ON a British winter’s day, as cold as it gets, I finally put to the test the only piece of scientific research I have ever conducted – to address the notion that European blackbirds introduced to Australia in Victorian times have developed an Australian accent. Anecdotal evidence of the “okker” blackbirds has long fascinated me and over time I have attempted to determine whether it is true or not from the Australian end – namely by getting friends over in Britain to dangle … [Read more...] about Okker Aussie blackbirds sing own song
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.
If wetlands go, birds will follow
BIRDWATCHERS gathered on wetlands across Australia earlier this month for a “farewell to shorebirds” celebration to send the migratory waders on their way to breeding grounds on the other side of the world. But in truth there was not much to celebrate. Shorebird numbers are in freefall because of the draining and degradation of the wetlands in which they live over their whole migratory range, which stretches from the far south of Tasmania to breeding grounds within the … [Read more...] about If wetlands go, birds will follow
A quest for birding fame
The Inverawe Native Gardens were looking for their 100th bird species and I thought I’d get a feather in my cap by spotting it. My mission had started earlier in the year when I noted from the gardens’ newsletter that species 98 and 99 had turned up at the gardens at Margate and the owners, Bill and Margaret Chestnut, were excitedly anticipating what in cricket parlance would be a ton. I thought that with a little research, and hard work on the spot, I might record the … [Read more...] about A quest for birding fame
When nature calls
I had my Local Hero moment in the lonely, sea-washed phone box at AdventureBay on BrunyIsland one morning, a phone call to the metropolis that became a communication with nature. For those who don’t know of the film Local Hero, it tells of a young American oil company executive who is sent to Scotland to persuade the residents of a remote, picturesque fishing village to sell up so a giant oil refinery can be built on their ancestral land. To take orders in secret from head … [Read more...] about When nature calls
New magpie kids on the block
There’s some new kids on the block in our neighbourhood and they’re causing a stir in the treetops. The new arrivals are a mob of young magpies who seem determined to throw their weight around in the Waterworks Valley where I live. I discovered one of the magpies early in the summer when I heard the unfamiliar flute-like magpie song. I say unfamiliar because the magpie is rarely seen in the largely wet forest of the Waterworks Valley, preferring the dry woodlands nearer … [Read more...] about New magpie kids on the block