celebration of a hero of mine at the time, a Scottish artist and poet named Alexander Wilson. The Scotsman chronicled the great migrations of the now extinct pigeon and gave his name to several bird species, among them Wilson’s warbler which I just happened to see in Central Park on the day I bought the … [Read more...] about Cancelled – Wilson’s glorious warbler
Masked lapwings safe in the shadows
Two plovers stood looking forlorn on a patch of grass off Davey Street. Just a day previously I had seen the plover pair with two chicks and now the young were nowhere to be seen. I feared the worst. It’s not unusual to see masked lapwings – to give them their common name outside of Tasmania – raising young in the most unlikely of places. We all have plover stories at this time of year. They nest on grass verges, the fringes of football fields and even on the open, grassy … [Read more...] about Masked lapwings safe in the shadows
A battle in the bottlebrushes
A New Holland honeyeater made the most of early-flowering crimson bottlebrushes in a cottage garden one fine spring day. The honeyeater chirped with excitement as it flitted from flower to flower, dipping its head between the spiky petals. Golden pollen clung to its black-and-white head so it looked like a different species. A larger and more aggressive yellow wattlebird watched what the new holland was up to and muscled in, out to claim the pollen and nectar treasure as … [Read more...] about A battle in the bottlebrushes