Dodging traffic on the Midway Point Causeway, I witnessed one of the great sights of nature in early spring, a ballet between the tides. The causeway along the Tasman Highway might seem an odd place to be bird-watching but below its raised parapets is some of the best habitat a travelling birder can hope to find. Glistening ocean, sandy shore and mudflat. I had gone out in search of migratory shorebirds. Bar-tailed godwits had just arrived from their breeding grounds … [Read more...] about Ballet between the tides
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.
Beware the hair-stealers
IT’S that time of the year when Tasmanians traversing yellow-throated honeyeater territory are advised to wear a hat. It can come as a shock when the honeyeaters land on unprotected heads and proceed to tug at tufts of hair. Startled outdoor types can be forgiven for asking: what the hell is going on? Yellowthroats, as they are popularly known among birdwatchers, have a simple answer: they mean no harm, but merely want human hair to line their nests at the start of the … [Read more...] about Beware the hair-stealers
Song of the mountains
The call of the black currawong is the sound of the mountains in Tasmania, the trumpet song ringing out from the highest peaks. It is the bird visiting bird-watchers most want to see and every time I receive requests from tourists, and their local hosts, to tell them where to find the species I wonder why it should be number one on the birders’ list. To me, another bird associated with the high country, the green rosella, is far more exciting, but perhaps that’s because I … [Read more...] about Song of the mountains
Beauty in the neighbourhood
Exotic and unique birds are so commonplace in the suburbs of Hobart that we tend to take them for granted. Foreign bird-watchers spend thousands of dollars to come to Australia to see our birds and we often do not give them a second glace. I’m as guilty as everyone else when it comes to being blasé about our birds. That thought occurred to me recently when yellow-tailed black cockatoos called from the eucalypts towering over my home and I couldn’t be bothered to go out to … [Read more...] about Beauty in the neighbourhood
Birdwatching treasure in Tasmania
A dusky robin perched on one of the gate posts leading into the Waterworks Reserve near my home. It stopped me in my tracks because I had spent the previous week searching for the species in the foothills of Mt Wellington after a friend who leads bird-watching tours of international birders had said it had been difficult to find for the “twitchers”. During the spring and summer – when bird tours to Tasmania are at their peak – I always make a note of where I see … [Read more...] about Birdwatching treasure in Tasmania