I scattered the berries of native cheery in my garden at the start of winter in the hope they would grow, not realising at the time that I was making a fashion statement of sorts. Gardens come in many shapes and sizes – or should I say styles – and I have never set out to make radical change to the ones I have inherited over the years when I have changed homes. I’ve been content to leave things as they are. All the same I have made a study of the history of gardening, and … [Read more...] about A natural attraction
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.
Birds-eye view of history
The rising sun had painted the sky in hues of pinks and blues, and I was walking a beach thinking of another time, if not another place. It was the year of 1832, and a fearsome dog called Jowler was tugging at its chains, trying to chase a hooded plover straying a little too close to its kennel. My thoughts had wandered like my footprints in the wet sand at Eaglehawk Neck’s sweeping beach, where I had gone in search of Tasmania’s convict history, putting … [Read more...] about Birds-eye view of history
Birds and humans flock together
OUR connection with the birds all around us can be found in the strangest of places but none as strange as the workings of a mechanical excavator. I had a curious bird-watching experience at the end of winter when contractors arrived to shore up the elevated dirt drive of my home, which after heavy rains had begun to subside into my garden. I watched in fascination all morning at the skill of the excavator operator as he dug a trench in the narrow confines of our drive, … [Read more...] about Birds and humans flock together
Cuckoos hatch a dastardly plan
The fan-tailed cuckoo sat low in a white peppermint gum on the slopes of Mt Wellington, surveying the steep hillside that fell away before him. Unlike me, he was not there for the view. He was hatching a dastardly plan. I had heard the trilling, descending song of the cuckoo as I searched for a Bassian thrush’s nest I had discovered last year near Sphinx Rock half-way up the mountain and was wondering if the birds would use the same site again. At first I didn’t stop to try … [Read more...] about Cuckoos hatch a dastardly plan
Spring arrives on swallows’ wings
The welcome swallows were late in making an appearance in my valley this year – September 3rd instead of September 2nd. Spring might officially arrive on the first day of September but on the Knowler calendar it is always the second day of September. Only once in a decade have the swallows missed their deadline and that was an exceptional year with storms and southerly winds in the first week of September which no doubt halted the swallows’ progress from their wintering … [Read more...] about Spring arrives on swallows’ wings