Bird Brain

I just caught myself dozing in the University library.

I’m actually wondering if I let out a little snore snort at some point too?

The aircon feels hectic up here on the Silent Study 5th floor.

I wish there was a way to open a window, just a little.

The last few weeks of sick kids and increased workload has taken its toll.

The 2pm slump is evident today, myth busted and indeed very relevant as I reflect now while typing away.

Extended shut-eye aside, I must admit I do enjoy working here occasionally.

Surrounded by books, suits me.

Surrounded by a majority cohort which includes youthful and somewhat naive 20-somethings, makes me feel both old and younger at the same time.

The parking is dirt cheap at 70 cents an hour.

The coffee isn’t that bad, either.

There’s currently a black currawong outside the window that I can see cleaning its feathers in a tall gum tree at eye height.

I’d say he/she is having a bit of a crazy hair day as I watch the ruffled feathers stick out like a sort of thumb from its right shoulder.

It hops innocently from branch to branch now. It was almost skittish after we grabbed eye contact for a split second.

This bird is fairly quiet right now, but it reminds me of a moment only about a month ago when at least 30 were gathered in the trees surrounding our avenue.

They were all squawking, kweeping and adding their killock killock sounds to alert of the approaching rain.

It was deafening and beautiful all at the same time.

After a recent bird-watch walk with the kids as part of a STEM school program, I learned that they are quite intuitive regarding weather disturbances and patterns. A bunch were herded together on Bruny Island and squawking about a storm in Melbourne, which is 657 kms away.

They also have a lifespan of around 20 years, which feels quite a lot for a bird??

I wonder where this one has come from? How old is it? Is it getting ready to mate and multiply as we come into spring?

Bird behaviours have interested me for quite some time now.

Growing up we had a few budgies, finches, maybe a canary too? I know my dad’s dad had one which used to chirp away as soon as the sun even came near the horizon.

Looking back, I remember thinking cleaning out the cage was one of the hardest jobs in the world.

Looking back, I remember finding bird poop in different places after letting the pet out of the cage.

I remember one of them flying high up into our ceiling cavity. Sitting there stunned with shallow breathing and eyeballing us as if to give us a middle finger of ‘leave me alone!’

With all this reminiscing, I’m wondering if I should purchase a feathered friend for the kids. Then I remember the floor-to-ceiling windows, which would likely be a disaster-filled trap for any bird wanting to explore the outside world.

For now, it looks like we will just stick to a snoring dog.