As the black cockies came down from the mountain, a howling gale took hold and I was filled with foreboding. My wife and I were driving to the East Coast for a wedding on the sands of Spring Beach and with the yellow-tailed black cockatoos signalling a warning about the weather, we were fearful that the nuptials would be ruined. It would not be just the wedding cake in tiers. Although there’s an old saying in Tasmania that cockies coming down from the high country forecast … [Read more...] about Black cockies fly with optimism
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.
No happy ending for pink robins
The seasons of nature’s rebirth – spring and summer – are always celebrated with both joy and a little pain. Although each year when spring dawns I grow excited at its prospect, at the thought of which breeding birds and nests I will discover, my enthusiasm is tempered by the thought it will not always have a happy ending. The story of the pink robin family I wrote about last month is a case in point. As I mentioned in the earlier column, this spring I was ecstatic to come … [Read more...] about No happy ending for pink robins
‘Joe Witty’ sounds alarm
It’s still dark, the early morning light trying to find the crack in the bedroom curtains where they have not been pulled tight together the night before. I should be fast sleep, but I’m wide awake. The loud, piercing call of a grey shrike-thrush is penetrating the bedroom ahead of the yellow rays of a rising sun. It’s like an alarm clock that can’t be turned off. Although the “joe witty” song of the shrike-thrush is one of the most familiar sounds of suburbia and the bush, … [Read more...] about ‘Joe Witty’ sounds alarm
Wood ducks recorded for posterity
The wood duck family looked content and happy enough on the banks of the Huon River in Franklin. And secure and safe from the attention of a swamp harrier quartering the marshland a little distance away. Every year I hunt for the first chicks of the breeding season, and here I had found them. A remarkable number – 14 in all – chewing the fresh new shoots of grass at the water’s edge. It was a pleasant surprise to see the wood duck family because the first chicks I usually … [Read more...] about Wood ducks recorded for posterity
Herons on the catwalk
“Beware the blue cranes,” I shouted to the metallic skinks as I rearranged the log pile into a neater shape, hoping it would be the last time I’d need a fuel supply for my wood heater this year. A far greater danger presented itself to the skinks than the unlikely event of being crushed between pine and peppermint gum. The same hot spring sunshine which had brought out the skinks to bask on bark had also brought the white-faced herons into the suburbs looking for a quick and … [Read more...] about Herons on the catwalk