To be quite honest, I’m not entirely convinced this call is directly associated with courtship, but under the circumstances it’s hard to think what else it might be about. Ok, so here’s the context: It’s early Autumn. I’m sitting on the veranda at home enjoying a morning coffee with the audio recorder handy. Suddenly theseContinueContinue reading “Welcome Swallow call”
Category Archives: Bird language
Riflebird Shenanigans
It happened last Monday morning. I was sitting at the dining table finishing breakfast and having an unproductive argument with one of my children, when suddenly my eyes fell upon the wonderous and argument-arresting sight of a Paradise Riflebird perched just beyond the kitchen window. Now this, in and of itself, would be proper groundsContinueContinue reading “Riflebird Shenanigans”
Decolonising our seasonal calendar
Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – our universal 4 seasons right? Seriously? Does anyone in Australia REALLY believe in this Eurocentric crap anymore? Corporate retailers might like to indulge us in a curious brand-fantasy where it snows in December but isn’t it actually just laughable, if not downright insulting, that after more than two centuriesContinueContinue reading “Decolonising our seasonal calendar”
The Rose Robins’ Song
In the first few days of August something happened in the forest outside my bedroom window. Something important. Something effortlessly lost in the ubiquitous white-noise of a busy life. I try to pay attention to the little things in nature, but even with a degree of vigilance bordering on the pathological, I would surely haveContinueContinue reading “The Rose Robins’ Song”
Joining the Dots: reflections on observation and interpretation
In his remarkable 1986 book Arctic Dreams, the American author and nature writer Barry Lopez, offers us a deeply profound insight concerning the limitations of deriving meaning from natural field observations. It goes to the heart of how critical humility is as a key attribute of the naturalist student. Lopez says; “Because you have seenContinueContinue reading “Joining the Dots: reflections on observation and interpretation”