Last June Yirrabiddi, a satellite-tagged Wailitj / Wedge-tailed Eagle who grew up in the same part of the Perth Hills as I did (Parkerville), departed her natal home range and travelled across a vast area of arid Western Australia. In October, after I had completed fieldwork at Matuwa Indigenous Protected Area, this amazing eagle flew in to roost in a tree on the eastern edge of Matuwa, only a few hundred metres from where I had banded an eaglet just days earlier. It seemed this Noongar-Country eagle had travelled all the way to Martu Country, as if by some sort of magic twist she was following me. Below is a collage featuring a picture of Yirrabiddi just before she 'left home', and a map showing her journey between my two PhD study sites.
During last October's on-country fieldwork at Matuwa, Martu elder Rita Cutter made a special wish to one day be able to see "where you grew up, to see your country, Eagleman!", so I knew we had to make this dream come true. Last week this day arrived, and some of the magic is conveyed in the wonderful article by the Hills Gazette's Lynn Grierson that stemmed from this cross-cultural meeting. There was certainly an amazing feeling in the air and I'm looking forward to another day like it very soon!
You can watch a short video of this event, made by budding filmmaker Stella Gray-Broun, by visiting the Vimeo website here.
