The coots on the twin Waterworks reservoirs were behaving in a dilly, odd way. Chasing each other furiously, coming face to face and then shaking their heads, dunking bills into the water and sending up a spray of droplets. Suddenly I realised that there was a reason for the madness. Spring was in the air. Although in the dying days of July it was a little early for the season of rejuvenation and romance, the sun strong warm and hard after days of torrential rain. The … [Read more...] about Coots spring into romance
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.
Gold at the end of the birding rainbow
A pair of French “twitchers” happily photographing a tawny frogmouth in the Waterworks Reserve gave weight to a news item I had just read reporting that birdwatching tourism was pumping billions of dollars into the Australian economy. Usually the wave of international birders comes in spring and this pair of enthusiasts had arrived later, in autumn, still hoping to find the 12 endemic species that makes Tasmania special. They found six in the Waterworks, along with a … [Read more...] about Gold at the end of the birding rainbow
Black-headed honeyeaters back in town
The black-headed honeyeaters are back. All winter I’ve been hearing their “peep-peep” call after they fell silent in recent years. Once they had provided the background sound of my garden, the song also accompanying me along the routes of my favourite walks on the lower slopes of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. During the annual bird walks I lead for my local Landcare group, the honeyeaters had also proved a talking point if other birds had failed to show. Even without seeing … [Read more...] about Black-headed honeyeaters back in town
Goose almost cooked but it’s been saved
Tigers, lions and a gorilla named Guy. There was much to hold a schoolboy spellbound in the London Zoo. The schoolboy’s focus, though, was firmly on a curious goose, grey in feather with a striking green patch of bare skin on its beak. The label attached to the wire of the wildfowl aviary revealed the goose had a place in the zoo collection just as important as the bigger, more dramatic bird and animal exhibits representing the wide world of nature. The goose from a … [Read more...] about Goose almost cooked but it’s been saved
Pardalotes warm to the idea of a Tasmanian winter
United States President Donald Trump might describe climate change as a “hoax” but rising temperatures are certainly having an impact on the environment across the world, including in Tasmania. Tropical fish not usually found this far south are turning up in Tasmanian waters, little penguins are struggling to find fish that are vanishing from a warming ocean, and migratory birds are increasingly staying put instead of heading north in winter. One migrant that is apparently … [Read more...] about Pardalotes warm to the idea of a Tasmanian winter