Isn’t this just the most wonderfully constructed bower? Good, thick walls and a perfectly shaped, oval ‘front door’. You might say Mr. S. has home construction pegged (sorry, I couldn’t resist). He is a builder extraordinaire and a credit to the community of Blackheath.

PRETTY WELL PERFECT MATE!

JULY 21 — I called at my friend’s compound in Memorial Park as I walked up to the village today at 1.30 pm. Surely he had started to attract some ladies?

Location of satin bowerbird
A YOUNG GENTLEMAN’S PAD

Alas, no prospective brides were visiting, but everything was looking tickety boo.

OPEN FOR INSECTION

Imagine my shock when I stopped on my way back home two hours later to find that his beautiful home had been completely trashed. Poor Mr. S was looking at the mess in dismay and to be honest I felt almost as bad as he did. For heavens sake….all that work!

OH NO!!

What on earth had happened? Was it damage by a gambolling, unleashed dog? Perhaps it was vandalism by a larrikin, sulphur crested cockatoo?

Sulphur crested cockatoo. Every builder dreads his vandalism.
A KNOWN LOCAL CRIM!

The cockies are always prime suspects, feared by every landscaper and home constructor in the Blue Mountains.

Sulphur crested cockatoos chewing a retaining wall.
HOOLIGANS

Memorial Park was deserted, so it was unlikely to have been caused by human intervention.

THE TRUE CULPRIT

In fact, the cockies were blameless and I apologise if they were offended. It was actually an unprovoked attack from a rival bower builder. I’m afraid this sort of thing happens all too often in the avian world. Satin bowerbirds constantly steal blue treasures from each other and yes, they will destroy a neighbour’s show home without the slightest compunction. There is no way of preventing these raids as the home owner has to leave his property unattended throughout the day, to feed and gather (or steal) more courting treasures.

Satin Bowerbirds
I’LL SWIPE THIS ONE THANKS

To his credit, poor Mr S. spent very little time bemoaning the outrage. His spirit and resilience were admirable.

I watched in awe as he commenced a rebuild in a frenzy of activity. Get those rafters back up Mate.

This builder has a big job after an attack by a rival.
WORK UNDERWAY, NO TIME TO SIT AND WEEP
Heartbreak for an owner builder.
FRONT DOOR DEMOLISHED……. A TOTAL RENOVATION REQUIRED

It occurs to me that his bower might become a regular target now. What a nightmare scenario that would be.

So would you like to see what happens when a rival builder decides to wreck a bower? A warning to the tender hearted, it’s a bit confronting. CLICK HERE

WHAT A RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT!

JULY 22 – Well I’ll be blowed. Look what Mr S has achieved in 24 hours. Almost as good as new;

ENTRANCE NEEDS A TWEAK, BUT……..
Our builder outside his reconstructed  bower.
BRAVO!

Although encouraging a cycle of vandalism is probably not helpful, I’m secretly hoping my friend will get his revenge.

4 Comments
  1. Well done, Mr Bowerbird. Triumph over adversity.

  2. Aw shame. All that hard work….

Leave a Reply

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.