After a devastating cyclone, Kenn Parker built the ultimate birdwatcher’s home among the cassowaries

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Out of timber, salvaged from trees fallen in Cyclone Yasi in 2011, one man built his humble home in the far north Queensland rainforest. Ken Parker has watched generations of cassowaries breed and grow up around his house.

Transcript

00:00I didn't think I was going to live this close to Casseries either.

00:14It was just they arrived and they haven't gone.

00:18What's happening?

00:23She would be one of 42 chicks since 2000.

00:28I videoed them all from tiny little chicks and they've just grown up around me.

00:34And then Dad will bring the chicks back and go, hey look what I've got.

00:39Dad's still chilled out about the whole situation.

00:41And you think, oh, how marvellous, how lucky am I?

00:45The reason I live here is because of the tranquility and the peace of it.

00:52There's never a dull moment. There is always something happening.

00:58Queensland weathers a frightening night of destructive winds and rain.

01:04And then when the cyclone Yazi came, it was over there in a little Nissan Irvan with a popped up roof.

01:10The wind's picking up, dropping it, beating up, dropping it.

01:13And then this wattle tree just came down and went, bop, and kept the roof down all night.

01:19I went, thank you very much.

01:22Just after first light and the next morning, the first little bird I saw was a little blue wren.

01:29It made my heart sing and nearly cry.

01:31Because I thought if that little bird can survive, then the casserees and all these other little animals, they're going to be all right.

01:38The timber came from here.

01:41A few or three big blue gums come down, so we cut them up.

01:43We poured the slab and I had the steel beams previously and up went in the house.

01:4716 days later, there it was, I moved in.

01:50Even though I've sailed most of the east coast of Australia, the calmness in the forest.

01:55That's what I felt first off, was this calmness at night.

01:58It's challenging.

01:59It has its moments.

02:00You know, it's challenging, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

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