Birds have an awesome evolutionary history. They have developed into highly specialized , not to mention myriad forms. Are they offshoots of reptilian dinosaurs or are they something completely independent. Regardless they are amazing for their hardiness, their cunning and their simple beauty of color and sound. Even the seemingly most dull bird of the avian community uses its dullness to blend into the background. But what variety of bird is this ? The gnawing question, I suppose , can be answered definitively by the expert, not so much by me. Which only goes to heighten the enjoyment of the puzzle. That curious intellectual enterprise of name that bird.
This morning as I stood in the backyard tossing frizzbies to the always demanding Borer Colie a shadow crossed over me. I looked skyward and there not 50 feet overhead was a beautiful hawk. It was close enough to make out details. The markings of birds is part of their attraction. But what was more appealing was the grace in flight that the hawk demonstrated. This large aviator did not move its wings. The wings remained outstretched and motionless as the breezed flowed by. The bird actually stood stock still and allowed the flowing air to gve it lift, but no motion. It was suspended on the wisp of air. I thought that I could run inside grab my camera and get the photo. It was not to be, for as soon as I took the first step to the door, the bird tilted almost imperceptibly and began to slowly move forward into the wind. It did not take long and he was soaring away, still not beating its wing, until it was no longer visible. The beauty of this bird was in its graceful presence in the sky, with the morning sun shining on its wings. It was spectacular for a brief instant in time. The bright wings as lit by the sun will remain a special point of this day.
My neighborhood is populated by the usual robins, house finches, sparrows and wrens .
The robins seem most abundant at this time of the year. You can hardly pass a ball field anywhere and not spot at least 50 of them gathered . But in the mix you might also spot a junco , a chickadee , a gray jay, a titmouse. The birds are moving up the coast, or the flyway as it is called. There is a 13 mile crossing to be negotiated at Lewes , Delaware to Cape May , NJ and the birds crowd both sides of the crossing, to get ready on one side to rest and refuel on the other. Then they move up, heading to the more northern habitats of the Adirondacks and the wooded forest of New England and Canada. It is a fascinating process.
I think I got into the birds after watching Gold Finches .. My Brother in Law had placed several thistle seed feeders about his deck and Goldfinches would dart in and out to feed. Their color was so attractive that I began looking about for them. The yellow is a color of happiness and joy. . That was years ago and the thrill of seeing a new type of bird is now ever present.
I can vividly remember my encounter with a screech owl in the middle of a winter night. The Black Skimmer I saw zooming over a pond. Herons of all type, egrets with their blazing whiteness. A flock of Scarlet Tanagers, first seen in my youth and not seen again for 45 years. I can count the'number of ightings of Scarlet Tanagers that I have had in my lifetime on two fingers, yet I find myself constantly searching for them. Two years ago Baltimore Orioles took up residence in my neighborhood, they are birds of great beauty and of course I would seek them out., a momentary glimpse would carry forward for days. Years ago I chanced to set up a couple of hummingbird feeders and as luck would have it they arrived. My son and I set up chairs under the feeders and say away an afternoon as the little birds came and went, only a foot or two from our heads. It was nothing short of amazing.
I can clearly recall being on a hike and coming into a hemlock grove with the heavysmell of pine on the air.. As I entered, a flock of Eastern Blue Birds took to flight. Their deep blue was unlike anything I had seen before. I have seen Blue Birds a few other times elsewhere, but each time I find myself hiking in the area of the hemlock grove I look for them again without luck.
This week, I have been looking to get a photo of a Cardinal. Not an uncommon bird in this area . But of late I have noticed fewer and fewer. Normally they are seen during the winter months, but in thinking back I do not recall having seen any over the course of the winter. But as I exited my car at the office the other day there was one with a blazing redness about him, He was perched in a pine tree off the parking lot and the sun was hitting him just right. The color exploded and I stood there mesmerized, he flew off in a short while. The next day I brought my camera with the long lens to see if I could capture him, but no luck. Nor has there been any luck on succeeding days.
That is the way it is with the birds. I will long remember his color and I will search for days
trying to get another look at that color, but it will probably never be duplicated.
But sometime this year I will get sight of a species that will give me great joy and I will carry it forward in time. These birds make me happy. I will be happier yet when I see one of my treasured species.. At the same time I consider the delicate balance, it was not so long ago that the last passenger pigeon died and the species became extinct. A breed once so numerous that flocks stretched for miles, the sky darkened by their millions. Or thinking back to the time of DDT, when eagles and falcons and hawks were threatened. And for me the canary in the coal mine are all of the birds I see .Extinct Birds of recent times.
I recall seeing a stuffed Great Auk and reading the sign that said it was the last of its species having died only 100 years ago.. Keep your eye out for the birds. These pictures are just four types I spotted in my yare this morning in about a half an hour.
