Twitcher Notes

Galahs

      Boufféd and rouged, shop-wise galahs

assess the specials in the seed bazaars,

      palaver upward if alarmed,

to sway on wires, discountenanced, uncharmed,

      then blizzard back upon those bargains,

one eye on the goods, and one for strolling bogans.

Crested Pigeons                 

 
Will crested pigeons brook Yes, but … ?

     Just watch these clockwork gismos strut,

     stilettos plumed on tiny heads.

  Don’t mess with us, we’re thoroughbreds.

 And here’s a niche where lives are plump and small,

     this bumptious knack of walking tall.

                    

The Superb Fairy Wren

The sperm-count of

this meagre wren

is far above

all human ken.

 

Imagine, say,

bullion of Shahs,

or Milky Way’s

trawl of stars.

 

Those testes rate

ten per cent

of bodyweight

in this small gent,

 

and desperate boys

in boarding schools

will dream their joys

are swimming pools

 

of what this wren

inseminates

casually when

he’s out on dates.

 

Survive the fit?

My turquoise oath,

when this bloke’s lit

in undergrowth!

 

Kookaburra

Kookaburra, is your ratchet laughter

a lift for now, or gift for after?

When the Big Bang made its hooray

was your long laugh its ricochet?

What is it notches up that cackle

to be a kind of cosmic heckle,

for all your weird upbeat furore

has bonhomie in its rapport,

and hints your social commentary

has good morale as guarantee.

                         

Choughs

A black squad, a sleuth of chough

pick through the grassland’s telltale stuff—

—if you see ten, there will be twenty,

investigative cognoscenti—

staking the crime scene with red eyes—

intent on how it signifies.

Chough and chough, they make a team.

No case is plain enough, their theme.

                     

Wedgetail Eagles

  
Two wedgetail eagles sewn so high

upon the fabric of the sky

like two end-stitches of a zip

that scarcely show against the light.

And yet a notion says you might

unzip the line between the two,

a rip to leak all matter through,

plus every live relationship

that offers some impurity

upon a perfect winter sky

where wedgetails fleck in their patrol

of fabric looking to be whole.

 

Magpies

A white head and black neck,

like snowcap on an outcrop rock,

will stop at a line of country where

black head/white neck are debonair.

What sibling feud went absolute

when black-and-white came in dispute?

Both variants are singers, carol

liquescently in their apparel

then tilt their heads and jab the ground

to show the peace that’s not been found.

 

 

Frogmouth

 

Mister Hunch will snatch late lunch

when no one’s near to hear the crunch

of insects, lizards, small bush mice

that form the menu of his choice.

A silent type, this local dude

has silhouette with attitude

on cables when the moon’s behind,

a profile that’s pure cast-of-mind

to keep his seat till some repast

presents convenient to his taste,

descending then on silent wings

to snap these fast-food offerings.

 

Does Hunch have long-term views? Does he

have romance in his pedigree?

Why does his patient watch on us

suggest we are not worth a fuss?

 

I have a neighbour can entice

this swallower of uncooked mice

to break his taciturnity

with sharp views on eternity.

“Oo-oo,” my neighbour tries, “oo-oo.”

“Depends,” hums Hunch, “on ho-ow and who-oo.”