“Here should be a good spot,” my brother said, and our little group stopped. “They are curious creatures and might come to investigate.” The creek bed was broad and flat, then rose sharply up a steep bank. The rainforest towered overhead, a thick canopy of tall trees and vines, shutting out the light. My brother found two stones.
“These will do,” he said.
“What are you doing?” someone asked.
“I was talking to a man the other day, and he said that if you bang two stones together long enough, scrub turkeys will get curious and come to investigate. I’m going to try it. Apparently, it’s an old trick the Aboriginals used to catch a feed.” And with that, he began to bang the stones together, rhythmically. The sound didn’t seem to go very far in the dense scrub, but he persisted anyway.
Ten minutes later, the rest of us had given up on seeing anything, but patience was his virtue that day. All of a sudden, we heard a rustle on the bank above the creek. Then two heads peered over the edge at us. But they weren’t turkeys. They were lyrebirds! Those beautiful singers of all songs known to the bush, lighting up the valleys in the early morning with their symphony of sound as the sunlight pours through a million shades of green and a new day begins in the bush. Once you have heard a lyrebird sing, you can never forget the magic of that song. And here they were, two of them, curious creatures peering down at us while my brother banged rocks together. They were fascinated! They stayed there, watching, wary, but entranced by the sound. Perhaps one day we will return and find it part of the lyrebird repertoire in that part of the rainforest!
She Found Me
This time, the lyrebird found me. I went for a walk in the rainforest near our home, and stopped, quiet and still. I wanted to see what would appear if I just stayed still. The rainforest is teeming with life, and surely I would see something interesting. I wasn’t expecting a female lyrebird to appear. She hopped up on a branch a few feet in front of me (lyrebirds are ground dwellers), and then this curious creature proceeded to look me up and down. Her head bobbed up and down as she peered at me from all angles.
This beautiful creature was totally unafraid, and the area is so remote that she had probably never seen a human before. Certainly, she would never have experienced the harm that humans can do. And so, she was curious about what kind of a creature I might be. She spent quite some time checking me out, and after a while, her curiosity apparently satisfied, she hopped down, and ambled back into the forest, to spend her days happily scratching the forest floor, looking for tasty treats.
Curious And Unafraid
The bird seed was scattered everywhere, and it was my job to clean it up. It was a sunny day in winter, and the warm sunshine poured onto the north – facing verandah where the birdcage was kept. It was so nice there, that I really didn’t mind cleaning up the birdcage. And then I noticed them. Tiny red-browed finches, eating the bird seed that I was sweeping out onto the grass. I stayed still and watched them. They were so cute with their bright red eyebrows and red beaks. And they got closer, following the trail of seed.
They came closer again, totally unafraid. Then a couple of them hopped up on the top of the birdcage. I stayed totally still, a handful of birdseed in my outstretched hand, which was resting on top of the cage. A moment later, I had a finch IN my hand, totally trusting as it looked up at me with curious bright eyes. I hardly dared to breathe for fear that I would frighten it away. Totally unconcerned, it kept eating until it had had its fill, and then it flew off with the other finches, to spend their days eating seeds and perching on grass stems. What an amazing privilege to experience that kind of trust from a wild creature.
Billy The Bowerbird
Fast forward many years, to about two years ago. I was out in the backyard, under the mandarin tree, while Michael leaned on a fence post, talking to the neighbour. A harsh cry startled me, and a bird darted towards me along a branch. I was momentarily alarmed, and backed away, thinking it might have been aggressive. It hopped up several branches, and I thought no more of it. A couple of minutes later, this bird hopped purposefully towards me, right at eye level. I stayed where I was, waiting to see what it would do. It stopped in front of me and squawked again. Clearly, it wanted something.
I was really curious now. The bird hopped back and forth on the branch, squawking. I wasn’t even sure what species it was. Suddenly, it dawned on me: this was a baby, and it was hungry. I ran back into the house, still uncertain as to what I would feed it, but took a guess that it was a baby satin bowerbird, and cut up some grapes. It was waiting in the tree for me. I offered it a grape, and after a brief hesitation, it eagerly grabbed the grape. It continued eating grapes, until it had eaten enough, and then awkwardly – barely able to fly – made its way to a neighbouring tree.
And that’s how Billy the Bowerbird came to be around for a while. He (or she!) would come to the back door and squawk, and I would bring out some grapes on a plate. Billy was very bold: he landed on my arm and sat there eating grapes until he’d had enough, and then he would take off again, until the next time I heard that familiar squawk outside the door. I felt honoured that a wild creature had sought me out when it had a need. Somehow, it trusted me straight away. The whole family was outside that day, but for some reason it chose me. What a privilege.
They Shall Not Hurt Nor Destroy
The Bible says that one day there will be a new earth (see Isaiah 65:17). There will be perfect peace and harmony among all creatures, and no one will hurt or destroy another (see Isaiah 65:25). Predators will be vegetarian, and there will be no fear.
One day, the kind of experiences that are so unique here on earth will be normal. Animals will be unafraid, totally trusting. Here, it’s the ones that have had little or no contact with humans that are curious and trusting – and they are few and far between. I’m looking forward to the day that a wild animal wants to be my friend. I can’t wait for the day that all fear is gone. One day there will be total trust between humans and animals. What a privilege!