Did you hear the birds cry?

This is just a question that popped into my head while returning from the Moomba festival in Melbourne. The four day free community festival started off in Melbourne yesterday.
The fun and frolic at the festival is a welcome break from the horrifying pictures and videos of the earthquake and floods in Japan. It was pleasing to watch people around celebrating. We also got absorbed into the energy of the place and felt joyful enjoying ourselves completely. It was a nice experience. I cant wait to go back and try some carnival rides tomorrow.
The first night of the festival was wrapped up by an array of fireworks. The spectacular fireworks lasted for a  duration of 15 minutes. The fireworks were excellent and a great way to sign off for the day. We throughly enjoyed the show.

Near our apartment we always find a lots of sea gulls. Usually they are playful and a symbol of boarder-less freedom. Every time we find them busy about their own business- eating, fighting, resting.
Today, on our way back home after a great day at the festival, however they seemed disturbed, some of them crying out loud. It made me wonder, what was different today? Maybe its the weather, I thought.
That is when my husbands remarked, all the seagulls from the place of the fireworks might have moved here.
I felt, it could be true - aren't bird scared of the noises from the fireworks?
That is when this thought entered my head. Do we think about these animals and birds when we destroy their habitat or ruin the peace in their life? Did I think about these crying birds when I throughly enjoyed those fireworks? Does concern only spring for life in the same species first? Maybe it is how life on this planet is supposed to be.
Moving back to the images around me. As we fret and worry about human lives and property lost in the quake and tsunami, I cant help but feel that all this was meant to be. Maybe we care a bit more about our species than the other forms of life around us. Maybe this is how balance is to be achieved in this planet.

Life, after all, is composed of different forms of give and take. It depends on what you give and what you take!