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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.

The twitcher’s curse

March 8, 2019 Don Knowler

A magpie-lark strutting about the walkways and car park of the marina at Prince of Wales Bay has created a stir in the twitcher-sphere. The sighting in Derwent Park of the species, which is usually seen on the mainland, was first reported by the twitcher’s bible, the Eremaea birdline website, in January and again in person to me when Pieter van der Woude, who runs wildlife cruises to Bathurst Harbour and Port Davey, saw the bird late last month at his mooring at the … [Read more...] about The twitcher’s curse

On The Wing

Mixed fortunes for swallows

March 2, 2019 Don Knowler

A 19-year connection with a family of swallows looked to be broken in the early spring when I found the nest they had used year after year wrecked by vandals. The mud-cup nest rested on a roof beam within one of the BBQ shelters at the Waterworks Reserve and over time the family building it each year had survived trials and tribulations – storm and tempest and human disturbance – to always produce young. This year all seemed to be going to plan, even if the remains of last … [Read more...] about Mixed fortunes for swallows

On The Wing

Birdwatching in style

February 23, 2019 Don Knowler

A party of black-faced cuckoo-shrikes fluttered in undulating flight across an impossibly blue sky as I tucked into my treat for the day, a lemonade scone served with cream and strawberry jam. I was birdwatching in style, taking morning coffee at the Mt Nelson Signal Station restaurant and at the same time enjoying a feast of birds passing the veranda where I was seated with a birding buddy, Denis Abbott. The great thing about bird-watching in Hobart is it’s possible to put … [Read more...] about Birdwatching in style

On The Wing

Lorikeets on the wrong side of the tracks

February 16, 2019 Don Knowler

As a fiery sun vanished behind the palm trees bordering Luna Park in Melbourne, rainbow lorikeets were putting on an equally spectacular show, as they always do at sunset. Noisy and pushy; they jostled for position in prime roosting sites among the fronds, oblivious to mayhem on a slightly different scale taking place just below them as the lively and eccentric St Kilda residents positioned themselves for the evening that lie ahead. I love Acland St with its cake shops by … [Read more...] about Lorikeets on the wrong side of the tracks

On The Wing

Albatrocity on the high seas

February 9, 2019 Don Knowler

The Wooden Boat Festival has come around again, an event I always associate with the legendary bird of the southern oceans, the albatross. It’s easy to see why – during the 2013 festival I actually saw the lanky shape of a shy albatross not 40 metres off-shore of the Hobart docks.. I thought at the time the albatross would make an apt symbol for the festival, particularly the shy albatross which breeds exclusively on just a few Tasmanian islands. I had been told … [Read more...] about Albatrocity on the high seas

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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