Penguin the magpie: For Better Humans

The very special story of Penguin the magpie and her human family is not to be missed.

All photography by Cameron Bloom.

Cameron, Sam and their children Noah, Oli and Reuben Bloom live on the NSW coast. Sam suffered a spinal injury in Thailand whilst on holidays and was left paralysed, spending seven months in hospital. After returning home, spirits were pretty low in the Bloom household. One day, about three months after Sam came home, Noah found a baby magpie that had blown out of her nest. This very fragile bird, who they named Penguin, gave the family a new focus and brought a bright spark with her. We spoke to Cameron Bloom about the impact of Penguin on his family and how she made them better humans.

 

How did Penguin’s arrival change the dynamic of your family?

Sam came home from hospital after being gone for seven months. We were so glad to have Sam come home but for her it all kind of fell apart because home was not like it used to be. In hospital, she had the safety of being with everyone else who was in a similar situation so coming home was an incredibly isolating experience and brought a difficult reality, one that made it hard for all of us. She missed everything she used to do – surf and swim and help care for the kids. Sam became really depressed and it was probably about three months into that period that Penguin arrived. It was fortuitous that she arrived then because everyone was pretty miserable at home and it was hard to keep Sam’s spirits up. But having Penguin arrive it sort of gave Sam focus and the goal to get Penguin better. It was so hilarious some of the things she would do, so it brought a lot of happiness and laughter back into the house. And as I began photographing her and the kids and a little bit Sam, a different dynamic in the house developed.

Did Penguin gravitate towards Sam?

Penguin could be in the garden or she could be sitting on Sam’s shoulders while she was cooking dinner. You never really could tell when she was about to fly in through the front door. But when she was at home, she would just sit on Sam’s head or on her shoulder. They did spend a lot of time together and they definitely had a close bond.

Now that Penguin has found her place in the wild, does she pop back and visit you?

We used to get a few calls from friends who saw her and knew her song. One time I was told she was at the laundromat, so I raced down and when she saw me, she must have flown 20 meters and landed on my shoulder!  She came home with me but flew off again shortly after.  We think it is amazing that Penguin left the night before Sam was to represent Australia in kayaking at the world titles in Italy – it was a wonderful coincidence that both were ready to tackle the world. At two years of age Penguin probably wanted to hang out with other magpies and start her own family.

Now we have Panda and Puffin, a pair of baby magpies that were blown out of the same nest as Penguin, so in a funny way I don’t know are they cousins or sisters? They are really different to Penguin as they have each other. Both have similar traits to Penguin in that they roll over and run into the house, cause mischief and sit on your shoulder.

How did Penguin make you better humans?

Penguin gave us an incredible appreciation for nature and how frail we all are. What happened to Sam was not dissimilar to what happened to Penguin – coming out of the tree and needing rescuing and a home and basically love and all those things that help you get better. And that’s kind of exactly what Sam needed and vice-versa with Penguin. Caring for anyone or an animal brings yourself a lot more joy and happiness. I think the boys learnt that lesson, as did Sam obviously. We now understand vulnerability and the importance of empathy and it’s ability to heal.

Penguin’s story has been published in a book Penguin Bloom the odd little bird who saved a family by Cameron Bloom & Bradley Trevor Greive. Amazingly, the story will be be turned into a Hollywood film, with Naomi Watts playing Sam and producing the film in collaboration with Reese Witherspoon.

Visit penguinthemagpie.com to find stockists of the book. Cameron Bloom, Bradley Trevor Greive and ABC Books are proud to donate a percentage of royalties from the sale of each copy of Penguin Bloom to support SpinalCure Australia. Follow @Penguinthemagpie on Instagram for more beautiful pics by Cameron.

Here at Petbarn, we love these amazing stories of pet parents and their animals. You can find more of these For Better Human stories here. You can read more about Penguin and her human family here.