When i was a boy i have fond memories of waking upto the sounds of the bellbirds & new holland honeyeaters at my nanas in regentville nsw. As a child it was a wonderful way to wakeup. Now 35 odd years later my nana lives where i work & we are still bird watching, it is not only an important part of her life to discuss the goings on of the birds who visit her daily, but other people have become interested aswell. this is what an interest/hobby/fascination/pleasure/an addiction is all about.
Hi mrtattoo, isn't it amazing, what impact those early childhood memories have on the rest of our lives.Those years can make or brake you!! Most of the time it is "nan", or "pop", who influences children the most, as she can see the important aspects of life. Long live all the grand parents out there, who create all the beautiful memories!!! M-L
M-L
SO true Mrtattoo and Marie Louise..... I was not fortunate enough to have my grandparents alive and nearby when I was growing up so it is my mother that has defined my way of viewing the world. I am happy to say that she is also helping my daughter to appreciate all things beautiful and natural. yesterday I was delighted to leave them together for the first ( of many I hope) water colour painting lessons) . My mother has early stage dementia and has a talent for botanical painting.... not only did my daughter produce her first painting on "real paper" but my mother was inspired by a sprig of tea tree picked by her grandaughter and started her first illustration from scratch in many years... It looked perfect. Those are the moments we will always treasure :')
Here's a toast to our mothers and grandmothers !
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I grew up surrounded by birds on a rural property with bush down the back and I used to remember my dad pointing to a floating dot in the sky and saying Eagle. i also remember the Black-shouldered Kite who was quite tame and hovered above me a few times. The crimson rosellas are also very strong in my memory. I was probably influenced most by my parents and growing up with nature.
Cheers, Owen.
Thats what im talking about everyone. thanks for sharing.
if your happy when your birding, flap your wings.
Nice memories & lost of nostalgia here. Some more: I grew up mostly in suburban Adelaide where all things European grew. I can only remember blackbirds calling on warm spring evenings & starlings on the lawn. While I don't like these species because of their damage to Australia's birds, they do remind me of the first home I can remember & I thank them for that. Perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh on early colonists who imported plants & animals to remind them of home.
I can recall hovering kestrels when I was holidaying with my grandparents in the country north of Adelaide. My grandparents called them sparrow hawks. And then there was the magpie which was swooping kids at a 1-teacher school I attended for a short time. The teacher obtained a permit to shoot it & did so. I wonder if that would happen these days.