Today I am going to talk about birds. You see I just spent a week at the beach in Bundjulung Country and I have become a little obsessed about spotting new ones every time I visit. (Disclaimer here…. I will never dress in camouflage gear and hide in the bushes with binoculars and bore people with twittering conversations).
But I can’t help hearing them now and knowing what they are before seeing them.
‘When the people of this land hear the teachings in the form of bird song, their minds are in perfect concentration…’ The Smaller Amitabha Sutra
My favourite are the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos, letting us know that rain is on the way. There’s the usual gang of Willy Wag Tails, Currawongs, Spangled Drongos, Kookaburras, Ducks, Noisy Friarbirds and Minors, Welcome Swallows, Pelicans, Plovers, Corellas, Honey Eaters, The Bush Stone Curlews, Pied Oystercatchers, and Seagulls, what would a beach be without seagulls!
Occasionally the Eastern Egret appears, and on this recent trip 3 White Bellied Petrels spent their days gliding about the waters.
A Lewin Honeyeater decided to take a dive into the glass balustrade on the deck and knock its self out for about 15 minutes. Collecting it carefully and removing it from the curious dachshund I couldn’t help but wonder how many birds whack themselves into man made objects. Thankfully, it recovered and flew away.
Unlike the time I discovered the Welcome Swallow who must have flown into the house one day without anyone noticing and died whilst we were away. I found it hollowed out, but its outer body and feathers had not decomposed. It now lives in a glass cloche on a sideboard. A reminder to how fragile these creatures are.
As part of my ongoing investigations into humans’ impact on the natural world, particularly here in Australia, I think of all fauna and flora that is endangered or extinct. In the past I have painted and illustrated birds, but more recently my work has been more about landscape and the environment in which we live. Perhaps a landscape without them.
There is a delicate balance between human development and wildlife preservation.
History shows us that birds have had powerful symbolism across time and place. Doves as peace in Christian Art; crows as death; the phoenix as renewal; owls as wisdom and cranes as longevity.
When you think about art and birds what comes to mind? A painting, a sculpture, a story? I’d love to hear in the comments…
Book Recommendation. A gift from my parents 13 years ago is, ‘Line for Birds’ by Barry Hill and John Wolseley. Strange as my mother has a bird phobia and I can’t even talk about them without her screwing her nose up and saying, ‘yuck’
I’m pleased it wasn’t hereditary….
