Dancing on the Edge of the World
Everyone has a story about birds. They are all about us and are our contact point with nature. The birds I see are usually in an urban environment and so I concentrate on these in my writing. I don’t pretend to be an expert but birds of the city and suburb are also the ones that most people identify with, the species you do not need a compass and binoculars to seek out. A scarlet robin singing in a garden is just as exciting as a swift parrot in an ancient forest and is worth just as many words in my On the Wing writings, which appear weekly in the Sunday Tasmanian.
By Don Knowler
Although ravens are reputed to be among the world’s smartest birds, I’ve discovered the black currawongs that visit my garden in winter can show them a thing or two. The “mountain jays” – as they are known in country districts – easily outsmart the forest ravens in the contest to be first to the … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
No longer a blot on the landscape. The tide has turned for the once degraded New Town Rivulet with a dramatic transformation of the watercourse where it meets the Derwent. I had always approached the rivulet outlet in New Town Bay with a sense of dread while taking part in the annual gull count for … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
I call it lazy birding, sitting on a seat in the woods watching the world of nature cruise by. Let wildlife come to you. No need to work up a sweat. It’s especially rewarding in winter when we have more time to study the resident birds without feeling the need to chase and identify the migrant … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
The music was still ringing in my ears after a night on the beers at The Whaler in Salamanca, listening to the trio playing there, Les Coqs Incroyables. I’d also been listening to the spring-time dawn chorus in Britain, relayed to me by a friend dangling with his mobile phone out of his bedroom … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
A pair of Pacific black ducks seen wallowing in a puddle on the Parliament Lawns may well have been there on official business. Inside the sandstone building MPs were in debate about rowdy and aggressive ducks causing havoc. Not just any old ducks. The debate centred on mallards originally … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
By Don Knowler
Superb fairywrens have a special significance for the Knowler family because 25 years ago they skipped ahead of us as we were walking down the mudstone drive of what would ultimately become our new home. We had been house-hunting after arriving in Hobart from Queensland, and we like to think the … [Read More...]
Filed Under: On The Wing
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