Australian Natural History: Monarch of the Western Skies by C.K.Thompson (1946)

Monarch of the Western Skies was the first book written by C.K. Thompson that we owned. I came across it at a secondhand shop more than ten years ago and picked it up not knowing anything about the author but as it cost less than a dollar, I thought it was worth trying. It became my eight year old boy's favourite book for a long time and was also enjoyed by all the other children. Since then we've had the pleasure of reading some of his other books and I don't hesitate to snap up any books by this author when I come across them.

C.K. Thompson wrote most of his Natural History books for children around 1940's to 1950's and unfortunately they are now out of print. He wrote without sentimentality but with an intimate knowledge of the Australian landscape and its fauna. I've just finished reading aloud this wonderful story of a wedge-tailed eagle to Moozle as part of our Australian version of Ambleside Online Year 4 and I think that this book and Warrigal the Warrior (the story of a dingo I wrote about here) are the two best books by C.K. Thompson that we've read so far.

Monarch of the Western Skies follows the life of 'Wedge-tail' from the eyrie on the fringe of the western plains whilst under the care of his dutiful parents and continues to follow him over the course of his life as an adult bird of prey - the world's second largest eagle.
We not only learnt about the wedge-tailed eagle in this book but also about a number of other animals native to Australia and others, such as rabbits and sheep, which are not.  Rabbits were first brought here by Governor Phillip in the First Fleet, mostly to be kept as pets, but in 1859 a ship arrived from Europe with 24 wild rabbits for a Victorian land owner who let them loose on his property so he could chase them and shoot them for sport. 
Six years after the rabbits were let loose, the owner had killed over 20,000 but he thought that there were still about 10,000 more running around.
In our story, Wedge-tail was singled out as being responsible for killing a lamb and measures are taken to try to shoot him. But he has an ally who had witnessed the destruction inflicted by rabbits and understood the role the eagle played in keeping down their numbers.

None of them the sheep were over-burdened with brains, and as long as the Eagles made no attempt to interfere with them, the woolly animals were content not to initiate any moves. Not for a single moment would any of them have considered attacking these visitors f on the clouds. Being sheep, they were not built that way. But one or two of them did vaguely associate these Eagles with something unpleasant, though they did not know what caused the mistrust. Deep thinking is not a characteristic of one of nature's stupidest animals. 

Wedge-tail did not like crows. He regarded them as so many parasites that hung around an eagle after he had caught his dinner, hoping to collect the scraps, and so win a meal without having to work for it.

Another bird that annoyed him, for a different reason, was the magpie...
They were pests but he could understand their and appreciate their urge to protect their heir homes - not that he would ever gave despoiled one. He had no desire to attack a magpie. That bird was a gentleman compared with a crow.
Fierce bird that he was, arrogant and intolerant where his own rights were concerned, Wedge-tail did not in the least mind when a couple of tiny yellow-tailed thornbills attached their pretty little nests to the bottom of his eyrie. He knew that they did this to escape the attention of prowling butcher birds and other predatory slayers.

I highly recommend this living book. It makes a great read aloud and would interest a wide range of ages. I appreciate the author's knowledge, his literary style and the realistic but endearing portrayal of the animals he wrote about. I just wish someone would reprint them.

Thunderbolt the Falcon by C.K.Thompson (1904-1980)

 

This is the story of two boys and an old man who capture and train a peregrine falcon. The story is set in Australia but by skilfully weaving history and the sport of falconry into his tale, the author has made his story interesting to readers outside of Australia also - especially so because the peregrine falcon is found in many places throughout the world.

The story begins with Joe, a young larrikin and an avid reader of adventure books. As a result of his being unable to find the latest Buffalo Bill novel on his last trip to town and his reluctance to complete the list of jobs left by his mother when she went out for the day, his attention was drawn to an old book lying on the floor. 'Flower of Knighthood'had been commissioned as a doorstop as well as other sundry uses in the past and for want of a better occupation Joe took the book outside, sat under a tree and began to read it.

Presently he found himself awash in English history and consequently when his friend David, who was born in England came along some time later, he quizzed him about the Black Prince, Edward the Third and the sport of falconry. In the course of their conversation Joe discovered that David's Grandfather, Mr. Mannering, had been a gamekeeper in England and knew a great deal about falcons and hawks.

The boys eventually convinced Grandfather Mannering to teach them the art of falconry and they subsequently set out to capture a juvenile falcon and begin its training as a hunting hawk. The author goes into some detail about the method used for training falcons and also describes numerous other creatures such as cicadas:

"The locusts make the row by rubbing their hind legs across the drums," remarked Joe knowingly.

"That's just where you are wrong, and in any case they are not locusts," said Grandfather. "They don't rub their legs across the drums at all. It is all done by vibration. Underneath the drums on each side of the cicada's body is a hole covered with skin and full of muscles. The insect, using these muscles, causes the skin to vibrate in and out and the drum acts as a sort of amplifier or loud-speaker. The faster the cicada vibrates his muscles, the louder and harsher is the row he kicks up."

C.K. Thompson wrote numerous books about Australian wildlife (eg. the dingo) which sadly are out of print, but if you can get hold of any they are wonderful sources of information on Australian Natural history intertwined in stories that contain both action and interest. Many of his children's books were written in the 1950's so they reflect that generation's outlook and use of language and the writing sometimes feels a little dated but his stories still have a strong appeal to children around the ages of about 8 years and up.

112pages. 

Peregrine Falcon

February Nature Study

We did our monthly reading from Amy Mack's Bush Calendar




And we read about Insects, Invertebrate Animals Other Than Insects and Spiders from sections of Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study and also from William Gillies' Australian Nature Study books.

An Early Morning Encounter Between a Rock Wallaby and our Cat

I think this is an 'air plant,' Tillandsia, also known as Spanish Moss and Old Man's Beard. Part of the bromeliad family, they absorb all their moisture and nutrients through their leaves, thus the idea that they live on air. This was growing in bushland near our place but it's originally a native of the Americas.

This tree has been in our garden for many years. I knew it was some kind of tropical native but I only just found out its name: Buckinghamia celsissima, commonly known as the ivory curl, and is part of the plant family Proteaceae. It's an Australian native originally from North East Queensland.

The Flowers appear in Summer and last until Autumn

The Tree

We had a garden party for our daughter's 21st birthday and I went out the day before and bought some petunias and pansies to brighten up parts of the garden. We spent an afternoon planting and cleaning up and the next day, the day of the party, I went outside to find all the flowers had been eaten from the pansies, except two pots at the front door. The culprit was the rock wallaby above.

In the space of about two weeks we found two funnel web spiders - outside, thankfully, but still too close for comfort. This one below was already dead when we found him but the other one was speedily dispatched with the aid of a stiff yard broom. Our local hospital accepts donations of live spiders for obtaining anti-venom but I'm not at that stage yet - I freak out at the thought of them sitting beside me in the car as I drive them to their destination. We live in a hot spot for these spiders but since the introduction of an anti-venom in 1981 there have been no deaths recorded from their bites. We hadn't seen any for quite a few years and I wonder if our chooks (now deceased) kept them away.

Sydney Funnel Web Spider (Atrax robustus)

Atrax robustus

Atrax robustus

 

"Nature study is learning those things in Nature that are best worth knowing, to the end of doing those things that make life most worth living."

(Form the Introduction to Nature Studies in Australia by William Gillies and Robert Hall)

A Midsummer Noon in the Australian Forest

A Midsummer Noon in the Australian Forest by Charles Harpur (1813-1868)

Not a sound disturbs the air,

There is quiet everywhere;
Over plains and over woods
What a mighty stillness broods!

All the birds and insects keep
Where the coolest shadows sleep;
Even the busy ants are found
Resting in their pebbled mound;
Even the locust clingeth now
Silent to the barky bough:
Over hills and over plains
Quiet, vast and slumbrous, reigns.

Only there's a drowsy humming
From the yon warm lagoon slow coming:
'Tis the dragon-hornet - see!
All bedaubed resplendently.

O 'tis easeful here to lie
Hidden from noon's scorching eye,
In this grassy cool recess
Musing thus of quietness.