If you have been reading my blog for anytime, you might know of my love of the birds. I recently told you how much I enjoyed the book by David McCullough, "The Wright Brothers". The brothers were not college educated. Extremely intelligent, they made careful observation of birds in flight and were able to simulate this with their man-made flying machines (airplanes.) Other men had made similar machines, the Wright brothers were able to keep their airplanes aloft longer than others and they were able to land them!
"Why Do Birds Matter" is a marvelous piece written by Jonathan Franzen for National Geographic and I have it for you to read just here. Please read it if you can, he is a wonderful writer and I very much agree with what he has written!
Wait, you are saying to yourself....Jonathan Franzen, isn't he a writer of FICTION? Yes, of course, he most certainly is! I remember when his book "The Corrections" was chosen as a choice for "Oprah's Book Club" and he somehow expressed discomfort at that decision and Oprah withdrew her selection. Not to worry, the publicity made the book sell all the more. I just looked this up and it was back in 2001. (They have since made up!) So, you might not remember this, or maybe you are like me and you DO remember it and wonder why facts like this are lodged into your brain but you can't remember any of your passwords or the phone number of your only child.
Now, before I got sidetracked there about Jonathan Franzen and my memory-full brain stuffed with facts that I don't need...I was trying to tell you how much I love birds and other creatures. I do! I am working on a post about...elephants! Honest!
Mockingbirds! Richard was able to get a photo of this pair on our suet feeder. They look like they are posing, don't you think?
Birds! They are wild creatures that you can admire for free! (Well, the cost of seeds and suet is helpful!) And our little dishes of water for them are very much appreciated
Now, please tell me you have observed the birds and admire them!
Do NOT tell me that you are scared of birds because of the film by Alfred Hitchcock! That was FICTION, don't forget that! Scary film and very well done but don't dislike birds because of it.
The greatest sense of freedom belongs to birds. I see them when they catch a wind current and soar through the sky. I wish I could do that just once.
ReplyDeleteMany people never notice the birds and they are wild and free and there for anyone who has the eyes to notice them and appreciate them.
DeleteWe love our birds, especially the mockingbirds. They play in the field across the street sometimes, and look like they are having such fun!
ReplyDeleteMockingbirds are very territorial. For those two to be in the same photo is most unusual! Mockingbirds will dive bomb squirrels, cats and even humans if they get to close to their nests. Maybe other birds might do this too but I know that mockingbirds will, I have seen it.
DeleteAh, I remember that Hitchcock film, but it never put me off birds. I love to feed them, every day, and watch their antics. They may be wild, but they communicate with me very successfully if I happen to forget to put out breakfast. I have never seen a mockingbird, but they look sweet. Maybe one day.
ReplyDeleteI have read that in America, that film is something that caused many here to have a fear of birds! Shame on you, Mr. Hitchcock! (Suppose it is partly the fault of Daphne Du Maurier too, she wrote the short story the film was based upon!) Our birds communicate very well with us also!
DeleteI am very protective of the birds that live in and around my buildings. I even made a pebble beach for them to drink from the pond and they bathe in the waterfall and stream down to the pond.
ReplyDeleteYes, Graham and I love the photos of the birds that you post on your blog, you capture them beautifully.
DeleteIt's been wonderful seeing the birds returning this spring. I'm always on the look out for the 1st robin and once I see one, there are always many more. I love birds and watching them is good entertainment. Strangely enough, I just read another persons blog that mentioned white elephant gifts...wondering now just what your elephant post will be about.
ReplyDeleteAh, "Robs" as we affectionately call our robins. They only come to us when it is very dry and they drink our water from our tiny birdbaths, mostly they will be out on the yawn scratching around for worms. Lovely birds!
DeleteWait for my elephant post, I hope you will like it! :-)
Mockingbirds, they have such a romantic aura about them and yet quite plain birds. My birds are gone again now they are not hungry. Just the squirrels. So now I can stop feeding and clean up the mess. OMGoodness what a mess it is.
ReplyDeleteLuv Janice
They may look plain, they are only grey after all, but they are truly beautiful. When they fly, their white patches on their wings are fully visible. And their song! They repeat the songs of other birds at least 3 times, other birds repeat, but not 3 times. Why, we even heard one repeat a CAR ALARM but it was done in a most melodious way! Love the mockingbird!
DeleteI love birds too. Except pigeons that come and poop on my balcony.
ReplyDeleteThey have to go somewhere! LOL!
DeleteGreat to see birds, they are fantastic to see especially at this time when they are emptying the feeders while breeding.
ReplyDeleteHello Ad Man! Yes indeed, the birds are busy with their young ones and even our gorgeous cardinals can look very scruffy in the Spring!
DeleteHonestly Kay, That's the first time I've seen a real Mockingbird. It's as if the wildlife of the USA is a complete blank here... or out of bounds to film. 30 years of Yellowstone big beasts and nothing else at all. As an avid wildlife TV programme watcher I find it very strange that I've seen most of the wildlife of every other country around the world, including the smaller, rarer ones but zero from the USA other than buffalo, wolves, elk and moose which they show every year without fail. It's a real puzzle that as I'd love to see a programme full of USA smaller wildlife that I'm sure would be completely unknown to UK viewers. It would sure make a change from those overrated Birds of Paradise we get every year for the last decade- and much cheaper to film as well :o)
ReplyDeleteYours in hope...
There, I need to do a film on all the birds in my own backyard! They are so wonderful! I am glad that you liked Richard's photo of the mockingbirds, look at my replies to the comments above about the mockingbirds!
DeleteI would love to see a film made about the birds here in America, our birds here in the East are very different from those out West. And of course, we have some in the South and they don't have in the North or in the Midwest It is a big country!
Thank you for the link to this wonderful article! I shared it with my cousin who is a crazily enthusiastic birder and she loved it too. Wish we had mockingbirds here, but we do have cat birds who are similar.
ReplyDeleteOh! I am so glad that you sent this to your bird-loving cousin! I thought it was a great article. This writer might be a best selling novelist but it is the non fiction that I appreciate, as you know!
DeleteBirds I do love...but I hate seeing them in cages. I've a lot of birds that hang around my cabin....they're part of my "family".
ReplyDeleteI love elephants, too. Not that I have any hanging around my cabin, but I do have a few inside...not of the live variety, of course!! :)
I had some finches once, that some of my well meaning office co-workers gave me. They didn't understand about my love for birds, I prefer them wild, not in a cage! I cared for them as best I could but gave them to a neighborhood boy who liked them. Just thinking about it, they were finches from Australia! Since they were both female, no chance for offspring.
DeleteWhy should I love elephants? I have only seen them in zoos but that doesn't stop me!
Hi, Kay! I do love birds, just as you do. I read the same piece by Jonathan Franzen in my National Geographic earlier this year. It was a wonderful piece. It's gorgeous in Colorado right now, and for several days I've had the doors and windows thrown open, so I can listen to all the beautiful birdsong.
ReplyDeleteI love elephants too, but they are very intimidating up close. I've actually ridden on them and fed them. When the Indian Ocean tsunami was bearing down on Thailand, the elephants sensed it and raced for higher ground. They are sentient beings. Can't wait to see your post. I'm slowly getting caught up in blogging. I have Joshua Slocum's book, thanks to you, and when I get it read, I'm going to do a post on his connection to Westport on Brier Island. Sending you a big hug, my friend!
Louise! Thank you for telling me about the elephants sensing the tsunami and going for higher ground, that is fascinating to me. We also have lovely birdsong this time of year in Georgia, but sometimes hard to leave our windows open due to the high pollen! LOL!
DeleteLOUISE! I am SO tickled that you are reading "Sailing Alone Around The World"! As you know, I adore that book, although I have never sailed in my life! Can't wait to see your post about it!! Hugs to you! xx