Button's Diary - My Birthday

The Burra Family. An Aussie family – with a difference.

We’re birds. Not just ordinary birds, but……..Kookaburras.



This is my Family. Well almost. That's Dad behind the camera."
"Come on kids. Your Mum's the only one looking at the camera.." That's Dad.

"Well try that again" says Dad. "Now on the count of three look straight at the camera."
"1....2....3"
"Ha, Ha, Ha. Funny. Very Funny. Mother, your as bad as your kids. Don't encourage them so.
C'mon now, look at the camera?"

This is but one page from Button’s Diary.

“Hi. My name’s Button. I’m the youngest & Dad tells me I’m also the cutest. Mum says after I was hatched, dad took one look at me and said…….look at our new baby, Bashful (that’s my mum). She’s as cute as a Button. And with that, my name was born. Aren’t I lucky he didn’t say “look at our baby, she's as cute as an Artichoke? THAT would be a silly name for a Kookaburra.”

“I also have an older brother.  Bitey. I loath & despise him. He is the bane of my life. Always teasing me. He’s 8. Do I need to say more? HE IS EIGHT!”

THIS... is my brother Bitey.
See what I mean. He does this all the time.
He grabs my beak inside his & breathes on me. He wont let go until I take a breath.
He thinks it's funny!
I so loath him.

“As well as HIM, I have 2 older sisters. Brave Baby & Bully. They’re twins & a year older than me.”
“I so love my sisters. Brave Baby is always showing me an easier way to do things, and when Bitey picks on me, Bully jumps in to tell him off. She’s my protector.”



This is my sister Brave Baby showing me how to land...AT FULL SPEED
"The trick here Button, is overcoming your fear"
"Focus on where your landing, keep accelerating & then......"

"Hit the brakes big time. If you don't, you'll overshoot your landing & that's just plain embarrassing"

This is my Sister Bully
"If you don't stop picking on our little sister, I'll tell Dad & you don't want that, do you brother?"

“So by now you should have noticed Dad has a thing for names starting with B. He was there for each of our hatchings. Bitey, bit him when he went to pick him up. Bully kept poking Brave Baby with her beak. And Brave Baby stood her ground every time Bully prodded her. And that’s how they got their names.”

Dear Diary…. Today…..This very day…..I….Turn….6

 “Today’s my Birthday. I’m so excited. I got up before dawn.”

I was the only one awake, so what’s a birthday girl to do?
The only thing I can.  Jump down to dads branch, & gently bite him on the foot.
“WHAT! KOO, KOO, KOO, KAA, KAA,KAA, was that, Button!”
“Sorry Dad, I must have slipped, fallen onto your branch, and accidently bitten your toe.”
“Is that right Button? You just happened to slip, land on MY branch, and bite me on the toe? And on your BIRTHDAY.”
 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING. KOO, KOO, KOO, KAA, KAA, KAA. WAKE UP SUN. WAKE UP HUMANS. TODAY IS BUTTON’S 6^TH BIRTHDAY. WAKE UP EVERYONE. LET THE PARTY BEGIN. KOO, KOO, KOO, KAA, KAA, KAA.”  announces Dad to the world and all who would listen.

You know when you have those talks with your folks, and you know they’re not listening. Well apparently they are. They miss nothing. Kind of scary really. Anyway, a few weeks ago Dad says to me “Button, 6 is big. Not just big, but real big. What would you like for your birthday?”

“Well Dad, Pied the Grey Butcherbird, and was telling me there’s this new joint, Kooks Tapas Bar. It’s got a grass area to run around on. And Dad, it’s also got a pool & everything.”

“Well, if you’re a good girl between now and then, I could see that happening”

“That would be fab Dad, and could Mum do up one of her cakes I like so much.”

“Has there ever been a birthday, where she didn't? You know your mother.”

This was to be best birthday I’ve had in my whole short life.

Here are some of the snaps of me & the family.

(I have a new Fave)

 My Birthday Cake. A layer of freshly steamed rice, topped with my favourite. Mashed pumpkin. “I so loves me Mash” For candles Mum used raw prawn heads. These were to die for. She always knows. As with all mums, they are always introducing us to new foods. She ringed my cake with garlic/chilli fettuccine. Well, all I can say is WOW.”

"BUTTONS MUM. BUTTONS MUM." yells Pied & this brother Stan.
"YOU NEED TO CHECK THE CAKE"
Pied is my bestest mate. He's the one with the brown hair.

"BITEY, don't you dare touch your sisters cake!"  warns Mum
"Mum, she won't notice. I'll just take a teeny tiny bit from the back. I promise"
"YOU LITTLE TERROR BITEY" scolded Mum

I arrive. OK, just a little late, but that’s fashionable for us ladies of 6 years of age. And what do I see? BITEY. AND what’s he doing? He’s into MY cake! MY CAKE.

At least he didn’t get any of my prawn candles.
Of everything in the whole wide world I love the most, it’s Prawn Heads.

Dad says “Hey Gorgeous, give me a smile”
“By gorgeous, that would be me you would be talking to?”

“Could there be anyone else, my Birthday girl?”

“Come & show the camera what a six year old looks like. Give him your best pose, honey”

Now it wasn’t until I got home & was pasting this photo into my diary that I noticed it.
Yep, look harder. See him. And what’s he got in his gob.
OHHH, I despise him so.

“KOO, KOO, KOO, KAA, KAA, KAA, WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO, HAS, HAS, HAS, A BIRTHDAY, TO, DAY, DAY, DAY. BUTTON, BUTTON, BUTTON, THAT’S WHO, WHO, WHO”
YAY. Brave Baby & Bully are here.

“Happy birthday Sis” they echoed. “We got you a little something. We all put in for this, including your brother Bitey. We know how Florence Nightingale is your hero, so we got you her cloak. Now go out and heal the world, Girl”.



Here's me looking like Florence Nightingale
Don't I so look like a nurse.



Lunch was great. Mum is just the bestest cook.

 Brave Baby & Bully digging in.

Things were going great for a while, until Bitey, picking up the last piece of Garlic/Chilli Fettuccine, ask's “Sister. It’s your birthday. Would you like this last delicious piece of Fettuccine?”

“Oh Bitey, I’d love the last piece. Thanks, but what’s the catch?”

“No catch, Button” he says as he brings it over to me.

I lean forward ready to accept his treat, when at the last second, he eats all, but the end. That, he placed on my beak.



“I didn’t say I would give you all of it.
Pity you don’t have hands Sis. I guess you find this both frustrating & annoying”.

OHH I hate him so.

 “C’mon kids, settle."
"Button, from your Father & me. We’ve hidden a piece of your fave steak for you to find.”

“I’ll give you a clue” she whispers. “Look at the plant with the long green leaves, my baby”

“I see it Mum”

“So do I” says Bitey.

I’m ahead, Bitey on my tail, I gets to the treat first. Bitey, lines me up and belly flops me.

“IF…..I…..Can….Just….SQUEEEEEZ OUT….From Under….You.”

“YOU….ARE….SO…GOING….TO….GET….IT!”

“They say Revenge is a Dish best served Cold. I don’t know what that means, but I can tell you, it’s a pretty good feeling jumping on your brothers back after he thinks a Belly flop would defeat me”

Look carefully, that's my tail sticking out from under that big oaf of a brother.

Finding my freedom,
There is only one thing for a girl to do..............

Use his back as a trampoline.

 “Dad would you like a piece of steak?

“Yeah thanks Brave Baby, but No. I’m as full as brown tick on a black dog. I’m so full I might just sit here & chill in the sun”.  Dad’s, they’re all the same.

Dad...full as a goog, and about to fall asleep in the sun.

“Button, how about a game?” suggested Brave Baby.

“What are you thinking Sis?”

“Well, I thought a game of "Simon Says follow the leader" would be fun.”

“How does that go, Brave Baby?” asks I

“Well, you run, we have to follow. If you say put up a wing, we have to put up a wing. We have to do whatever you do.”

“That sounds FAB”

Simon says "lift your wings and run in circle's"
"That's Bully behind me, Brave Baby behind her, and look at Bitey."
"Brothers.....ARRGGHH

Dad he ruins everything.

Dad having a comforting chat with me. I cherish these moments

“Button, you are six now. You are old enough to understand this. Your brother is older, bigger & faster. And he is always going to be older, bigger & faster. But you are smarter. I’m a great believer in that what goes around comes around. “

“What do you mean Dad?”

“Well Button, what I believe is this. If you do good, it comes back to you. If you do wrong, that will also come back you. Don’t worry, you brother will get his comeuppance.”

“KIDS” calls Mum, “Who’d like some fresh fruit?”

“ALL OF US” we cried in one voice.

I was the first to the table and Mum had put some great stuff, but what caught my eye was the apple. Still ringing in my ears was those words from Dad “What goes around, comes around.”

Grabbing a slice of apple I toss it in the air, open my beak and let slide right down my throat.

Picking up another piece of Apple I tease Bitey “You need to try this brother. It’s as cool and refreshing as it looks.”

I knew, I just knew, he’d have to hop up and try.

Also, what I knew, was I had a paddle in my mouth and a pool sitting next to me. And do you know what else. Kookaburras hate water above everything.

“Come closer brother, here, take mine”

Then as quick as a flash, I jump to the side of the pool, and say only one word (well two really)

“WATER FIGHT”

I lifted my apple high, high above my head, and swung it down with all my force.
Wow, apple makes a great paddle. It sent a wave of water right over the top of Bitey.

Bitey was frozen to the spot. No one, and I mean no one, had ever done that to Bitey before.

It was great. He just stood there not knowing what to do.
Swing…wave…another direct hit.

Bitey just looks around. He’s confused. He doesn’t know whether to chase me or fly away. So what does he do? Just stands there.
Swing, Swing, Swing. All direct hits. Turns out I have a bit of a knack for this. I never missed him, not once.

Finally he flies off to Dad.

“DAD, look what she did to me! I’m drenched thru to the skin”.

“Don’t come crying to me Bitey. What did you think was going to happen Son? You’ve been teasing her all day.”
“Aren’t you going to say something Dad?” he sniffled.
“Well yes Bitey, I am”.

>YOU…………….LOOK……………..LIKE…………….GANDALF”.

“KOO, KOO, KOO, KAR, KAR, KAR, BWAHA, HAHA, HAHA, HAHA, H”

Dad was laughing so hard he fell off his perch.

Dear Diary…. Today…..This very day…..Was....The Best Day of my whole short life.