"If men had wings and bore black feathers few of them would be clever enough to be crows." (Rev. Henry Beecher, mid 1800s)

"The Prayer of St Basil" "O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our little brothers (and sisters), to whom Thou hast given this earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty, so that the voice of this earth which should have gone up to Thee in song has been a groan of travail. May we realise that they live not for us alone but for themselves and for Thee, and that they love the sweetness of life even as we, and serve Thee in their place better than we in ours." (from the Russian Liturge of St Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, AD 370) If you would like to offer us some feedback about any aspect of this site or would like to You are visitor number ( ) to this page since 29/12/1999; Thank You! Introduction A silver box sits on my desk. It must be opened and closed with care to ensure it's contents do not drift out on the merest expellation of my breath. When I look inside each of the contents is a precious gift of inestimable value. Yet another would see only a cloud of feathers. Some of the brighter ones would catch their attention for they are beautiful indeed. But there are many more the colour of a grey day, of charcoal, of the mist. They do not excite the eye of the observer but they quicken my heart. For these feathers clothed the spirits of my beloved ones. They have many names these creatures of the air, currawong, magpie, satin bowerbird, raven, owl, tawny frogmouth,.wattle bird and more but they are all my sisters and brothers and some are my children. How We Came to Work with Birds Willow joined an organisation which rescues and rehabilitates injured native wildlife in 1992. Rather quickly we became dedicated to dealing with birds which are not everyone's favourites because kangaroos and possums are more cuddly. Birds also seem rather wilder, less akin to we humans and many are essentially untamable. They form relationships of necessity with us as we are their surrogate parents who offer them food, or rescuer/carers, but there is an essential otherness about them which demands respect. Neither of us had any idea where this work would lead us, what it would involve or, least of all, what we were getting ourselves in to. It seems rather synchronistic that this coincided with an increasing dedication to our spiritual lives. With hindsight not at all surprising as our relationships with our feathered brothers and sisters has been an extraordinary `testing ground' for much of our spiritual perspective. We are profoundly different people for having had these wondrous relationships and, we feel, better people as well. Our relationship to our fellow creatures and the natural world has been transformed. We believe in some small way what we have experienced with the birds has taught us about our deeply buried indigenous selves and given us therefore a better understanding of indigenous people and their experiences. It has grounded our spirituality in the reality of the relationships which give it real meaning, ones which speak to us of the need to be our real selves rather than strive against what we are.  We are, afterall, like our animal breathren, human animals, and to lose that connection is to lose a core part of wht it is to be human. That understanding is a great gift and one which we are still exploring. For more see: At the Heart of the Mountains - A summary of how our life in the Blue Mountains is profoundly linked to our relationships to the birdlife and how the coming of Jorge Raven has been part of that; and Indigenous Homepage a perspective on indigenous living and world views from two non indigenous Australians Stories of the Bird Clans We have come to know. Clan PeeWee The PeeWees or Magpie Larks are medium sized birds found all through Australia where-ever their is water to build their mud nests and provide food during breeding season. They are feisty characters with a strident screeching call. These are the stories of some particular individuals in that clan whom we have been privileged to care for. Clan Magpie Australian Magpies are not the same as European Magpies and are named for their pied appearance rather than being the same species. We have raised a lot of Magpie young and rescued some adults and these are the stories of our time with them. They are one of the best known and loved Australian birds especially for their beautiful dawn calls and swooping attacks on humans during breeding season. They are aggressively territorial birds, a warrior "race" by nature, fierce and uncompromising in battle with each other but very willing to relate to humans and so much loved.. Clan Pied Currawong The Currawongs are found only in Australia and there are three distinct species, Grey, Black and Pied. We have raised many young pieds and rescued and rehabilitated quite a few adults. These are large gregarious, inquisitive and fun loving birds and they have what we consider to have an undeserved bad press. They roam in large flocks throughout the year with mated pairs separating in breeding season and defending a small territory quite fiercely. The Black Currawongs only live in Tasmania and the Greys are less numerous and shier birds. Clan Sulphur Crested Cockatoo These are some of our locals; we have rehabilitated only a few but have a strong sense of their character from their antics around our garden and local trees. They are jesters of the air who gather in great flocks of 50-150 birds and fly with raucous calling and mid air antics that sometimes make one wonder if they are literally going to drop out of the sky. They are also natures pruners who rip and tear at vegetation either to get at hidden grubs or for the shear pleasure of it. Clan Raven There are five species of Corvids in Australia with the most common being the Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides). These are large birds with a distinct beard or ruffle on the throat. They are like most Ravens essentially solitary birds, highly intelligent. and wary of humans  with whom they often carry a negative projection. Clan Tawny Frogmouth The Tawny Frogmouth is an unual looking owl like nocturnal bird which lives in open woodland throughout Australian. It is not, however, a raptor like the owls to which it is not related. Mated pairs hold a large territory and they hunt by perching and dropping onto prey at dusk and dawn. Clan Red Wattle Bird Red Wattle Birds are a large honey eater common throughout the eastern seaboard of Australia. They are feisty little birds and really fearless characters, unafraid of humans once they get to know us and willing to feed from the hand. Clan Kookaburra Kookaburras are a large carnivorous bird of open wood- lands throughout the eastern seaboard of Australia (they were introduced to Western Australia). They live in large clan groups based around a mated pair and have the typical laughing call which give them the name Laughing Kookaburra. Clan Grey Currawong Grey Currawongs, cousins of the Pied Currawong, are a shy and elusive bird except occasionally around mating time. They form permanent pairs and  hold a large territory in which the young stay for a long time after hatching in a strong family arrangement. During mating the pairs spend a lot of time "courting" with a variety of activities such as singing to each other, rolling together in the grass and passing "gifts" whilst perched together, hence our local pair are called Eros and Psyche.They are a large omnivorous bird of open wood- lands throughout southern Australia. They have a subtle ringing call which gives them the common name "bell magpie", Clan Crested Pigeon A Pigeon maybe but the native Crested Pigeon is a fiesty bird a bit smaller than the feral European pigeon. It feeds and flies like its feral cousin but with a distinctive whirring of the wings on take off. It is not, however, as unwary of humans as feral pigeons but will feed in back yards and is not frightened of the bigger birds. Return to Ravenswood's Homepage OR Front Page Menu