Faex Avium |

I have always been fascinated by poo – the processes of its becoming, its powers to encourage life, and the endless jokes about the subject told by four-year-old boys, and by those boys who have not left their childhoods entirely behind. Over the years, I’ve also enjoyed reading about poo. Some of my favourite books have been Nicola Davies’ Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable, Josh Richman & Anish Sheth’s What’s Your Poo Telling You?, Susan Goodman’s Truth about Poop, and Jeannette Rowe’s Whose Poo? (There are more titles here for those wanting to follow up this line of research). Then, sometime in 2016, I noticed that a friend of mine started posting the occasional photo of bird poo on her Facebook feed. I was immediately struck by them. They spoke to me of simplicity, of randomness, of good humour, and of temporality. They highlighted again for me the enormous disparity between my own environmental footprint and that of other creatures. They also invited me to better notice a part of my everyday landscape, especially things like footpaths, objects that are otherwise quite uninteresting. Captured, I started doing the same – taking photos of bird poo. For a few weeks or so, it became something of an obsession, one that resulted in missed trains and lateness to meetings, interesting discussions with curious onlookers wondering what the Methuselah I was doing with my phone so close to the ground, and much amusement with children. It’s been fun. While beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder, joy should be shared. So, below are some of the images I’ve captured, shared in the hope that others may enjoy them too, or at least get a good giggle out of one or two of them.

Ostrich Running

Lung

Brachyura

Sandhill Crane

Bilateral Amputee, Juggling

Mouse Riding the Stringray

The Nymph and the Brolga

Satellite 18

Marlin

Dromaius

Night Cat

Moonrise

Scorpio

Drunk Conductor

Wild Goose Blues

Ned on a Horse, After Sidney

After Bruegel’s Blind Leading the Blind

Moa Startled by the Sound of a Frog, near Rawiri Bay

Some Roses are White

Stoat

Invitation

Rabbit

Eruption

Running Moa

Out of the Game

Banksy

Reflection

Landscape

Cocktail

Signature

Grover

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground

Terrier

Stork

Buddha

Sapling

Hummingbird

Turn my back on the devil

Jellyfish

Flashes

The Grim Reaper

Cat Looking

The Place of the Skull

Harry on his Nimbus 2000

Leather Jacket

Almost a 6

Robin

Singing Bird 2

Determined Woman (with Mary Somerville)

Southern Alps

The Beach

Horizon

Swing the Baby

Late Advent

Marker

Emergence

Rabbit

Santa’s Sack

Hound

Dandelion, Stripped

Uprooted, after the big winds on Sunday 9 October, 2016

Dancing Ogórek

The Arts Centre

Emu Running

Senator James Paterson

Footballer

Waterfall

Nebular System

Three Magi Following the Star

Cirque du Soleil

Termite Rejoicing at the End of a Long Election Season

Web

Speech Bubble

Harbour Islands

Footballer 2

Thoroughbred

Armed Soldier

Angler

Godot’s Tree 2

Seahorse

Elegance

Summit

I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall …