To employ a totally over-used pun when it comes to bird-watching, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone by joining the great swift parrot hunt on the mainland this autumn. I had missed out on seeing swift parrots in Tasmania – the only place they nest – last breeding season and so I thought I’d seize the opportunity of finding them in their winter habitat on the south-eastern mainland. At the same time, I’d do a little bit of citizen science by adding to a census on … [Read more...] about The great swift parrot hunt
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.
Speaking on behalf of the birds
The ornate room in City Hall seemed a long way from the bucolic beauty of the Waterworks Valley. And the speech I was about to deliver to a meeting of the City of Hobart’s planning committee was a long way from the arcane language of development matters. Instead of discussing discretionary uses, zones and permits I had decided to speak on behalf of the birds. I would be their representative in a hearing devoted to a proposal to build a cluster of houses on a leafy block … [Read more...] about Speaking on behalf of the birds
Birds and all that ‘jizz’
Birdwatchers use a term with ANZAC roots – Jizz – to identify birds that at first sight may look similar. The acronym is actually GISS (General Impression of Shape and Size) and this was a vital aid in helping the Diggers and Australian air and naval crews distinguish between Japanese planes and those of the allies during the Second World War. In birding terms, the more informal Jizz helps to separate similar species by focusing less on shape and markings and more on … [Read more...] about Birds and all that ‘jizz’
Double trouble for plovers
The New Zealand travel bubble might have started to much fanfare but for some trans-Tasman travellers it has never applied. A small shorebird from New Zealand, the double-banded plover, has not only defied travel restrictions, it has defied the laws of migration which generally sees birds travel north in autumn. The New Zealand waders travel in the opposite direction, from alpine areas on that country’s South Island to Tasmanian shores. From about April to September, … [Read more...] about Double trouble for plovers
Striated pardalotes in search of the sun
The clocks had gone back, darkness fell earlier and all of a sudden I felt a chill in my bones, and a flock of departing summer visitors, striated pardalotes, could feel it too. As I contemplated the looming winter, the pardalotes were on their way back to the mainland, travelling as far north as the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, if not further. All spring and summer their incessant “pick-me-up” triple-syllable song had bounced across my garden and through my home and … [Read more...] about Striated pardalotes in search of the sun