Feathers fly

A little whirlwind of catastrophising and outrage, Parker was a branch office of the polarisation project.

- CHARLOTTE GRIMSHAW

When British anti-trans activist Posie Parker flew in, we ignored her for a while, and went on talking about birds. Two hawks live in a tree on C's street in Los Angeles. They circle above the neighbourhood every morning and evening. They are well-known local celebs. Their dramatic screech echoes around the canyon, and sometimes they circle close, as if they're deciding whether or not to jump in the pool.

M, currently in Valparaíso, Chile, heard the birds go silent before an earthquake rocked the town. Out of that frying pan, she drove to the fire of Pucón, where she awoke to an orange alert: the local volcano was going off.

The animals of Pucón tend to sense danger from the volcano and flee, she was told, but the birds get agitated and fly right into it.