Time to be out and about now the fire risk has subsided. My own garden is a disaster, with only the natives and hydrangeas holding up. But how is everything else going in this awful heatwave I wonder? Well, to my great surprise an ibis has taken
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A REFUGEE SPARROW FROM THE CITY Some time ago a sparrow living in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens was assaulted by a giant white ibis. A dispute had broken out over crumbs at the café and the little fellow came off second best . He went into hiding, but
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In 1918 an article in The Sydney Morning Herald reported on brooms being hand-made in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath; The brooms are manufactured under the most primitive conditions, the machine for binding them together being home-made, and it is contended by the maker that with
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OK, so above we have a diagram showing the anatomy of the ibis. That’s all very well, but it omits a vital evolutionary link. According to urban mythology, Sydney’s sacred ibis are a scary mutation of the seagull. The story goes that over succeeding generations, one strain of
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RUFFLED FEATHERS For the seagulls of Australia, the arrival of Europeans was an unpleasant experience. As Cook’s Endeavor made its way along the east coast in 1770, the crew were forced to supplement their dwindling provisions by shooting and eating the birds. Sir Joseph Banks wrote; Sea
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A BIG DAY OUT Some may view me as a disgrace to womanhood, but I detest buying clothes. It’s not that I don’t like to look nice, but it’s so time consuming and irritating. The older I get the more I dislike the whole business. Anyway, I
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