It’s been the summer of the tawny frogmouth. Wherever I have gone these mysterious but elusive birds have appeared, often in the Hobart suburbs not too far from the central business district. And it has not just been me spotting the frogmouths. My email and post has bulged with frogmouth sightings in recent months, one pair deciding to nest in the gutter of a Hobart home. The young tawny, two wide-eyes blinking from a round ball of fluffy feathers as the sun rose each … [Read more...] about Tawny summer
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.
And what time do you call this?
The life and times of birds are not so very different from daily events in the human world. Eat and sleep, the daily grind of providing for the family, ill health and good fortune; ultimately it’s a struggle for survival on whatever level. Birds and humans live parallel lives, an existence controlled not only by the clock, the 12-hour division of day and night, but the division of the year into seasons. And ultimately we all share the adventure of a journey through life, … [Read more...] about And what time do you call this?
The dawn of a new year
Just another day in the garden. Not quite. It’s New Year’s Day and I am engaging in a routine I always do on January 1: compile a checklist of birds spotted, to set me on course for a new year of bird-watching. Usually I choose a place rich in birds for my January 1 foray, sometimes in an exotic location, but this year I’m confined to my garden because of a knee injury. Not that I am complaining. In my garden I can still touch base with nature and a casual stroll will … [Read more...] about The dawn of a new year
Flame robin reveals itself at last
The portents for my bird-watching in 2016 look good after what I term a remarkable discovery in the Waterworks Reserve near my home in Dynnyrne – the sighting of a flame robin. My illustrious predecessor as the Mercury’s writer on nature, Michael Sharland, wrote in his Tasmanian Birds of 1948 that among members of the robin family, the flame robin was the one most likely to be seen in Tasmania. Well, 68 years on, I can write with authority that this is no longer the case. I … [Read more...] about Flame robin reveals itself at last
Sing a song of Christmas
The sounds of Christmas – the songs and the tunes associated with the festive season – have a special place in my heart. With most people its Christmas carols and jingles, but when this time of year comes around a song of a bird is firmly fixed in my subconscious. Not surprisingly it is the song of the European robin. As a child growing up in Britain, when I awoke early to open my Christmas presents – too early for my parents – robins were always singing their winter … [Read more...] about Sing a song of Christmas