THEY stand sentinel over the Huon Valley, perched on fence posts along the long and winding road that drops down from the high country to Huonville and beyond. I always see brown falcons on this route and they bring a welcome distraction from what might well be an extraction at the dentist’s down the road. My dentist has a surgery in Huonville – having transferred there from his previous base in Sandy Bay– and for my visits to him at least I have the probable sight of the … [Read more...] about Extraction distraction
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.
The great cassowary hunt
THE search for one of Australia's rarest birds, the southern cassowary, started excitedly one steamy, sultry afternoon at Mission Beach in far-north Queensland – and ended with a shock. The cassowary is a species that every birdwatcher worth his or her salt inAustralia must see at some time in their life and on a summer holiday in tropical climes I decided I would be reacquainted with this remarkable bird after seeing it briefly when I lived in Townsville a decade … [Read more...] about The great cassowary hunt
Feeling the heat
“Phew, what a scorcher” is a headline that came to mind, the sort of thing I would have written during my days as a wordsmith on a tabloid daily newspaper in London. It was the hottest day on record in Hobart – a staggering 41.8 degrees Celsius – and I headed to Mt Wellington in search of cool air, and birds. I was disappointed to find that the Pinnacle Road up the mountain was closed because of the extreme fire risk and settled instead for a sheltered and moist gully … [Read more...] about Feeling the heat
A myna inconvenience
A sulphur-crested cockatoo in a pet shop across the road from the newspaper where I started out as a young reporter gave me my first “scoop” when it was banished to a back office for using insulting language to customers. Neither the shocked owner of the pet shop nor my editor was to know it but I and my young colleagues had been responsible for teaching the “cocky” the bad language in the first place. We were merely introducing the bird to some of the interesting … [Read more...] about A myna inconvenience
Woodswallows complete the summer picture
The final piece of the summer jigsaw was put in place over the Christmas period when a party of dusky woodswallows came into view in the Tamar Valley. It proved to be a magical day, sealing what had been a magical year in a setting that only Tasmania could offer. The round of family visits had taken us first to the Eastern Shore in Hobart and then north to Launceston. As usual, I had kept an eye open for birds on my family’s travels: musk lorikeets in Howrah and sooty … [Read more...] about Woodswallows complete the summer picture