I entered the not-so-glamorous world of the seagull on a chilly winter’s afternoon recently as part of a survey of birds many people call “rats with wings”. I’d never describe Tasmania’s three species of gull – the silver, kelp and Pacific - as such but I must say to study them does make demands on the observer to get down and dirty. As part of BirdLIfe Tasmania’s annual survey, gulls are counted across the state to determine if their number is increasing or decreasing, and … [Read more...] about Getting down and dirty with gulls
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.
A ballerina in the reeds
A great white egret glides across the still waters of Goulds Lagoon on the upper Derwent, a ballerina framed not by curtains on a stage, but by reeds. The egret has been standing motionless in the lagoon and now moves as if in slow motion. The long, spindly legs are lost in the reflections of the reed stalks, so only the bird’s crisp, white plumage and long, snaking neck forms a mirror image in the blue waters. Surreal, ephemeral, transient. I’m transfixed on a winter’s … [Read more...] about A ballerina in the reeds
Cockies on a carpet of frost
The frost lay heavy and thick on the grassy embankments of the Waterworks Reserve, but it didn’t bother the sulphur-crested cockatoos. They were doing what they always do on winter days when over the years I have had the pleasure to walk among their noisy number on my late-afternoon keep-fit walks in the reserve. The cockies supplement a winter diet of seeds, nuts and fruits cadged, and stolen, in the suburbs with the juicy roots of grasses they dig up with their heavy, … [Read more...] about Cockies on a carpet of frost
The lazy-boy guide to birding
My armchair birdwatching has reached new heights during the screening of The Kettering Incident on television. The Knowler family has long been used to my announcing what birds are singing in the background of TV shows, usually “cosy school” British crime programs like the “Midsomer Murders” series. “European magpie”, I’ll shout out with glee during a murder scene, or “song thrush” during the funeral of the victim in a village cemetery. The Kettering Incident, however, has … [Read more...] about The lazy-boy guide to birding
Traveller born of the outback
Willie Nelson is singing on my car radio he’s “gunna chase the sky forever” and on a winter’s day, I’m doing the same. The brilliant blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds, certainly appears never ending as I head north along the East Coast, tapping out the beat of the tune on the steering wheel. Willie Nelson is talking of stealing a silver stallion to ride to the horizon. I search for another gift of nature, not to steal but to revel in its sublime beauty and perhaps … [Read more...] about Traveller born of the outback