The aim of this book is to introduce to birds through entertainment and education. Having fun with birds in these twelve humorous, catchy and ‘crazy’ short stories will hopefully cement an impression in the mind of each child that will remain with them as they develop and grow. I have observed that reading to small children is most important and that it can sow a seed for the future. When children are older and can read for themselves they can then enjoy the ‘crazy’ stories and discover some interesting facts about a ‘real’ bird that is related to the fictitious one. This introduction to birds will hopefully encourage children and parents alike to seek and discover more about the large range of birds species that Australia and this planet of ours, have to offer.

The idea for this book came to me one day whilst I was sitting on the beach near Finlayson’s Point at Seaforth on the Central Queensland coast. I was watching a solitary Beach Stone-curlew as it sauntered over the tidal mudflats creating a mournful and rather sad image as the sun was setting over the horizon in the west. This created elongated shadows of the bird plus the oddly twisted mangrove tree that was scattered nearby along the foreshore. Other than this bird, there was no other life form visible to me anywhere.

Where I sat near the high tide mark, I could see the ocean some two hundred metres away in the distance. It was low tide and before too long it would begin to make the long and steady journey back to where I sat. So there was a large area of exposed sea-bed available for the Beach Stone-curlew to explore and to search for food like crustaceans and shellfish. But there was no urgency shown by the bird as it was more concerned with my presence than it was in looking for food.

Have you heard of the crazy bird known as the Charming Chat, who sat on a doormat with a fat cat in a hat?

Crazy Bird Stories tells of the Charming Chat, along with eleven other native Australian birds that can be found around the Mackay district of North Central Queensland. These poems introduce the birds to children and use rhyming words in short stanzas to cell imaginary stories of very strange bird behavior. There’s the Cranky Coot who plays the flute in a striped suit, and the Graffiti Goshawk, who attached chalk to a grass stalk and wrote on a sidewalk. With such a wide range of bizarre behaviors, these verses invite young readers to let their imaginations run free.

This story is based upon a relationship between a bird and rainforest termites. In Papua New Guinea, during the month of November, the tiny Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher prepares to return to its birthplace to breed. Only certain locations along the North Queensland coast offer suitable habitat. Using its amazing navigational skills, it flies the long distance required with the aid of a northerly wind.

Soon after reaching its destination and finding a mate, they both search for a perfect nest site. It must be a terrestrial termite mound with an active colony of rainforest termites.

Oh! The wonders of nature.

A Compilation of Birding Observation” is for bird lovers.

Steve Dew and Daryl Barnes first met in (2010) and they soon discovered they had a range of interests in
common.

As well as being similar in age, they both had a love for the outdoors and the wildlife that inhabited the many and varied habitats around where they lived in Mackay.

Whilst this was important to them both, it was the interest they shared for the large array of native birds in the area that became the binding factor in a friendship that flourished.

This book is a collection of stories written in rhyming verse. They are snapshots of my life until aged forty two, when in 1997 I left Victoria for Queensland with my wife and daughter.

Born and raised in the West Victorian town of Coleraine, this account should offer something for everyone and in particular those who grew up in small country towns.

You will find the makeup of my first book of stories, covers topics of all kinds. Some are based on actual events and experiences whilst others are pure fantasy.

*Welcome to another book by an Australian animal storyteller, Daryl Barnes. Whilst this published book, number seven, is written in rhyming verse much like the other six, this story is quite different and demonstrates his versatility.

Daryl has interestingly brought two animals together that have nothing in common and would have no logical reason to become friends. He has cleverly ‘married’ a sheep with a native bird to create a relationship that seems to work. When questioned about his animal selection, Daryl replied, “I worked with sheep for much of my life and the parrot represents the native Aussie birds that I’ve gradually developed a passion for in later years.”