The forest raven swayed back and forth on the upper branches of a wattle, its body twitching and turning to maintain balance, but its head as steady as its intense stare. The raven looked straight at me, concentration rippling its facial feathers, trying to make sense of this human, stretchered, wired and dripped in a hospital bed. I, in turn, was trying to make sense of a raven fascinated by the comings and goings in a Hobart orthopaedic hospital ward. I should have been … [Read more...] about The dark side of crows
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.
Coots on the move
Like the ebb and flow of the tides, the coming and going of the seasons, birds are in constant movement. We know of the great migrations and the migration routes which criss-cross the world but even birds which appear at first glance sedentary and resident in a specific area are often moving from one location to another. The latest news from the bird world in Tasmania is that coots are on the march. A reader wrote late last year to say he had noticed coots – members of the … [Read more...] about Coots on the move
Life and death in the paddock
Heads down, the jersey cattle feeding in a paddock were oblivious to the life and death struggle taking place about them. A purple storm cloud gathered on the near horizon and I had decided to return to my car from the fields in the Huon Valley, where I had been out searching for a plover of open countryside, the banded lapwing. It was the sort of dark and foreboding cloud that foretold lightning and I didn’t want to be caught out in the open. So I hurried among the … [Read more...] about Life and death in the paddock
Albatrosity on the high seas
On slender wings, a shy albatross rode the crests of waves one stormy day in the Derwent. I had been told many years ago that it was possible to see albatrosses in zig-zag flight on the bay but I hardly believed it. On journeys on roads fronting the Derwent I always instead kept my eyes peeled for another wonder of the natural world, the peregrine falcon, which uses the Derwent, or more precisely the air above it, as its playground. This day, as usual, I had one eye on the … [Read more...] about Albatrosity on the high seas
Lament for lost species
Something lost, something found. Australia Day always engenders mixed feelings and emotions. I am glad to celebrate as a new Australian but at the same time I lament all that has been lost to my adopted country since my English countrymen first set foot on the continent. I spent Australia Day on January 26 at the Sandy Bay regatta, munching Aussie lamb burgers and drinking a little too much Tasmanian-brewed ale. All the while welcome swallows flew among the revellers on the … [Read more...] about Lament for lost species