Tasmanian Wildlife

The first morning I woke up in Tasmania I didn't have that disconcerting feeling of waking up in an unfamiliar bed, instead I noticed the birds. Laying in the lower bunk bed I could hear unique and unfamiliar catches of song and chirps. When we walked outside in our work clothes and I am scanning the air for birds, looking for anything exotic. If you are an avid bird watcher I am sure you, more than any other person, know that I didn't see anything. How could I see something if I didn't know what I was looking for. I spent the rest of the day listening to birds and not really seeing any.

      Then Anne gave me the Birds of Tasmania book. What a godsend. I think I have looked through the pictures a dozen times already. I am just now starting to identify a few of them. The first one I got pinned down pretty easy was the raven. Its hard to misidentify the sound it makes with it's black body and beak. I told Becca it sounds like a sick wind up toy and she agrees.  Kookabarras are the one quentisential Australian bird I know and it's one of the non-indeginous birds on the island. It steals the homes of other native birds which makes them rather unpopular to the local bird fanatics. Although I haven't seen one yet I have heard their laughter which sounds like monkeys to me which only adds to the exotic feel of this place. 

We are fortunate to be located right along the D'lentrecasteaux Channel because we get to see all manner of sea birds as well. One of the exciting ones I got to see just today was a sea eagle. Which is kind of interesting because it is not in my bird book, I wonder what other birds that book missed. We have seen ducks, swamp hens, little highlighter-blue birds and robins you could fit in the palm of your hands.  As I was taking a break from shoveling away the side of the driveway so as to widen it I think I even saw a parrot. Apparently they are fairly frequent visitors and are quite fond of eating olives off of the local farm fields. This island is so unique because it is part rainforest, part mountain, and part beach which creates all sorts of diverse birds to see.   

Just like the kookabura was brought here I wonder how many birds and animals were taken away from here by the European settlers. So far I know of only one animal that I have been denied the chance to see: the Tasmanian Tiger. The last one died in captivity in the early 1900's due to over hunting, it was the largest carniviourous marsipual. The people of Tasmania seem very devoted to keeping the place natural and vast sections of the island are national preserves. I am unsure how much it will help though because I know there are some animals like the Tasmanian Devil which are still suffering.

       Bruny Island which is a popular place to vacation/is in sight from our cabin's window where I now sit. Anne is going to bring us camping there next weekend and Becca and I are going to try to see the penguins that swim ashore every night. We hope to see some of the more rare creatures too like the adorable wombats or maybe some kangaroos.   I speak so at length about the wildlife because this is what you do as a visitor to Tasmania. There aren't any theme parks or malls to go to instead, there are jungles and forests to explore. Almost every part of the nature here is new to me and I am attempting to touch as much of it as possible.  Becca is coming back from the shower now and we are going to put on our headlamps, jackets, gum boots, grab some apples, and wait quietly in  the dusky woods to see some wallabies. If we are lucky we will get some pictures of the not so shy critters.