The little black cormorants were riding the surf. Strange to see them behaving in such a way. Usually they sit low on calm, open waters but on this spring morning they appeared a mirror image of the human surfers catching the waves all around them. Although at first I thought the cormorants were merely at play like the surfers at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, I soon realised there was method in their spring madness. As the waves swept towards them, the cormorants suddenly … [Read more...] about The ocean delivers its treasures
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.
Miners put on a noisy show
A pair of noisy miners outside the Eastlands Shopping Centre were living up to their name. An unbelievably loud “pwee pwee pwee’’ resonated across the tables of the alfresco dining area of a restaurant there, making it impossible for me to hear what a relative I had met for coffee was saying. Each morning in summer and spring, I was told, the noisy miners woke him at dawn. Only this was not spring, it was barely into the last month of winter. The hint of spring carried on … [Read more...] about Miners put on a noisy show
Cockies prove they’re not bird brains
The cockies that bring mayhem and mischief to our valley in winter have left for breeding grounds in the upper Derwent Valley and it’s a relief not to hear their squawking, screaming and general carrying on. After they arrive in autumn, the cockies raid fruit trees in gardens and also attack wooden roofs, presumably to sharpen their beaks. But the antics of the hundreds of cockies which roost at night in the Waterworks Reserve from about May to the end of August have … [Read more...] about Cockies prove they’re not bird brains
Swallows make a welcome return
They’re back. The welcome swallows have returned to the Waterworks Reserve. Most years I can set my calendar by them, always turning up in the first few says of September although last year they were about a week late for reasons I could not determine. At the end of August I always watch for them, just in case they make an earlier than usual return, along with the traditional early trans-state migrants, the striated pardalote and the fan-tailed cuckoo. An entry always goes … [Read more...] about Swallows make a welcome return
Spring is magpie attack time
It’s that time of the year when magpies start to show their belligerent and rowdy side – and I’m not talking about Collingwood supporters. The comparison might seem a little unfair coming from a St Kilda devotee but the Collingwood joke always appears to emerge when I mention magpies and their apparent aggressiveness during AFL finals time at the start of spring. And so it was in the last week of August when I toured an infamous magpie “war-zone”, Clarence St on the Eastern … [Read more...] about Spring is magpie attack time