June Homework 'Feathered Trophies'

[Terry]

I actually wrote this tonight - Terry

Feathered Trophies
Along the dusty outback roads death speeds oblivious of codes,
or with respect or even care for creatures on these roads they share.
And grim the harvest every night of those caught in the blinding light,
and morning shows the grisly scene of dead and dying everywhere.

And then the thing I most abhor, are battered eagles by the score,
they’d come to feast on roadkill, and in turn are slaughtered daily too.
Like feathered trophies near each kill, grotesque in death their life bloods spill,
undaunted by the risks involved - into the face of death they flew.

Like most I’m hardened by the scene of Roo’s whose deaths have been foreseen,
conditioned to this awful sight into acceptance in some way.
Brain washed I guess it’s fair to say to now accept these sights each day,
but even I a hardened soul, could weep to see these birds of prey.

Majestic in the outback skies - this not the way an eagle dies.
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©T.E. Piggott

[Maureen K Clifford]

Oh that is so caring Terry - I saw a similar incidence on my one and only trip across the Nullarbor and it was very distressing. A semi cleaned up two eagles feasting on roadkill - not the truckies fault - he could do little to avoid them, but it was so very sad.

[Terry]

Thanks Maureen
It wasn’t hard to write this little poem,
I have always for many years felt passionate about the plight of Our Wedge Tail Eagles.
What really brought this to a head for me was driving on many outback roads as a prospector and seeing the number of dead eagles always near a roadkill.
Sometime 2 and on more than one occasion 3 in the same place, they were mostly young birds (you can sometimes tell by the colouring of the feathers) who hadn’t learnt from experience. I had to myself on occasion to practically stop to avoid hitting them, as some had a habit of leaving it late, then taking off into the path of an oncoming vehicle. In the end If I saw a roadkill I would always slow down and keep an eye out for eagles.
Terry

[Ron]

Yes nice one Terry and very sad. I think a lot of the problem is they are very slow on the take off, given their size. But it is certainly when airborne the sky is their domain, so majestic!
Our Son has some land out between Hill End and Mudgee and there is a couple of resident Wedge Tails on the mountain there. We see them most times we go out and it is so great just to watch them soar on the thermals and glide effortlessly for what seems like ages.
I remember once on a bike trip and we were going from Broken Hill to Menindee, it was in the drought years and there was so much road kill that we were at times zig zagging just to avoid it. There wasn't much water in the Menindee lakes either, but as we got closer to them the amount of Wedge Tails circling increased dramatically. It was amazing to see.
Also on the subject, we had a video (in the old days of vhs tapes) called Bird Suite, it was birds in all sorts of flight modes and synchronized to classical music. There was some great footage of Wedge Tails on it. Don't know if it's available on dvd or not, I think it was an ABC production.
Cheers
Ron.

[Shelley Hansen]

Oh yes, I really relate to this one, Terry.

It's true what Ron says - the size of this majestic bird and their slow take off is so often their downfall. So sad.

Cheers
Shelley

[Terry]

Hi Shelley

I hate to say this, but I have heard blokes brag about cleaning up an eagle.

Hopefully in time they learnt to admire and respect this Aussie icon.

Terry

[Maureen K Clifford]

That is really sad - what a crummy attitude and what a waste of oxygen people like that are. Doubtless they havelittle respect for anything. How people treat animals says an awful lot about them

[Terry]

High Maureen

Just look at what they are planning for the Brumbies with helicopter Hunting and shooting.
If it goes anything like what the goat shoot over here, (before they decided, they were saleable)
God help the brumbies.

Val and I were caught in the middle of it one day - but that's another story.

Cheers

Terry

[Catherine Lee]

Ohhhh....how incredibly sad!! Well done Terry; you have conveyed the anger and sheer grief for these majestic birds so well here. It actually reminds me a bit of a poem I wrote years ago about a fallen eagle, so I too can totally relate to this one and can feel the emotions brimming as I read it. Well done!

[Terry]

Thanks again Catherine

There is something special about eagles,
sadly, I've seen countless numbers of the killed in this way.

Terry