Daryl Barnes – författare

The aim of this book is to introduce to birds through entertainment and education. Having fun with birds in these twelve humorous, catchy and ''crazy'' short stories will hopefully cement an impression in the mind of each child that will remain with them as they develop and grow. I have observed that reading to small children is most important and that it can sow a seed for the future. When children are older and can read for themselves they can then enjoy the ''crazy'' stories and discover some interesting facts about a ''real'' bird that is related to the fictitious one. This introduction to birds will hopefully encourage children and parents alike to seek and discover more about the large range of birds species that Australia and this planet of ours, have to offer.

Since relocating from Coleraine in Western Victoria to Mackay in North Central Queensland in 1996, I soon discovered a diverse range of habitats including bushland, wetland, rainforest and beaches, all within an eighty-kilometer radius of the town. Of the many bird species that I''ve observed here, I selected twelve to feature in this book.

The idea for this book came to me one day whilst I was sitting on the beach near Finlayson''s Point at Seaforth on the Central Queensland coast. I was watching a solitary Beach Stone-curlew as it sauntered over the tidal mudflats creating a mournful and rather sad image as the sun was setting over the horizon in the west. This created elongated shadows of the bird plus the oddly twisted mangrove tree that was scattered nearby along the foreshore. Other than this bird, there was no other life form visible to me anywhere.

Where I sat near the high tide mark, I could see the ocean some two hundred metres away in the distance. It was low tide and before too long it would begin to make the long and steady journey back to where I sat. So there was a large area of exposed sea-bed available for the Beach Stone-curlew to explore and to search for food like crustaceans and shellfish. But there was no urgency shown by the bird as it was more concerned with my presence than it was in looking for food.

It could hardly be described as a handsome bird-like that of a Black-necked Stork (Jabiru), Brolga or Great Egret and so would not be high on the list of priorities for selection to feature as the main character in a storybook. So why did I choose the Beach Stone-curlew?

My reason I''ve used it as the main character is to help raise its profile and awareness to highlight the issues surrounding its existence where habitat pressures by man is forcing it to more remote areas of the east coastline of Australia. It''s breeding habits also make it very vulnerable as the female lays one or maybe two eggs amongst the high tide debris.

Welcome to my second book in the series of Crazy Bird Stories. This book is significantly different from the first although it does have some similarities as you will discover.

Since my involvement with Birdlife Mackay, I have had the privilege to witness all the birds that are regulars in our area, including seasonal birds. During this time I have seen at first hand the state of the environment where our birds live and so have identified some key areas where something can be done to preserve and enhance critical habitat. This book highlights the importance of undisturbed tidal flats to the Beach Stone-curlew and its survival.