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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.

Hopes rise for orange-bellied parrots

June 19, 2020 Don Knowler

For the first time in a decade more than 100 orange-bellied parrots have travelled from Tasmania’s south-west to their wintering grounds along the Victorian and South Australian coasts. But the joy of researchers and volunteers at seeing a dramatic rise in the population of the critically-endangered species has been tempered by the restrictions placed on the movement of mainland birders who are critical to monitoring the parrots during the winter months. All the same, such … [Read more...] about Hopes rise for orange-bellied parrots

On The Wing

Woodswallows on their way

June 6, 2020 Don Knowler

The flight of the woodswallows passed me by this year, Coronavirus isolation cutting short my own flight to even near-distant places. The migrant dusky woodswallows come through on migration in spring and autumn but it is the movement prior to winter that attracts attention. This is the time when the woodswallows fly high in the sky, wheeling and turning in their rapid hunt for flying insects. In contrast, at the height of the breeding season in summer they tend to keep a … [Read more...] about Woodswallows on their way

On The Wing

Crumb of comfort for sparrows

May 29, 2020 Don Knowler

The pandemic period of self-isolation has forced me to pay attention to birds I do not usually give a second glance – house sparrows. Peering out of the window, watching the cheeky sparrows squabbling on the garden lawn one autumnal afternoon, I suddenly realised I had never determined what sparrows actually eat, beyond their cadging crumbs inside and outside Banjo’s bakery in Salamanca Square. I have written in the past of the smart, crafty sparrows working out how the … [Read more...] about Crumb of comfort for sparrows

On The Wing

Eastern koel in the ‘twitchersphere’

May 22, 2020 Don Knowler

A group of bird nerds – popularly known as “twitchers” – were all a twitter last month when a species normally seen in the tropics and sub-tropics, the eastern koel, was heard calling from a tree in Hobart. An office worker who grew up in northern New South Wales heard the distinctive, far-carrying cry of a koel while eating a sandwich in the heart of the city, Franklin Square. There could be no mistake about the source of the loud, ascending call which usually rings out as … [Read more...] about Eastern koel in the ‘twitchersphere’

On The Wing

Black swans receive a bad press

May 16, 2020 Don Knowler

The elegant black swans which gather in their hundreds on the Bridgewater stretch of the Derwent at this time of year have certainly been given a bad press during the Coronavirus crisis. How come the pandemic ravaging the world has been called a “black swan” event? The global chaos has nothing to do with swans, of course. The devastating virus causing havoc throughout the world in recent months is also not related to the “bird flu” which struck some years back. The term … [Read more...] about Black swans receive a bad press

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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