Like it or not, we are all creatures of ritual. The birds and animals are not alone in having their lives controlled and in sync with the rhythms of the seasons.
Although I am normally a late sleeper, some inexplicable impulse had me rising at dawn on December 22 – the summer equinox which sees the southern hemisphere recording the longest day of the year.
The family of grey butcherbirds which inhabits my garden also noted the event marking the high point of summer. There was barely a glimmer of light in the western sky but the male of the clan sang a merry, deep-throated chortle.
The other birds were soon in full voice as the light eventually filtered through the wattles and gums at the end of the garden.
In the wild world, birds and animals make the most of opportunity and I think my garden birds sensed this was the turning point of nature’s calendar year and the countdown to autumn and winter would soon be underway.
In the bird world, the solstice also marks the climax of the breeding season. On these long summer days, young birds produced in recent months are on the wing and migratory birds no doubt are turning their thoughts to returning with their juveniles to the mainland.
With territories proclaimed and defended at the start of spring and into early summer, birdsong is also less prolific as the year ends. The soundtrack of summer – the far carrying songs and calls of the cuckoos – is lost on hot and humid days, subsumed by the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze.
The seasons, of course, are regulated by the earth’s tilt towards the sun over the course of the year. Being the furthest south, Tasmania enjoys the longest period of daylight in the summer months. On December 22 the total time between sunrise and sunset in Hobart was 15 hours and 21 minutes. That’s compared with Sydney’s longest day of 14 hours and 25 minutes. And in Brisbane the longest day is 13 hours and 53 minutes.
Hobart is also home to the longest period of twilight over summer, 19 hours, 53 minutes from the very first glow in the morning and the very last glow of twilight at night.
The long hours daylight do not translate to the most sunshine, however. Complex weather systems favour the central band of the country for sunshine and bring more rain to Tasmania, especially in winter when kunanyi/Mt Wellington is often bathed in cloud. Hobart in fact gets the least amount of average sunshine hours of any capital city.
It can lead to Tasmanians complaining that some years the state doesn’t have a summer. The birds, though, never complain. Rain or shine – and sometimes snow, as we have seen recently – they ride the winds and ride the seasons.