Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 31st October, 2009.

Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 31st October, 2009.

Bird Clouds

Ever since, I got my first budgerigars, people have told me, and I later read, how once in the western part of our State, Queensland, great clouds of budgerigars blocked out the sun. There were thousands in each flock and they would fight over roosting places and take turns to drink at a water trough or beside a stream.

Sadly, those huge flocks were gone. It was suggested that trapping them for the pet trade had reduced their numbers so much that now flocks were quite small. Some even considered them a rarity in the west and seeing them was a privilege and a bonus for those who loved the little Aussie parrot.

Those huge flocks had gone, or at least not been reported until this week when huge flocks around the western Queensland town of Boulia captured the attention of Australian and overseas news reporters.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/27/2725150.htm (click arrows on page to see second photo).
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s2725341.htm

Someone asked me why the budgerigars would flock like this. Basically, it is because an excellent supply of grass seeds has encouraged them to breed. The far west of Queensland had good rain earlier this year and was also flooded when flood waters from rain much further north came down the rivers and creeks and spread out in flood across the flat plains.

Good rain means the grass begins to grown and budgerigars and finches such as zebra finches will begin to nest. When the eggs hatch 2 (finches) to 2.5 (budgerigars) weeks later, green seed heads will be on the grass and the parents will eat this seed and regurgitate it into the open beaks of the babies. As the seed ripens, the first hatch of babies will be ready to leave the nest and learn to feed on the drying seed.

A budgerigar will lay 4 to 8 eggs in a nest and will nest about 3 times in quick succession. While the maximum numbers are rarely raised, mathematics alone shows the huge expansion in numbers caused by just one pair in a successful season. Budgerigars nest in holes (hollows) in trees but will nest on the ground if nesting holes are not available.

It is not that long ago that many families had pet budgerigars. They sat somewhere in a warm spot in their cage which was equipped with a mirror, a small bell and ladder. These happy little budgies would play and chirp, whistle and generally make happy noises from dawn to dusk. They loved human company and would respond to whistles and conversation. In fact, many would repeat words and phrases or whistle a simple tune in response to their human companions. It seems, too, they had not lost their connections with the wild outside as they would also respond to the screeches of lorikeets or other parrots flying overhead.

My first pets, which were strictly mine alone as they came as a birthday present, were two budgerigars. The female, Tootsie was green and Butch the male was blue. They had all the usual markings and colourings of a budgerigar. They did not talk and I was very envious of my Great-Aunt Jessie who had a budgerigar that never stopped ‘talking’ the various phrases he had been taught. I remember dad saying this was because Aunt Jessie never stopped talking and most of the time the bird was her only company. So he who heard much said much.

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2002/archives/2002?p=811

The pet and show budgerigars we see today are very different to the wild budgerigars of the Australian inland. The wild budgie is basically green with a yellowish head and black barring on its wings and back. It is the smallest of the Australian parrots and smaller and more slender than most of today’s caged birds. Any bird show, breeder’s collection or pet shop today will have a huge range of colours of budgies. A quick search of the internet will reveal just how keen budgerigar breeders are on striving for the perfect bird or the elusive colourings or markings.

Much of the initial breeding of budgies with different colour was carried out in England and many would suggest that the best show birds in Australia today are descendents of British bred birds. This little Aussie I guess not only speaks English with the world’s various accents but has now learnt to respond in many of the world’s languages. So there is room for another hymn a combination of “All things bright and beautiful” and “O for a thousand tongues to sing”.

Budgerigars remain today an excellent first pet for children. With care (and the cat outside and closed windows) they can be allowed to perch on a finger or shoulder. They will play happily with children and at the same time make a marvellous companion for adults. They require only seed and water and the occasional treat of fruit or vegetable and some calcium supplement and they are happy.

As I think about the thousands of his little Australian bird spread throughout the world, I wonder do they really capture the essence of Australia, as some have claimed. In the same way, I wonder how we can represent the essence of Christianity to the world.

It is easiest to point to Jesus. There is God become the perfect man. There is a man without sin. There is a man with more love than we can show. There is a man who demonstrates such power of over nature, disease and even death. There is a man who can show us God like no other.

Jesus however places much of the responsibility with us. We are not only to point to him but we are to live as he lived. In a real sense it is the essence of Jesus in us that the world sees. Each of us need to look at how we respond to that challenge. People must look at us and see Jesus and know God is there in all our living.

To be like Jesus!
This hope possesses me,
In every thought and deed,
This is my aim, my creed;
To be like Jesus!
This hope possesses me,
His Spirit helping me,
Like him I'll be.
The Salvation Amy Song Book: Chorus Number: 107
---

[Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_561.mp3 ]

In the secret of thy presence,
Where the pure in heart may dwell,
Are the springs of sacred service
And a power that none can tell.
There my love must bring its offering,
There my heart must yield its praise,
And the Lord will come, revealing
All the secrets of his ways.

Chorus
In the secret of thy presence,
In the hiding of thy power,
Let me love thee, let me serve thee,
Every consecrated hour.

More than all my lips may utter,
More than all I do or bring,
Is the depth of my devotion
To my Saviour, Lord and King.
Nothing less will keep me tender;
Nothing less will keep me true;
Nothing less will keep the fragrance
And the bloom on all I do!

Blessed Lord, to see thee truly,
Then to tell as I have seen,
This shall rule my life supremely,
This shall be the sacred gleam.
Sealed again is all the sealing,
Pledged again my willing heart,
First to know thee, then to serve thee,
Then to see thee as thou art.
Author: Albert Orsborn (1886-1967)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 591


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