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
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.
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
Cuckoos only doing what comes naturally
The strident, piercing one-note call came from within the vines sweeping away from the Frogmore Creek winery to the Coal River estuary in the distance. It was a song I had not heard for a number of years and I went in search of its source, standing at the edge of the lawns surrounding the winery’s restaurant to gaze deep into the rows of vines, lush and green after good spring rains. “Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo” I said to myself, and then cursed the fact that I had not … [Read more...] about Cuckoos only doing what comes naturally
Carrier pigeon flies from the past
The discovery of a dead World War II carrier pigeon – still with its coded message strapped to its leg – has made headlines around the world but the story also carries a strange echo from another age to current-day Hobart. The pigeon was found in the chimney of an old house being renovated south of London and WWII historians say it might have been flying home from British units in France about the time of the Normandylandings in 1944. The news story, appearing in newspapers … [Read more...] about Carrier pigeon flies from the past
A Christmas present on the mountain
I looked a little out of place on the mountain – black street shoes, neatly-pressed grey trousers, light blue button-down shirt, no hat or drink bottle. I had intended to go Christmas shopping but on my way to town I met a birdwatcher who said that the showy shrub, Christmas bush, was in bloom on Mt Wellington. The sun was shining after a day of rain and I couldn’t resist driving to the Springs to have a look at these tall, leafy shrubs that always flower towards the end of … [Read more...] about A Christmas present on the mountain