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Donald Knowler

Dancing on the Edge of the World

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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.

Bruny bird festival takes flight again

July 14, 2012 Don Knowler

40spot-for-don

Bird festivals have become an international phenomenon in recent years but there is only one that can lay claim to having an endangered bird literally on its doorstep. The Bruny Island Bird Festival might not be the biggest -  that honour goes to Birdfair in Britain which attracts more than  20,000 birders annually – but it can boast not just lectures and bird tours, but a sighting of the forty-spotted pardalote.  “Forty-spot” is one of the rarest birds in world with its … [Read more...] about Bruny bird festival takes flight again

On The Wing

Lament for a life lost

July 7, 2012 Don Knowler

rosella-for-don

Black cockatoos – their mournful cry carrying far and wide –  intruded on a day which should have been free of birds, one devoted to another favourite subject of mine, Victorian history. I was in the middle of a tourist presentation called Louisa’s Walk, a stroll intoTasmania’s convict past that embraces the Cascades Gardens in South Hobart and the nearby site of the Cascade Women’s Factory, when the yellow-tailed black cockatoos paid our party a call. The life of Irish … [Read more...] about Lament for a life lost

On The Wing

Hoon ravens crave to settle down

June 30, 2012 Don Knowler

raven-for-don-new

LIFE isn’t all fun and games for the gangs of ravens we seen going around town in huge flocks during the winter months. The ravens are mainly juveniles flexing their muscles, and wings, for a winter and spring of mayhem before attempting to find mates and settle down to family life. This aspect of raven behaviour has been described by scientists as a sort of mobile discotheque  – with groups of young males fighting for dominance and females trying to find mates.  The latest … [Read more...] about Hoon ravens crave to settle down

On The Wing

Currawongs in the picture

June 23, 2012 Don Knowler

currawong-for-don

ARTIST Bobby-Z Lambert gets a little help from his friends during the long and lonely hours he spends at the easel in his studio. The life of a painter can be a solitary one and it is not unusual to see pictures of artists with perhaps a cat, or a patient dog, amid the pots of paint and jars holding brushes. The great Rembrant might have had  his favourite cat alongside him, but Bobby-Z chooses a feathered friend to go with his setting. Or should I say friends, because it … [Read more...] about Currawongs in the picture

On The Wing

Tracks to oblivion

June 16, 2012 Don Knowler

devilfordon

The hollows in the stony beach – from which hunting Aborigines once launched ambushes on seals – were not too difficult to find. I had been told what to look out for on a track along the Tarkine coast and I set out at dawn one morning to scour the beach for them. A flock of  white-fronted chats were calling as they searched for invertebrates among kelp and chestnut teals were riding the waves in a rocky inlet as I cast my gaze over a beach of grey boulders the size of a … [Read more...] about Tracks to oblivion

On The Wing

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PUBLISHED BOOKS

The Shy Mountain

shy mountain

Silent and brooding, the Shy Mountain does not have to speak her name. We know she’s there, watching … [Read More...]

The Falconer of Central Park

Although written more than 30 years ago, The Falconer of Central Park has remained popular ever … [Read More...]

Riding the Devil’s Highway

Tasmania might be known internationally as the home of the Hollywood cartoon character, Taz, based … [Read More...]

Dancing on the Edge of the World

Dancing on the edge of the World by Donald Knowler

Dancing on the Edge of the World is a collection of essays that had their genesis in the “On the … [Read More...]

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