WHERE THE WEDGETAILS RIDE THE THERMALS

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Maureen K Clifford
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Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:31 am
Location: Ipswich - Paul Pisasale country and home of the Ipswich Poetry Feast
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WHERE THE WEDGETAILS RIDE THE THERMALS

Post by Maureen K Clifford » Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:18 pm

... WHERE THE WEDGETAILS RIDE THE THERMALS. ..
Maureen Clifford © The #ScribblyBark Poet

'twas a cold and frosty morning out in Mungallala town
and the windmill blades were festooned with a shroud of ice surround.
Even the roos weren't hopping . Were they frozen to the ground
where the wedgetails ride the thermals way out west?

That morning Sol was slow rising, and the moon it was still there,
whilst the treetops too were silent and no birds were in the air,
all the working dogs were shivering with white frost tipping their hair
and no wedgetails rode the thermals way out west.

And it's sad to say that lately due to archaic belief
many wedgetails have been poisoned, much to Mother Nature's grief.
Some claim that it is farmers, those who call the Eagles thief ....
for stealing new born lambs out in the west.

Truth to tell they feed on carrion, and eat rabbits by the score
and sometimes they take a little lamb whose sickly and quite poor.
But to kill them is to break the food chain, open up the door
for other predators to multiply out west.

We were heading up to Tambo - just a short two fifty clicks
following the Landsborough highway - which was right out in the sticks
keeping eyes sharp peeled for roos and goats, and those damn feral pigs
which are wedgetail road kill tucker, way out west.

Well we cruised on in to Tambo - there was nothing much to do,
but we set our camp site up there on the banks of the Barcoo
and then wandered into town to enjoy a cold beer or two,
whilst enjoying warmth and sunlight from the west.

Over beers we picked up info as to where the fish would be,
we'd a mind to score some Grunter and a few Yellow Belly;
and one bloke said there were Golden Perch as well ... a sight to see
but watch out for cunning eagles in the west.
We'd a mind to go to Blackall just to see the sculpture trail
and the wedgetail eagle and its nest made from dog spikes and rail
from the bridge that spanned the Barcoo. A quite artistic tale
built to honour wedgetail eagles in the west.

The shearer Jacky Howe is viewed forever wrestling sheep,
though his bones are in the graveyard resting now in endless sleep.
He still holds the blade shear record, 'twas at 'Alice Downs'. They keep
his memory still alive out in the west.

It's a wondrous thing to see a wedgetail soaring in the sky.
They mate for life, so often two birds are there, on the fly.
Australia's largest bird of prey blessed with an 'eagle' eye
it's a privilege to see them ... we are blessed
to see wedgetails ride the thermals way out west.
Check out The Scribbly Bark Poets blog site here -
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/


I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.

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Shelley Hansen
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Location: Maryborough, Queensland
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Re: WHERE THE WEDGETAILS RIDE THE THERMALS

Post by Shelley Hansen » Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:38 pm

Grand birds indeed, Maureen!

I just heard a news item about someone being prosecuted for poisoning eagles - a real criminal act.
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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