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.

Excited

Mouse Riding the Stringray

Mouse Outside the House

Jabba

Collision Course

The Grim Reaper

Mountaineer

The Sounds

Lily

Love Under Fire

Sakuran

Leather Jacket

Texas Devil

Cat Looking

Dancing with the Stars

Witch Travel

Fireworks

Lung

Some Roses are White

Garden Shrimp

Angel Fish

Hummingbird

Brachyura

The Gathering of the Clans

After Bruegel’s Blind Leading the Blind

Robin

Senator James Paterson

Balloon

Reflection

Fireball

Santa’s Sack

Banksy

Marlin

Hound

The Beach

Wild Goose Blues

Knight

Dementor

Shoes with Straps

Reduviidae

Wandering Egret

Circus

Harry on his Nimbus 2000

Running Moa

Heidegger

Emergence

Rabbit

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

Scorpio

Graham’s Cross

Marker

Melbourne Cup, 1930

Cockroach

Turn my back on the devil

Summer Playground

Landscape

Sapling

Termite Rejoicing at the End of a Long Election Season

Out of the Game

James Lawrence Levine

Communion

Stork

Dancing Brolga

Seahorse

Pelvis

Ned on a Horse, After Sidney

Late Advent

Footballer 2

Terrier

Shrimp

Elegance

Paris

Almost a 6

Bat and Quokka

Swing the Baby

Sandhill Crane

Satellite 18

Night Cat

Ice-cream

Drunk Conductor

Natalie

Godot’s Tree 2

Bull Terrier

Moonrise

Armed Soldier

Pod

Sunset

Setting Up Camp

Stoat

Glide

Summit

Singing Bird 2

Horseshoe Crab

Signature

Cirque du Soleil

Rabbit

Determined Woman (with Mary Somerville)

Southern Alps

Bilateral Amputee, Juggling

Grover

Cracking the Whip

Buddha

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

Mortality on the Farm

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

Ostrich Running

Comet

The Place of the Skull

Invitation

Spill

Dromaius

Stretching

Speech Bubble

Web

Fox

Jumping Rat

Colonial Ties

Porthole

Alison Preparing the Duck

Nebular System

Flashes

Leonard

Three Magi Following the Star

Jellyfish

Cocktail

Dandelion, Stripped

Dash

Thoroughbred

All the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy

Flower of Scotland

Salmon

Desert Shades

Anselm Kiefer

Jordan

Angel Rushing

Herons

Battlefield

Footballer

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

Incoming Storm

Godot’s Tree 1

Seed

Dancing Ogórek

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 …