One of our far flung readers is ethnic arts and antiques dealer, bead expert , activist and artist , Bucklee Bell , of Chiang Mai , Thailand, who , like others , is surprised by the coverage given to fabulous Australian Bush Stone Curlews in this blog . One of America's great early Underground Comix artists, Bucklee , whose art has appeared before in Little Darwin , is preparing another exhibition and sent us an email in which Curlews are mentioned and included some of his latest paintings , one seemingly containing stylised Curlews and much , much more hidden within .
On first glance , we thought the painting included the feral cats Little Darwin has been trying to trap to prevent the demise of our Curlew chicks .And if those birds are supposed to represent Curlews , our ones are not high wire walkers...the annoying , agile Circus Oz Possums run along the wires onto our roof and then upset the birds on the ground .
In his email, Bucklee said he was looking out the back window in the second storey of his house in Chiang Mai , which overlooks a fallow field , when he was surprised to spot a Curlew ! He continued :
"We got Curlews too...Of course, the reason I never thought about it before is because our Curlews aren't cuddly little people , friendly critters like the Queensland critters . Of course, how can I blame them . To the villagers of my village , dread the thought , Curlew tastes 'aroi' , that means delicious in Thai . So you can tell all your pet Curlew babies , sit 'em on your knee, how good they got it Magnetic Island compared to their cousins up there in Smokey Northern Thailand ...Yes, they are burning the forests this time of the year and no rain for a long time, March-April , not a good time to be visiting here . "
Another of Bucklee's intricate painting which will be included in the forthcoming exhibition.
The Curlews of Magnetic Island are indeed lucky, pampered. The Queen of the Jungle feeds up to 50 a day , the couple who run Man Friday Mexican restaurant on the island have a long history of looking after Curlews , one of which will be the subject of a stirring story in the near future . Last night Little Darwin had to increase the height of the Berlin Wall on our property as the two chicks had escaped and were outside, wandering about with their delinquent parents on the dangerous road . At least one hernia was incurred lifting the concrete blocks during the hasty extension which could not be carried out until the Curlews had come home, like Lassie. after a long and anxious wait.
Chicks, on the right , sizing up Berlin Wall before making daring escape under cover of darkness , one far right looking as though it is about to take a running jump to freedom .
