Five Fascinating Birds of Australia.

This month I have been researching more about the five fascinating birds that you will find in the pages of the Adamson Adventures, Book 4. With each month that passes I am progressing one step closer to the release date next year. The manuscript has now been edited while I have been writing the information pages for the back of the book. I am excited to share with you some of the pages I have designed, but that will remain a secret for just a little longer.

Last month I shared with you information on Five Fascinating Animals of Tasmania, this month it is the turn of the birds. You will notice however, that I have titled this birds of Australia not just Tasmania, because some of these are also found on the mainland. Some information on these birds can be seen on my author pages on Facebook and Instagram where I shared my sketches, but you will find more fun facts here.

Swift Parrot

The Swift Parrot is a small, beautifully coloured migratory bird that is critically endangered. It is easy to see with its bright green feathers that cover most of its body, with red and yellow feathers that are found around the face, throat, and tips of the wings. It also has a long purplish-red tail. However, it is often confused with birds of similar colouring such as the musk lorikeet, green and eastern rosella and even the rainbow lorikeet. It nests in the Summer in Tasmania and migrates north to mainland Australia in the Winter. They mainly eat nectar and pollen from specific eucalypt flowers but will also eat insects, fruit, berries, larvae and seeds.

With the continued deforestation of their habitat both in Tasmania and on the Australian mainland, swift parrots are listed as critically endangered as their numbers continue to significantly decrease. With less than 750 Swift parrots left in the wild, it has been voted by conservationists and public alike as the 2023 Australian Bird of the Year. Hopefully this will help draw attention to its devastating situation.

The swift parrot is a migratory bird that is endangered.

My sketch of the swift parrot.

Lyrebird

Do you know where the lyrebird got its name? It is said that the tail was thought to resemble that of the musical instrument, the lyre. The lyre is a hand-held stringed instrument much like a harp. It has two curved arms and a cross bar that joins the arms, with the strings connected from the body to the crossbar. If you look at the tail feathers of the lyrebird, they are remarkably comparable. However, it is only the male that has the superb longer tail that forms the shape of a lyre. The females have a much plainer tail. While the younger males take three to four years to grow their magnificent lyre tail.

The lyrebird is quite musical and very clever, it has the ability imitate any bird sound it hears in the forest but will also mimic any other unusual sounds it hears, such as car alarms, camera shutters, video game noises, workmen and their chainsaws and even dogs barking. The lyrebird composes songs from all these amazing sounds and the songs can last up to twenty minutes. A male lyrebird will compose a long and complex song to attract a female, while the female will whistle a lyrical tune to warn other females to stay away from her territory.

These birds roost in trees at night, then forage on the rainforest floor during the day. They do have the ability to fly, but rarely bother unless they feel they are in imminent or immediate danger.

A lyrebird on the forest floor.

My sketch of the superb lyrebird.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Although widespread throughout Australia, the Wedge-tailed Eagle is threatened in Tasmania due to habitat loss and persecution. These are the largest birds of prey, (raptors) in Australia and while their main source of food is rabbits and other small mammals, they have been known to take lambs, hence large numbers of these eagles were once shot or poisoned. Since their near extinction in Tasmania, the Australian government has now banned all hunting of wedge-tailed eagles in all States of the country. They do prefer to prey on carrion, (the carcass of dead animals) but will also swoop in to catch live food. Wedge-tailed eagles will mate for life, and they tend to maintain a nest in one area, usually in the highest tree.

Even though the wedge-tailed eagle does not have the largest or heaviest body of all the eagles, it does surprisingly have the largest wingspan at over two metres, (six and a half feet). Other birds are often threatened by the predatory nature of the wedge-tailed eagle and will join to chase them away from their nests. Unlike most birds the female is larger than the male, but the pair share duties such as hunting, territory patrol and feeding of their young. Most eagles will only produce one egg at a time, but in the case where there are two eggs, usually only the strongest will survive.  

The wedge-tailed eagle.

My sketch of the wedge-tailed eagle.

Masked Owl

The Masked Owl is found all around coastal regions of Australia. It is listed as threatened throughout the mainland but endangered in Tasmania. It is a bird of prey that as a nocturnal animal, hunts in the evening for small mammals. They swoop from trees looking for prey on the ground, from as small as insects, to larger animals like rats, rabbits, possums and even bandicoots and gliders. Sometimes it will also hunt other birds like kookaburras, magpies, sparrows and even chickens.

Like the wedge-tailed eagle, the female masked owl is larger than the male and as such will hunt for larger prey. Masked owls like other raptors, will regurgitate parts of their prey such as bones, claws, and fur in forms of pellets. Instead of a gentle hoot that you might expect from an owl, this one makes quite a loud screech. However, it makes up for that noise when swooping for prey as its wings have evolved to be completely silent.

Nests are usually in rock cavities, or holes in trees along cliff edges. They lay between two to four eggs that are incubated for five to six weeks. Both parents will continually feed their young every hour for ten to twelve weeks until the young are ready to fly. They will remain with their parents for a further few weeks as they are taught to hunt for themselves.

The Australian Masked Owl.

My sketch of the Masked Owl.

Demon Duck of Doom

Okay, I know what you are thinking, the demon duck of doom is extinct. So technically it doesn’t belong here among the other birds. However, it is unique to Australia, and thanks to all the readers who wanted to know more at the end of Fossil Frenzy, book 3, the DDD makes another appearance in book 4.

These avian dinosaurs have a scientific name of Dromornis planei, and were also formerly known as Bullockornis planei. It was a huge flightless bird that roamed an area in the Northern Territory of Australia called Bullock Creek during the late Pleistocene epoch, (50,000 years ago) to as far back as the Eocene epoch, (55 million years ago) that are all part of the Cenozoic era. Close relatives of the bird were also found in Queensland.

Nicknamed the Demon Duck of Doom because of its close relationship to ducks of today, it was originally thought to be related to emus, cassowaries, and ostriches. However, on the discovery of further detail of the head and bill, it became evident that this creature was in fact closer genetically to ducks and geese. Even more recently research has suggested that it could even be related to chickens and turkeys.

The bird was heavily built with a long, thick neck, enormous legs, a head as big as a horse and a huge, curved bill. Interestingly, it is the curious nature of the bill that has caused much debate among scientists as to whether the Demon Duck of Doom was a herbivore or carnivore. It has been thought that the bill was ideal for cropping and breaking tough plant material which is backed by the discovery of gastroliths (small stones) that would be swallowed to help with digestion of plant material. While other researchers believe that the beak was more suited to tearing meat and crushing bones. The beak does not however, have a sharp tip which is found on all other birds of prey, nor is the beak seen to be strong enough for a meat-eater as even though the beak is deep, it is thin.

A photo I took of a replica of the Demon Duck of Doom at the discovery Centre in the Daintree Rainforest, in far North Queensland.

My sketch of the Demon Duck of Doom.

Have you learnt something new today?

Do you enjoy reading fun facts about little known animals and birds?

I hope you have found these articles on animals of Tasmania and birds of Australia fascinating.

Keep an eye out for more exciting information on book 4 in the Adamson Adventures coming next year.

Where Do You Find Inspiration For Your Writing?

I have had this question posed to me a few times lately. Most recently by an author friend who sent me a questionnaire to help her write her next non-fiction book. My response to this question was probably a little too brief as I answered it in one sentence. I thought about it a little more deeply and decided it was worthy of further explanation.

My initial response was simply - Inspiration comes from everywhere, nature and the environment, my grandkids, holiday destinations, conversations and interacting with children generally. Let’s unpack these a little more in depth.

But first, I think the real question must include - why? Why do you feel the need to write is an intrinsic part of the inspiration. Once you know your why, inspiration will find you. My why, is obviously for me, children. My passion to help children want to learn and read started way back when I was still a student. The joy of children’s books has never left me and wanting to share that enthusiasm with kids is overwhelming. As a teacher I always preferred to focus on literacy in all its forms even though I recognised the importance of all subjects and providing a rounded education. My belief is that to fully comprehend anything, the basic tools of learning stem from a love of reading. If I can foster that love of reading in children through my books then I hope to have done my part in building the next generation of creative thinkers and innovators. Just thinking about helping one child want to learn to read is my inspiration for writing.

Now let’s consider those other parts of my inspiration for writing.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, is one of my favourite bush walking areas.

I could sit here for ages taking in the sights, smells, and sounds.

Nature and the Environment.

While I grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney, somehow, living in the country seemed inevitable. I love being out in nature and able to take long walks through the bush on a daily basis. Feeling a part of nature is grounding. The clean air is refreshing and the sounds of the bush is exhilarating yet calming. A daily walk helps me clear my mind and think about plot holes, structure, character, mischief and new ideas. Observing the birds and wildlife creates ideas for many of my stories. When I want to describe an outdoor scene, I like to use all my senses, nature and the environment is an integral part of the writing process. Walking suburban streets isn’t quite the same, there are too many other noises to filter out. Although, they can be great for character studies. I like to write adventures and take my characters to unusual settings that the average reader does not usually get to experience.

It’s my love of nature that has inspired me to write book 4 in my Adamson Adventures. When hubby and I were newly weds, we embarked on a six month work position in Hobart, Tasmania. I fell in love with the beauty of its natural environment and always hoped to return someday when we had the time to explore many of the bushwalks it had to offer. Fast forward some thirty plus years later and we finally revisited the beauty of Tasmania last year. I planned many amazing walks and loved every one of them. The next book could finally be written.

My two picture books, ‘Emma the Eager emu,’ and ‘Frazzled Freya’ both came from watching wildlife. Initially observing the native birds and lizards that frequent my garden, then considering other creatures that I have seen during various trips around Australia.

Holiday Destinations.

By now, if you have read any of my previous books, you will know, that the setting is an integral part of the journey. Unique or different places often inspire my thoughts for story as I like to grab my readers attention by giving them an opportunity to travel in the comfort of their own personal favourite reading place. A good story can take the reader to wherever their imagination wants to go without leaving the comfort and security of their own home.

The inspiration for ‘Secrets Hidden Below,’ came from a family holiday in Bali. I couldn’t find a book that would take kids on an adventure around this beautiful and exotic location, so I decided to write it myself.

The inspiration for ‘A Lighthouse In Time,’ came from our annual camping holidays at the beach. We found an old ruined lighthouse and I always knew there had to be a ghost story written around it. I love lighthouses, their mystery and history is fascinating, and I knew kids would feel the same.

Tanah Lot Temple Bali, is one of the places I take my readers to on their adventure in ‘Secrets Hidden Below.’

The old ruined lighthouse at Cape St George was the inspiration for ‘A Lighthouse In Time.’

Grandkids and Children in General.

The inspiration for ‘Fossil Frenzy,’ is a combination of nature, holidays and children. From my eldest son who has had a passion for rocks and fossils since he was five years old, to my grandson’s fascination with dinosaurs, the inspiration for this story was inevitable. Once I incorporated a trip to outback Queensland to see the dinosaur museum with all the incredible fossils in their natural environment, my inspiration was so enthusiastic, I couldn’t wait to start writing.

The Age of Dinosaurs Museum at Winton, in Queensland was a must see and experience before I could write ‘Fossil Frenzy.’

I found a replica of the Demon Duck of Doom, at the Discovery Centre in the Daintree National Park, in Far North Queensland.

I have a couple of other manuscripts I am in the process of finishing that have been inspired by my grandson and the conversations we have had. I won’t say too much about these for now, except that I hope to share more sometime soon.

The inspiration for my first early reader books, ‘Gingerbread Aliens’ and ‘Alien Shenanigans’ both came from my children. One day we were baking in the kitchen and we had a bit of a mishap, after cleaning up the mess and laughing together, I knew there was a story in the experience. A little bit of creative thinking and Gingerbread Aliens was born. “Alien Shenanigans,’ was inspired by a the experience the kids had at school with one of their favourite teachers. He was inspirational with his science experiments. Expand on the classic volcano experiment and away went my imagination again.

The volcano experiment in ‘Alien Shenanigans,’ was not only wonderful inspiration but a joy to do with kids during school visits.

While all the birds around my property were the initial inspiration behind ‘Emma the Eager Emu,’ there’s nothing like seeing an emu in the wild. This one was in Monkey Mia, Western Australia.

Living through the the bush fires of the 2019/2020 Summer season, inspired me to write a short story for one of the anthologies.

Inspiration to write can come from so many wonderful places. Writing prompts can be helpful too. The last few years I have written short stories for anthologies that are inspired by a prompt or initial idea/theme. I tend to start with that, then consider all of the above mentioned ways to find inspiration, it’s amazing where it will lead you.

Now that you have learned a little more about where I find my inspiration for writing, it’s your turn to tell me. Where do you find your inspiration for your writing? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to learn more.

What Makes A Successful School Visit?

I have been doing author school visits off an on for almost ten years now. Each time I do one, I learn something new that helps improve how smoothly they run.

School visits have been fairly scarce over the last couple of years due to Covid-19 restrictions, but just last month, I had the pleasure of finally being back in a school for a half day visit. This had been much anticipated as it had been postponed several times. The original year 3 cohort that I had been invited to speak with are now in year 5. Sadly I didn’t get to have a session with them, however I was delighted to have a visit with several of them during their recess break. It was lovely to chat with theses kids not only about one of my books but all three in the Adamson series and why they enjoyed them so much. One of the young girls was quite articulate and explained that she believed they were so good because the plots were full of twists and turns and they had great character development. I thought that was great insight and high praise from an 11 year old reader.

So what have I learned that helps make school visits successful?

Plenty of Planning and Preparation.

As a former teacher I have always made sure I take the time to plan the lesson. But not all children’s authors have a teaching background. That makes it all the more important to carefully plan your day. Kids naturally can’t sit still for too long, which makes it even more important to be as engaging as you possibly can. If you do your prep, the more likely the session will run smoothly for you, the kids and the teachers.

Send a poster announcing your upcoming visit so that the kids will get excited. Send in a pre-order form with your website listed so that kids and their parents can view your books beforehand and make an informed decision.

If you are planning on a slide-show presentation, forward it via email or google docs to the teacher so that they have it on file on their computer. Also, make sure you have a thumb drive back-up just in case. I have also been known to have a printed copy just in case the techy stuff goes wrong on the day.

Author School visit St Claire of Assisi

Author visit St Claire of Assisi

Organisation and liaison with the school and teacher.

Keep an open correspondence with both the organising teacher and if possible the school administration officer. Ask the teacher what they might be hoping to gain out of the visit? Is there something they would like you to discuss that fits into the current curriculum guidelines that they are working on?

This recent visit was with a Year 2 cohort who are studying Indonesian, so the teacher was reading Secrets Hidden Below with them. I was able to give them more in-depth information on Bali along with photos I took during my last visit to Indonesia in 2019. I naturally incorporated some Bahasa Indonesia language learning as well.

At a visit to a school last year where I was asked to do sessions which each year level, K through 6, I was asked to incorporate writing activities that fitted in with core curriculum literacy skills. I was able to incorporate all my books instead of focussing on just one.

My biggest takeaway from this most recent experience was the importance of the admin officer, particularly if you plan to send a book order form in before the visit. It was this wonderful lady that suggested I add my bank transfer details to my order form so that parents could transfer electronically their payment directly to my account rather than the school and myself on the day needing to handle cash. This worked brilliantly as I then had an idea of the number of books I would need to take along with me on the day. Added to this, this amazing woman went above and beyond expectations and sent me a spreadsheet with children’s names. whether they paid via bank transfer or cash and which books they ordered. This meant I could pre-sign copies of my books and easily have them ready to hand out on the day.

Variation in activities during the session.

As mentioned earlier, variation is key to a successful school visit. Never plan to just talk for an hour or just read your book and leave it at that. Kids and teachers expect more, especially when they are paying you for your time. You are there to entertain, enlighten and engage. While activity sheets are always useful, I find kids get so much more out of a session if you get them moving. Games are fantastic for ice-breakers, those moments when kids begin to get restless or fidget in the middle and are a fabulous way to wrap up at thee end.

For this recent visit with the Indonesian classes I found a couple of Indonesian games to teach and play with them. Then added a Heads and Tails game near the end. It’s like true and false but sit with hands on heads if they think the answer is true, or stand up and put their hands on their tales if they think the answer is false. Kids have a lot of fun with this one, and you and the teacher can see who has been truly listening.

When I have done visits with Fossil Frenzy, I have also added a couple of dinosaur songs for the kids to learn and sing-a-long. Doesn’t matter if you can’t hold a tune, I certainly can’t, just be brave a go with the flow.

Author Visit Chapman PS, engage kids through movement and games

Author visit Chapman PS engage through movement and games

Make sure you allow time for Q & A somewhere towards the end, kids will ask the most incredible questions. Sometimes about your books, sometimes about you, be prepared for anything but remember you don’t have to answer everything, especially when someone asks the inevitable ‘How old are you?’

Lastly, remember to relax and have fun. Kids are always fascinated to have an author come and visit their school, they will be so excited to meet you.

Have you ever done author school visits?

Was there something you learned from your experience that I haven’t mentioned but others would find helpful?

Is there anything you still want to know that you didn’t find here?

Ask me any questions or leave a comment below. I would be happy to answer.

What I Have Learnt As A Writer That Can Also Help you.

If there is one thing I have learned over all the years I have been writing, it is as Aristotle is famous for saying - ‘The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.’

A quote from Aristotle that is apt in all that we learn. Thanks to azquotes for this image.

I admit I have gained some worthwhile knowledge in my writerly journey but there is always so much more out there to learn and share. Here are a few tips that I now know and wish I new earlier.

When writing a blog post, make it helpful to the reader.

Mix it up a little.

Write posts that will help readers gain information. They will be more interested to read further if you assist in their learning about something of their interest. Pique interest with anecdotes about yourself but don’t make it all about you. Even in my earliest blogs I wrote about topics to help others.

In one of my original blogs back in 2013 I wrote about the Classic Middle Child Syndrome

While it was an attempt to discuss the characters in my first self-published book Gingerbread Aliens, it was also a way of helping my readers understand the differences of each sibling in their family and the importance of treating each sibling as unique individuals.

The next post was also an attempt to help families with a light-hearted look at our neighbours and how to live in a community together without living in each others pockets. Curiosity Killed the Cat

Looking back on these, I realised I started off my blog writing journey in the right manner, but somehow lost my way for a while and forgot this important message. Today I now know the importance of making sure I am focussed on my reader. If I were to write these now, I would have written them slightly differently. I should have used my characters as examples to make my point after my discussion, not the other way around.

Gingerbreadaliens can be found here

Dot points/Headers and links.

Readers like to scroll.

Remember your reader is often time poor and will only glance at your post. You need to give them a reason to pause and read further. Dot points and headers draw attention to the point you are making.

Embedded links are important for your SEO. They provide pathways to help reach a larger audience.

You can see in the two above early blog posts that I neglected to do either of these.

Photos/Images.

Images whether they are your own or found online are another way to help your reader pause and consider what you have to say. Add links to the original source if it doesn’t belong to you and make sure it isn’t copyright bound.

Publishing Takes Time.

While Gingerbread Aliens was the first book I self-published, it was not the first story I wrote.

I remember my first ever piece I had published was a poem I wrote when I was sixteen. It won a state-wide writing competition and was published in a magazine. I was so proud of that piece, yet after all of these years I have no record of it. I do not have the original hand written poem, nor do I have a copy of the magazine publication. I have written to NSW RSL in hope that they may have had it archived, but had no luck in receiving a response. My advice here, is to always keep a copy of your writing, you never know when you might want to revisit it.

A Good Story Needs to Percolate.

It can take a long time from original idea to publication.

When I first wrote Secrets Hidden Below it began with a different title, - ‘The Map, the Cave and the Volcano.’ At that stage I thought it was ready for publication and even found some interest with publishers. Sadly it didn’t make it through acquisitions , which was probably a good thing as I eventually made many improvements to the original story. Not knowing anything about self-publishing back then, I had a handful printed through Officeworks and gave copies to my family members. I am glad that is all I did , as I allowed it to sit in a drawer for years while I learnt more about the craft of writing and eventually produced a story that was traditionally published and won a shortlisted award in the Australian Speech Pathology Awards 2019. My patience, persistence and commitment paid off in the end.

Don’t rush your story, allow it to take time to germinate properly, edit and rewrite until you can make it the best story you can. Then have a professional editor help you. Never be afraid to ask for help and be prepared to listen to advice.

A copy of my original story, “The Map, The Cave and The Volcano.’ that finally became Secrets Hidden Below

You can find more information about Secrets Hidden Below here.

I am sure there is so much more I could share, but another thing I have learned is not to make my blog posts too long.

I hope you have found this not only interesting, but helpful too.

What is one particular thing that stands out to you that you have learnt over the years. Please comment below.

To read more about what some other authors have learnt since their early days writing, please click on the links below.

3 Ways Writing Made Me a Better Person by Julie Gorges

What I've Learned as a Writer by Rosie Russell