BirdForum

Elusive birds them one don't often see
Treecreepers build their cup shaped nest of bark behind loose bark of tree
From predators concealed and hidden away
And pinkish spotted eggs the female lay.

Shy woodland birds of humans they show respectful fear
They climb tree trunks in search of insects and when human to them venture near
Of the tree trunk they disappear to the other side
Of watchers eyes they'd much prefer to hide.

They...

Francis Duggan

Old Belgrave it hasn't changed that much the traffic buzzing up and down
To and from the Melbourne eastern Suburbs on the Burwood highway through many an old Sherbrooke Town
Yet out of Belgrave it is quieter in Kallista of the tall gum trees
The wind in the mountain ash soughing in the freshening mountain breeze.

The whistle of the steam train Puffing Billy as it slowly chugs up Selby hill
In the quietness of the mid morning the blast of it's hooter sounds...

Francis Duggan

The swallows from Glen Alvie to North Queensland have gone
But life in the old Mountain Country goes on
The sheep they are bleating the cattle are lowing
Though at this time of year natural growth it is slowing.

In a high roadside paddock alpacas I see
Quite valuable animals I counted just three
Their Land of origin is South America of the camel family
To look at they seem quite attractive to me.

A small herd of Scottish highland...

Francis Duggan

I was born by a northern mountain though perhaps far from that mountain I will die
But my past to this day remains with me and my heritage I won't deny
In the Parish where I grew to manhood I would feel like a stranger today
Few there now would even recognize me the years have left me looking gray.

The schoolboy of the nineteen fifties three decades of years past his prime
He may not live to be an old man but he surely will outlive his rhyme
But...

Francis Duggan

Hares unlike their cousins the rabbits do not live in a hole in the ground
They depend on their speed and elusiveness for survival and their hiding places hard to be found
They rest in the long grass during daylight hours and at nightfall from hiding venture out
For to feed on the short and sweeter grass and under cloak of darkness wander about

Their territories which can be large areas perhaps of a few miles or more
They can be seen in coastal country...

Francis Duggan