The pastel-yellow flowers of bottlebrushes swaying in the breeze, and clinging to them, silvereyes. The silvereyes perform like tiny acrobatics on the trapeze, hanging upside down at times, before letting go, righting themselves in mid-flight and then reaching out with their claws to grab another cluster of flowers. I watch the silvereyes performing their manoeuvres for hours, I should be working at the computer terminal in my study – writing bird columns and other articles … [Read more...] about Wildlife haven close to home
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.
Magpies on the attack
It’s magpie attack time and the birds with a beautiful flute-like song join plovers as public enemy number one in spring, if only for a short time. The menace of plovers – also called masked lapwings – were the subject of the column last week and now I turn my attention to a far more dangerous threat, magpies. As I reported, plovers are all bluster when they dive-bomb people near their nesting sites and rarely come into contact with the unsuspecting target. Magpies, on … [Read more...] about Magpies on the attack
‘Plovers’ bring menace in spring
It’s that time of the year when our feathered friends, or at least some of them, show an aggressive streak. The main culprits in our public open spaces are plovers but magpies are just as likely to join in the mayhem that is spring. The ABC earlier this month invited me in to explain why birds act the way they do at this time of year and I was happy to share my knowledge with Sarah Gillman on her Mornings radio show. It just so happened that just before I arrived a male … [Read more...] about ‘Plovers’ bring menace in spring
A year-round larder for birds
“To feed or not to feed?” It sounds like a quote from Shakespeare but it is a question often raised by the gardener trying to attract birds to his or her garden. It was addressed during a spring workshop on creating a bird-friendly gardens run by the owners of the Inverawe Native Gardens at Margate, Bill and Margaret Chestnut. The consensus among bird experts is that we should not feed birds, because it makes them dependent on humans – especially in winter – and can create … [Read more...] about A year-round larder for birds
False start to spring
The sun was shining strong and hard when I awoke on the first day of spring and the day held promise for summer migrants. On September 1 I always go to my local birdwatching spot, the Waterworks in Dynnyrne, to see if welcome swallows have arrived but by the time I reached the reserve at about noon the weather took a turn for the worst. Winds blowing from the south-west brought rain to the Waterworks Valley and snow to the summit of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. Even the migratory … [Read more...] about False start to spring