A bird of the beach, the white-fronted chat, scurried through the long grass surrounding the house that is home to the Bruny Island Men’s Shed. A chilly wind was blowing in off the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, whipping white horses on the grey seas. A wisp of smoke rising from the shed’s chimney, and a steaming kettle on a bench misting the windows of the house’s kitchen told me it was the place to be on a rainy autumnal day. I ignored the chats, and a gannet bobbing up and … [Read more...] about Nest boxes hit the spot
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.
A life lived in full colour
The green rosella gently picking at the seeds of a yellow bottlebrush in my garden carried a stature and grace about it that told of a long life well lived. I had learned during the summer months that the brighter the colours of a rosella, the older the bird and the bright colour of this old fella – especially the bright yellow on the breast and underbelly and iridescent blue in the wings – certainly suggested he had reached an age that in humans is marked by … [Read more...] about A life lived in full colour
Goshawks get cocky
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
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