About Me

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Canberra-based naturalist, conservationist, educator since 1980. I’m passionate about the natural world (especially the southern hemisphere), and trying to understand it and to share such understandings. To that aim I’ve written several books (most recently 'Birds in Their Habitats' and 'Australian Bird Names; origins and meanings'), and run tours all over Australia, and for 17 years to South and Central America. I've done a lot of ABC radio work, chaired a government environmental advisory committee and taught many adult education classes – and of course presented this blog, since 2012. I am a recipient of the Australian Natural History Medallion, the Australian Plants Award and most recently a Medal of the Order of Australia for ‘services to conservation and the environment’. I live happily in suburban Duffy with my partner Louise surrounded by a dense native garden and lots of birds.

Saturday 13 October 2012

Drama from my Desk

Just a little vignette that I often think about, though it happened years ago now. It was a mild winter and many of the usual migrants had stayed in Canberra, among them flocks of little White-naped Honeyeaters, mostly leaf gleaners, which came daily to the bird bath in front of my study window. 


On this occasion I was gazing idly out the window, seeking some inspiration - and instead got a scene straight out of Attenborough! A Grey Butcherbird (which I'd never hitherto seen in the yard) hurtled in, seized an unfortunate honeyeater, drowned it, and flew off with it with all the surviving honeyeaters in pursuit. I never saw either species in the yard again.

So much is just sheer chance, being in the right place at the right time. And sometimes life is even more exciting than an Attenborough episode.

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