Swamphens in winter

Swamphens in winter

Last winter Dowse Lagoon nearly dried up completely. The water- and swamp-plants died back, and green pick was hard to find. Every day, groups of purple swamphens would forage in the grassy parks nearby. The lawn grass around here is the sort with underground runners....
A yellow robin lights up the gloom

A yellow robin lights up the gloom

  A yellow robin lights up the gloom of a forest at dusk. Sometimes, when I’ve been working quietly in a forest, I sense a presence nearby. A tickle on the back of the neck, or a flicker of something half-seen. And it’s this still little yellow bird. Perched...
Paperbark country

Paperbark country

  I live north of Brisbane, Australia, on the shores of Moreton Bay. This is paperbark country, or was. A place where blue gum woodlands once sank into grassy paperbark swamps which themselves interlocked fingers with muddy inlets flanked with mangroves. The...