GIVE THE BIRDS A GO CLIVE

BIMBLEBOX reserve is under threat from Clive Palmer in his search for coal.  This reserve was land donated for a wildlife refuge and is home to many rare and endangered species of bird ... writers and poets are being asked to get on board to help the cause and raise public awareness .... http://bimbleboxartproject.com/2014/11/21/43-bimblebox-birds-need-43-writers-and-poets/

I chose to write about the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Acanthagenys rufogularis.  Their call is described as : Liquid gurgling notes. ‘Give-the-boy-a-go’ repeated ending in a single abrupt note.  

BIMBLEBOX - GIVE THE BIRDS A GO CLIVE …..

 Maureen Clifford ©  The Scribbly Bark Poet

A pink blush stained the maiden’s cheeks, she turned her head away

a little pirouette she gave beneath the blossoms gay,

the male was a good looking bloke -  vociferous and loud

and she could hear him calling out even when in a crowd.

Give the boy a go just give the boy a go

I’ll build a love nest for you if you give the boy a go.

I’ll line it with the softest wool and build it there below

together we’ll raise little chicks -  just give the boy a  go.

They foraged through the shrubs and trees and foraged on the ground

sharing the little delicacies between them that they found

Both feasted on the quandong and the juicy mistletoe

and he would serenade her – calling – give the boy a go.

These little birds had no idea their home was under siege

they spent each day contented  ‘neath Bimblebox forest leaves

Coal was not on their diet and this pair had not a clue

all could be lost if mans greed was allowed to follow through.

Their lovely desert upland with its rich diversity

of flora and animal species headed for catastrophe

by a mining group who only saw the wealth that lay beneath

and to reach the coal they would destroy the precious woodland heath.

A nature refuge under siege would well describe their home

a sanctuary for many years – donated land and loam

Red tailed black cockatoo lived there and Yellow Thornbill too

our Spiny-cheeked honeyeaters part of a motley crew.

Were they aware of what they’d lose a protest would be raised

by all the birds whose home was there and leading the parade

would be a honeyeater with a spiny cheek aglow

and you would hear him calling out – give the birds a go.

Give the birds a go Clive – give the birds a go

we’re part of the ecology, don’t say you didn’t know.

Destroy our homes and we are gone – it’s pretty hard you know

to find a safe green habitat – Give the birds a go.

But animals don’t have a voice – they must rely on us

to stop the carnage and the rape because it is unjust.

This land was once donated as a habitat for all

and nowhere was it mentioned then it would be dug for coal.