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
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.
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
When we were born in time
How many years must a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea? The Bob Dylan hit of yesterday was blaring from the car radio as I started on the twisting, winding drive down from Mt Wellington, at the end of another uplifting day of bird-watching. I was thinking not so much of how long our precious mountain will be around before it is turned to grit and sand but of the here and now and what a vital refuge the mountain provides for wildlife so close to a major city. It … [Read more...] about When we were born in time
Gardens have a vital role to play
The role of the garden ecosystem was thrown into focus with the first-ever Backyard Bird Watch, organised by Birdlife Australia last spring. During the week-long event thousands of bird-watchers and bird lovers compiled lists of bits spotted in gardens and forwarded them to the birding organisation so a census could be compiled of birds visiting urban and suburban areas nationwide. I took part in the survey, spotting about 40 birds in a garden which I have carefully turned … [Read more...] about Gardens have a vital role to play