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.

Dancing Brolga

Pelvis

Marlin

Dementor

Paris

Elegance

Stork

Bilateral Amputee, Juggling

The Sounds

Terrier

The Nymph and the Brolga

Love Under Fire

Herons

Sandhill Crane

Grover

Seahorse

Eruption

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed

Adam Ant

The Place of the Skull

The Gathering of the Clans

Reflection

Desert Shades

Excited

Texas Devil

Dandelion, Stripped

Out of the Game

Lung

Sapling

Sunset

Natalie

Angel Fish

Hosanna

Rabbit

Footballer 2

Setting Up Camp

The Arts Centre

Colonial Ties

Landscape

Alison Preparing the Duck

Dromaius

Spill

Satellite 18

Summit

Santa’s Sack

Cockroach

Cat Looking

Battlefield

Southern Alps

Hummingbird

Almost a 6

After Bruegel’s Blind Leading the Blind

Wild Goose Blues

Cracking the Whip

Running Moa

Anselm Kiefer

Glide

Speech Bubble

Cocktail

Sakuran

Mouse Outside the House

Horseshoe Crab

Lily

Phophatidylserine Receptor

Waterfall

Stoat

Fox

Jellyfish

Determined Woman (with Mary Somerville)

Nebular System

Ned on a Horse, After Sidney

By the Sea of Galilee, Israel (taken by Stefanie)

Stretching

Circus

Some Roses are White

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

Emu Running

Web

Signature

Eagle

Swing the Baby

Fireball

James Lawrence Levine

Shoes with Straps

Godot’s Tree 2

Witch Travel

Satellite

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 …