Fragile Forty-Spotted Pardalote

I live on the beautiful Maria Island with my fellow Pardalote friends

All day I look amongst the Manna gum trees to the ground; many children are running around

They giggle as they hide behind bushes as one seeks around

Human food smells waft through the air, it stings my senses

An insect catches my eye, its nutty smell pulling me closer

I peck it off the branch

I crunch into its hard shell as it trickles down the back of my throat

It trickles into my bloodstream pulsing around my body, making me feel alive

The sweet taste sets my feathers on end  

Large raindrops burst on my feathers

Quickly they turn to almost black

I shake my body as the droplets spin off my feathers

I climb into my dry nest inside a hollow tree

The dry grasses smell of home as I burry amongst my chicks

They are warm and their soft down is sweet smelling

I feed them bugs, and they crunch them quickly

As I feel their pulsing hearts I draw them closer

I worry about them

You know it will not always be safe we are becoming rapidly more endangered every day