Tony Clemow has written a book with proceeds going to the Whangarei bird recovery center.
Video / Tania Whyte
A passion for birds and words, along with a touch of serendipity, led to the publication of a 175-page book of poems to help Whangārei bird recovery.
Whangārei wordsmith Tony Clemow has composed Flights of Fantasy in Birdsong with proceeds donated to the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre.
The book came about after Clemow entered a poetry competition for a magazine a year ago. His poem was spotted by an Auckland-based artist and fellow conservationist.
"It was seen by a lovely lady called Barbara Matthews and I got a letter out of the blue to "Tony Clemow in Kamō", so it's amazing it found me really. She said she would like to draw to my poems and she'd tossed up whether to send it to me or one of the other entrants," explained Clemow.
He'd built up quite a collection of poems over the years and the subsequent book features quirky rhyming poems written about the traits of about 100 birds.
With titles such as Tall Poppy Syndrome and Flamingo Lingo, many of the book's poems were inspired by articles Clemow had read in The Northern Advocate, such as the demise of the pickled parson (tūī).
An excerpt from Flights of Fantasy in Birdsong.
He also enlisted the artistry skills of local Zela Charlton and, coupled with the design by Maria Quin, they produced Flights of Fantasy in Birdsong – An Alphabetical Avian Anthology. It has a strong conservation message and Clemow said it is a "timely warning about extinctions wrought by humankind on defenceless avian victims".
The entire $40 proceeds from sales of each book will go towards helping the efforts of Robert and Robyn Webb at the Maunu heart of avian resurrection – the idea following an article Clemow spotted in The Northern Advocate about the loss of Webb's rescue boat.
"[Robert] was just blown away when I suggested it. He said, 'Let's do it.'"
"[The offer] was amazing. We've lost a lot of income because of having no visitors so naturally, your income takes a huge hit. Around Christmas time until about the end of February, we normally have about 10 to 20 visitors every day - now we're lucky if we get one," Robert Webb said.
"Over the last month and a half, we've just been inundated with birds, it's just gone mad and I can't understand why."
He suggested it may be connected to the food chain; along with kingfisher and wood pigeons, there had been an increase in moreporks to the centre after they had flown into windows in chase of moths heading toward the light.
"They don't realise there's a glass panel there and crash. I think it's the drought conditions – they've altered the feeding pattern and birds are taking more risk.
"They are looking for food and getting closer to the city areas now. Whangārei has grown a lot and you can see the pattern forming where birds are copping it more now because of modern technology. Older-type homes had smaller windows."
Tony Clemow and Robert Webb bond over their passion for birds. Photo / Tania Whyte.
He said that Clemow had done a "marvellous job" capturing the traits of each bird and, while it had been a slow year, Clemow's contribution would help.
The Webbs have patched up and released thousands of birds since the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre's inception nearly 30 years ago. The centre, which also provides education, is run on a voluntary basis relying on sponsorship.
