Waterbirds

‘Swan Song,
wind song,
mirror of the sky.
What adventures do you tempt,
what secrets do you hide,
drifting past
chest out, head high, puffed with pride.’ –
Steve Parish

Mirror-smooth reflections of clear blue skies, towering trees, cloud sculptures and sleek, long-necked, pure-white wading birds. This is a world that can invoke deep thought, giving birth to unique creative imaginings. Water surfaces have a special kind of hypnotic effect, especially when wind-rippled, or when a leaf, flower, frog or feather floats by.

We all know the transformative effect still waters with the presence of birds can bring to one’s state-of-mind. These wild and splendid freshwater ecosystems vary from the inland rivers and their associated billabongs to the coastal floodplains rich in life.

Freshwater wild places and birds are an intoxicating blend to anyone who enters with presence and with the roving, inquisitive eye of a soul in search of creative inspiration. Here are a few of my special works, you will find others in our fine art gallery.

A Sense of Place

The idea of place connection has long been important to me, not concerning ‘a’ specific locality, as it is for many of us, rather I feel a sense of being in ‘my’ place almost anywhere that the environment is primarily natural. Having a particular interest in animal habitat relationships, I often like to create images that reflect the place they are most at home. Here, in an aquatic wildlife paradise deep among the wetlands sedges of Kakadu’s World Heritage National Park, an egret does what it does best, hunts for food.

Thoughts of Flying

These delightful birds were roosting on a sandbank, calmly snoozing, or so it seemed, until a solitary pelican paddled just that little too close. In unison the stilts began to march ‘as one’ in perfect formation. I wondered, for no good reason, as I often do, whether the collective were actually ‘thinking’ about what they were doing. Were they actually preplanning a take-off, were they ‘thinking’ about flight? Did they, indeed do they, have a mental concept of what flight actually is? Just musing.
Flock of Pied Stilts, Coorwong National Park, South Australia

Trust

Renown fantasy filmmaker Walt Disney coined the phrase, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” I would like to add, ” however, you need to trust in something to bring your vision to reality.” Trust can be a struggle,
and I know its been for me. While watching this Black-necked Stork (Jabiru) go through its pre-flight shuffles,
I wondered if these delightful big birds ever experience self-doubt.
Would they ever think, “Will my wings work, this time?” Anthropomorphic? Yes, but as a metaphor nonetheless we humans do need to trust in something if we are ever to archive our life’s dreams?

Taking Care I & II

Above left: Taking Care I’ – The best time to stalk a bird like this glossy ibis is while it is preening, they seem to enter an altered state of consciousness when taking care of its plumage and can appear to be oblivious to its surroundings.

Above right: ‘Taking Care II’ – Birds, like this male royal spoonbill, seem to enter a beautiful state of mind of deep presence when taking care of their plumage and can appear to be oblivious to their surroundings.

‘Long-necked,

long-legged, long-toed,

white, white-black, black on grey,

a touch of emerald green,

a subtle brown, or blue,

but only when sunshine

gently touches

preening, stalking,

feeding, stretching, diving,

yes

and even sleeping feathers.

Waterbirds do have a collective comfort zone and, if you infringe it, it’s likely that, at the first cries of alarm, all the birds will take flight. I have crept up on many a waterhole only to have the snap of a twig send a thousand birds of ten different species into the air in a mass of feathers and with an unbelievable collective awe inspiring sense of presence.

Plumed Whistling-ducks

As a big fan of Australia’s waterbirds, particularly ducks, I have long admired the plumed whistling duck. Its subtle colours and elegant flank plumes are particularly attractive to me. Males have slightly longer pale‑orange plumes on the flanks than females and the two sexes are generally seen together because they pair-bond for life. In parts of Australia, especially in the vast wetlands of the tropical north, these ducks may form enormous flocks that, when alarmed, send out whistling calls that can be heard some distance away.