LOOK again when a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos passes overhead because there might be a crafty white goshawk travelling with them. My amateur research into the behaviour of white goshawks in my valley has taught me that they can sometimes be found in association with cockies – if not at the heart of the flock, at its fringe. And what is surprising is the white cockies appear to tolerate these usurpers even though all my bird books suggest that the fearsome predator … [Read more...] about Goshawks get cocky
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.
Owl hunt turns out to be a hoot
The blood-curdling screams rang out across Ridgeway high above Hobart, carrying as far as the Waterworks Reserve in the valley below. Blood-curdling and spine-chilling. That’s no exaggeration when describing the cry of the masked owl especially, as on this occasion, it was being magnified four or five times by the use of a loud-hailer. An “Owls in the Spotlight” event had been organised by the Ridgeway Bushcare group and the city council’s Bush Adventures program and as I … [Read more...] about Owl hunt turns out to be a hoot
The art of nature
Do birds find me, or do I find them? I’ve never been able to work it out but it seems no matter where I go, in the most unlikely of places, interesting species turn up. This thought came to mind on a rare non-birding outing last month when I took the recently-launched MR-1 ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art at Berriedale. Until that time, I must have been the only person in Tasmania not to have visited MONA. “And you can leave the binoculars at home, this is going to … [Read more...] about The art of nature
Freckled sighting a rare joy
I put my twitcher’s hat on recently and went in search of one of Australia’s rarest ducks, and certainly the rarest to be seen in Tasmanian waters. The birding wires were running hot at the end of March with the sighting of four freckled ducks at Gould’s Lagoon at Austins Ferry. My twitching days are long behind me and I don’t usually go in search of birds merely to “tick” in a notebook, the first for a city or state list, or even country. “Plenty of freckled … [Read more...] about Freckled sighting a rare joy
Chill winds call migrants north
The dusky woodswallows were active and twitchy, soaring into the sky to snatch at the last of the summer’s flying insects. In the upper bare branches of a dead gum they were joined by tree martins. The two species jockeyed for position, the martins coming off worst. When a woodswallow returned from a sortie, the smaller martins had to make way for it. Perhaps it was just me, but I sensed the two species were looking north as autumn got seriously underway, they certainly … [Read more...] about Chill winds call migrants north