On The Wing

A sooty oystercatcher uttered a high-pitched whistle from a layered bed of sandstone below the Bellerive Esplanade. I was undertaking what a previous visitor to this shore, Charles Darwin, had described as one of his “pleasant excursions” in the vicinity of Hobart Town. Darwin was not specifically looking for birds, as I was on a glorious mid-summer morning, but no doubt he would have seen the oystercatchers and heard their call, along with a white-faced heron fossicking … [Read more...] about A ‘pleasant excursion’ in Darwin’s footsteps

It was an offer too hard to pass up. A reader had what I consider the most stunning of all Australian bird nests – that of the grey fantail – literally on her doorstep in Sandy Bay. And what’s more, there were two tiny nestlings flexing their wings, ready to fly. The nest is notable for its shape. Incredibly it resembles a wine glass at first sight, a grassy bowl that tapers to a stem and flattened base. This one, tucked away among the lush leaves of a laurel tree metres … [Read more...] about A New Year’s toast to the fantails

Every time I see a swift parrot I am filled with dread at the thought that it might be the last one I see in the wild. Numbers of swift parrots are in freefall and so when a flock turned up at Mount Nelson in the spring birders rushed to see them, as I did, fearing we might not get the chance again. Birds are too precious to lose and with one in six of Australian bird species threatened with extinction this fact is brought into sharp focus by a recently published book, … [Read more...] about Times change but enchantment remains

A forest raven I call Gloria, who visits my garden each day, was feeling the heat. Her beak open, she was panting under the scorching sun on one of the hottest days of summer. Birds do not have sweat glands, so the primary way of dissipating excessive heat is by panting, just like a dog. If you see a bird during the hottest part of the day, it will likely have its mouth open. It’s ridding heat from its body through the open bill. On hot days when birds are seen panting it … [Read more...] about Splash out on a birdbath to aid birds

As a child in Britain I used to delight in gathering the tubular flowers of foxgloves and using them as finger-puppets. The game was inspired, of course, by the plant’s curious name which still evokes the magic of the English countryside, as told in children’s classics like the Beatrix Potter stories. Did foxes really use the flowers to warm their fingers on chilly days? The childhood fantasy ignored the fact the flowers emerged in summer, decidedly not glove weather but it … [Read more...] about Gloves off when it comes to ‘sinister’ weed