"Walking through the heart of the city, it's easy to think
there's no wildlife here at all but all around you, creatures are making it
their home. Roofs, canals and parks provide a habitat for enterprising birds and
animals. The city centre supports an urban 'ecosystem'. Plants attract insects,
then larger creatures move in and feed on the insects....
...Kestrels and sparrow hawks live in Birmingham, especially in
older buildings like churches, and recently a pair of peregrine falcons are
known to be nesting up the BT Tower! ...
If you're out in the city at night, you might see bats -
another of Birmingham's rare creatures...
...Some animals are pests in cities. Pigeons feed on waste food
and all their droppings have to be removed because they damage buildings. Rats
are also a city problem. The best way to deal with pigeons and rats is to take
away their food - so the public are encouraged not to feed birds and to use
rubbish bins...."
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My idea has developed quite a lot in the last 24 hrs. I have decided to go with a magpie, a pigeon and another wildlife creature that inhabits Birmingham city. I really want to do Anthropomorphic taxidermy - and this would fit in with the puppet theme. I really want to capture the essence and mannerisms of the birds and portray that into my puppets. I don't know if taxidermy animals can be made into puppets - this is something that I would have to try and if they don't I will have to plan another option.
Magpies and pigeons swarm the city, pigeons are referred to as "rats with wings" and a single magpie is seen to be 'unlucky' with this in mind wouldn't it be a contrast to portray them as successful people from the city?
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I plan to have a strong, coherent project that is comprehensive and sophisticated, I aim to have high quality puppets.