Have you ever visited Angel Place, just off Martin Place in Sydney? Its hanging birdcages are a touching memorial to the city’s lost birds, forced ever westward over the years of white settlement. If you listen carefully you can hear their recorded songs and calls over the
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It’s hard to believe that many of these tiny silvereyes migrate annually from Tasmania to as far north as southern Queensland. What an epic journey for them. Back in the mid 19thC a wild storm swept a flock to New Zealand, where they have been living happily
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SPRING, WHEN A BOWERBIRD’S FANCY TURNS TO …. Well, spring is well and truly here now. I have watched the blossom come out above Mr Bowerbird’s home in Memorial Park at Blackheath. I don’t know what sort it is; some sort of prunus. With a bit of
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FOR THE BEGINNNG OF THIS STORY CLICK HERE 31/8/2018 Mr S. Bowerbird’s magnificent home in Blackheath’s Memorial Park was almost wrecked yesterday. Two (illegally) unleashed dogs tore through the middle of it before I could warn their owners. How they missed crushing the bower itself is
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FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER, CLICK HERE. August 26 2018 – A second chapter in the life of Mr S. Bowerbird of Memorial Park, Blackheath. It had been raining all day, converting many bottle caps in the bower to miniature swimming pools. Poor Mr B. was kept busy
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CRIMSON ROSELLAS Crimson rosellas are a joy to behold. Many of the trees and shrubs in my Blue Mountains garden have been planted with these beautiful birds in mind. Top of the list? The native correas. The photo below shows that my efforts are appreciated! The rosellas love
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‘…in spring, the most delicate feathery yellow of plumes and plumes and plumes and trees and bushes of wattle, as if angels had flown right down out of the softest gold regions of heaven to settle here, in the Australian bush. D.H. Lawrence, Kangaroo I do
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Remember British artist and designer William Morris and his famous Strawberry Thief design? Those thrushes ended up in homes around the world. I’m sure Mr Morris forgave them for raiding his garden by the stripling Thames. I don’t grow strawberries, but I do have lots of feathered
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My first encounter with an Australian White Headed Pigeon was rather disconcerting. There is a skylight over my bed and I woke one morning to find one peering down at me. They are often called Baldy Pigeons, which seems rather unkind. Since then I have become aware
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Blackheath duck pond is close enough to my garden to be my personal water feature. Hardly a day goes by without me wandering past it. The traction engine below was used to excavate the original dams, which evolved into the pond. The dams were used to hold
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