Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Passion for Birds Begins in a Wondrous Way


Well, I went for a nice walk this morning and it was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the Cardinals were out in full force, singing away. I even saw a flock of Sandhil Cranes flying overhead and bugling. The cranes have been gone for a number of months so it was a lift to the winter weary spirits to see them again. All in all, it seems like agood day to start a blog about a topic that has been a passion of mine for more than four decades - birds. And since it is the beginning of the blog it seems appropriate to start at the beginning of the passion.

When I was five years old, I was a relatively adventurous lad. I was newly enfranchised as a bicyclist and I started riding all over the place and exploring. So one fine early summer day I was out enjoying myself, riding in the neighborhood. Around the corner from my house lived an elderly couple who were skilled gardeners. They had a very beautiful garden filled with colorful flowers that I stopped to admire. As I stood gazing at the flowers, my eyes detected movement. And what to my wondering eyes did appear - a creature I now know to be a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. What a discovery - no one had ever told me about anything like this! I was transfixed and remain so to this day. I rushed home and told my mother and she explained to me what it was. And so it began...


I keep a life list and count the Ruby Throated Hummingbird as #1 on that List. I was fortunate in having the magic and great beauty of birds revealed to me in this most wondrous way.

I can still see that bird in my mind's eye.



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