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

Sandhill Crane

Towards the Ancient City

Elegance

Natalie

The Arts Centre

The Gathering of the Clans

Banksy

Knight

Hummingbird

Termite Rejoicing at the End of a Long Election Season

Turn my back on the devil

Speech Bubble

Santa’s Sack

Eagle

Porthole

Alison Preparing the Duck

Brachyura

Ice-cream

Dancing Ogórek

Excited

Sapling

Emu Running

Dandelion, Stripped

Out of the Game

Horseshoe Crab

Jellyfish

Ned on a Horse, After Sidney

Dash

Angel Fish Parting Ways

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

Bilateral Amputee, Juggling

Phophatidylserine Receptor

Summit

Fireball

Herons

Glide

Angel Rushing

Ostrich Running

Web

Invitation

Jabba

Anselm Kiefer

After Bruegel’s Blind Leading the Blind

Robin

Seed

Love Under Fire

Bat and Quokka

Witch Travel

Mouse Outside the House

Desert Shades

Terrier

Footballer 2

Stork

Cracking the Whip

Texas Devil

Pelvis

Swing the Baby

Stretching

All the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy

Satellite 18

Thoroughbred

Footballer

Marlin

James Lawrence Levine

Marker

Rabbit

Landscape

Adam Ant

Three Magi Following the Star

Determined Woman (with Mary Somerville)

Seahorse

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

Singing Bird 2

Mortality on the Farm

Comet

The Beach

Eruption

Pelecanus

Satellite

Lily

Night Cat

Shoes with Straps

Some Roses are White

Garden Shrimp

Dancing with the Stars

Godot’s Tree 2

Cat Looking

Leonard

Mountaineer

Communion

Circus

Dromaius

Moonrise

Colonial Ties

The Nymph and the Brolga

Setting Up Camp

Reduviidae

Running Moa

Dementor

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

Flashes

Reflection

Fireworks

The Place of the Skull

Jordan

Paris

Flower of Scotland

Graham’s Cross

Wandering Egret

Shrimp

Jumping Rat

Rabbit

Leather Jacket

Almost a 6

Wild Goose Blues

The Grim Reaper

Cirque du Soleil

Incoming Storm

Mouse Riding the Stringray

Waterfall

Cocktail

Angel Fish

Collision Course

Senator James Paterson

Scorpio

Harry on his Nimbus 2000

Hosanna

Angler

Drunk Conductor

Battlefield

Spill

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 …