MY biggest bird-watching moment during the summer months just past came with the sight of no less than 12 of the most dramatic of shorebirds, eastern curlew, feeding in mudflats near Midway Point. My delight at seeing the biggest of the waders, however, was tempered by the realisation that I might never again see curlews in Tasmanian waters. Numbers of eastern curlews reaching Tasmania – and indeed many other species of wader – are in freefall and the curlew was last year … [Read more...] about Curlews lost to the wind
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 walk back in history
The Sandy Bay Rivulet winds its way secretly through one of the most beautiful corners of Hobart. Its hidden beauty and wonder are known to only the very few people whose properties access the brook, at least where it courses through its most dramatic section in a deep gully running parallel to the Waterworks Rd. The rivulet might have been in the past the local residents’ closely guarded secret but there are many in the community who are now seeking to have it opened up to … [Read more...] about A walk back in history
A spiritual connection
I know my superb fairy-wrens and they know me. Their antics, fossicking and ferreting on my lawn, bring me great joy, whether it be on a grey autumnal day threatening winter, or a bright sunny one in spring full of the promise of summer. To say I have a spiritual connection with not just the fairy-wrens, but to all bird species, would be an understatement. From the dawn of my consciousness, my cognitive being, they have been with me, always there, always around. My … [Read more...] about A spiritual connection
My pink robin moment
Looking splendid in magenta and charcoal plumage, the pink robin flashed through the grevilleas, chasing an eastern spinebill. It looked as though the male robin had moved off kunanyi/Mt Wellington to establish a winter territory, along with the spinebill which was clearly invading its space. Nothing unusual about this in autumn, although this was not the usual place I see the sparring and jostling for territories off the mountain, usually in the Waterworks Reserve. No, … [Read more...] about My pink robin moment
Swift parrot future looks bleak
As swift parrots are arriving in their wintering grounds in Victoria and southern New South Wales, conservationists who have been studying them in their nesting areas across Tasmania during the past summer have issued a bleak assessment of the little bird’s chances of survival. Things, it appears, are only going from bad to worst for our lovely parrots and if urgent action is not taken to save them they could become extinct before we know it. Former environment minister … [Read more...] about Swift parrot future looks bleak