Inspiration at the Adelaide zoo

A trip to the Adelaide zoo produced some beautiful feathers on the ground - and a close encounter with a very tame Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, one of our native beauties.  This parrot flew close to all visitors and perched next to them until they stroked him.

Birds are such inspirational creatures to me; I have often embroidered them in a traditional manner and now I'm looking at ways to interpret them in a more contemporary fashion.  I have started using the larger and longer feathers that I find as bookmarks, by stitching some strong thread through the quill twice, and sewing the top to the book itself, on the spine, or if a spiral bound journal, attach to the spirals easily enough.

The three middle feathers are Eclectus parrot; the others I don't know