I'm sure everyone and their brother are going to congratulate you on this wonderful piece, so I'll tell you about the German children's song "Die Vogelhochzeit" (The Bird Wedding) instead. Every verse names a bird and what they bring to/make for the wedding. The translation (below) is horrible; most verses rhyme and fit the melody, but just so you get the idea. Anyway, don't know if I'm ready to be a birder but I LOVE BIRDS. There, I said it. https://lyricstranslate.com/en/vogelhochzeit-bird-wedding.html
Hokay, so, I'm using my long holiday weekend to catch up on my backlog of unread newsletters, and I'm both so glad I'm reading this now and so annoyed that I didn't read it earlier. 'If you hear a bird that makes you go, “jesus, that’s a rough call,” and it sounds like someone hacking on helium, that’s probably a jay.' - I literally LOLd. I haven't even gotten to the magpie section - truly the most magical birds here - I just had to leave a comment mid-read. Thanks for writing (this and all the other things)! Yay birds!
We are in southeastern Michigan. Our house backs to wetlands and we are fortunate to have tons of wildlife and birds. The wetlands used to be full of cattails and RedWing Blackbirds but about 10 years ago some invasive species ran almost all of them out and we hardly see those anymore. In compensation, we now have 2 nesting pairs of Sandhill Cranes that love the new conditions here and arrive like clock work, have a baby or 2, and parade around the yard all year training junior. Nothing like being greeted as you walk around the side of the house by a 5ft tall crane that makes a sound very much like the Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movie when it’s protecting its baby. But they are great fun to watch especially when they take Junior for a walk each night.
We also have Blue Jays, Cardinals, Titmouse, Junkos, wood ducks and 4 species of Woodpeckers (ladderback, red bellied, downy and the occasional Pileated) who adore my wife for putting put suet blocks all year. The Pileated we once watched reduce a 5 foot (18” diameter) tree stump to kindling in about 30 minutes. The most impressive display of bird power I have ever seen. If you have not seen one work before, they are amazing to watch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJCSSIQ1fI.
I used to give my wife a hard time about all the bird food she puts out but not anymore. The make our backyard a entertaining.
Sandhill cranes are such a gift — my parents have some in their pasture and I love to listen to their calls, and like you said, see them raise their young every year! Obviously I loved this video, too. Pileated woodpeckers are like sky beavers. And I love beavers.
I have a 2 year old obsessed with birds. I've begun to teach him the names (as well as plants) but I haven't gotten much further in my own education than the NE basics. This app may be on my short approved list. I wanted to share it in case it helps any other amateur birders out here. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org
I live in Michigan. I started with one feeder, expanding to three. I have several groups coming in daily. My favorite are the yellow finches. Second favorite are the cardinals. They became friends. The squirrels not so much, but as lonely as I've been since living here even the raccoons are welcome. Great share, informative - and getting a dog or cat is out of the question for now. I don't want to disrupt my outdoor visitors.
Georg Wilhelm Steller's father's name was originally spelled Stöhler, but later he went with Stöller. His wildlife discoveries were made on the expedition of Russian Vitus Bering, so Сте́ллер. Anyway, his description of the jay was the result of an accident: the expedition got lost in the North Pacific but finally found Kayak Island, where Steller encountered it, and also 'discovered' Alaska.
[I'd ordinarily send an email to make a spelling correction, but I don't see an address. I'm going to delete this comment from your excellent post shortly.]
Oh thank you! And let’s keep it for posterity. Also, if you receive the essays via email, you can just reply and it will make its way through the enter to me 😊
I absolutely loved this essay! I moved from a city to a rural area in the last few years and have been absolutely fascinated with the birds I've gotten acquainted with in that time. I'm in the Mojave Desert in California (high desert area) and was honestly surprised at the sheer amount of bird species that can survive in this odd place when we first moved, but they've become an incredible comfort (and dare I say friends) the longer I've been here.
First up we have one of our most famous residents, the Gambel's quail. They are one of my favorites. They have a "lead" quail that charts the course from bush to bush and the rest of the flock follows single file all day long. The lead quail will often perch himself (almost always a male) on something higher up if the flock is feeding to keep watch. He likes to hang out on top of our deck while the group munches on our plants in the back yard. Also these guys look so stinkin' cool (a Google image search will do them justice if you're not familiar).
We've also seen our fair share of roadrunners, and I was surprised by how big they are! They are also fearless — they often eat young snakes and lizards. They are among the birds that I think most closely resemble some dinosaurs, especially when you see them run.
Other than those, we've got two pairs of nesting mourning doves, a pair of nesting black-throated sparrows, three species of hummingbirds (Anna's, black-chinned, and Costa's) that would feast on our blooming ocotillo all day if they could, a resident Great Horned Owl who we share with the neighbors, and the odd California thrasher. During migration times, we get turkey vultures, warblers (not sure which), and hooded orioles.
We don't have any nearby birds of prey, which is fine by me and the family of squirrels that live out front. We have seen hundreds of red-tail hawks, several prairie falcons, one young golden eagle, and one other massive BOP that I wasn't able to ID.
This essay convinced me to invest in a birding book, so job well done!
Started feeding the birds this past winter, as a way to honor my grandmother’s favorite pastime. Her favorite bird was the cardinal, and wouldn’t you know it. The very first bird to show up at my new feeder was a beautiful bright red cardinal.
I am in the Shenandoah Valley of northwestern Virginia. Even though I live in a planned community we have an active bird population. I regularly see finches, including many goldfinch, bluebirds, wrens (a Carolina wren appeared this year for the first time), cardinals, robins (of course), and ruby throated hummingbirds. We are next to a lake, so we also have many geese and ducks, as well as our very own Bald Eagle couple. Many of my neighbors have Baltimore Orioles that visit their feeders, but I haven't seen them.
As for the part about birds not needing us or our bird feeders, I have been toying with the idea of giving up mine and replacing them with hummingbird feeders. I already have two and a friend gave me a couple last week. She said all of the hummers come to my yard anyway!
I’m about 30 miles SE of Seattle, and my daily birds are red-winged blackbirds, mallards (we live next to the neighborhood storm water retention pond), house finches, juncos, chickadees, and twice in the last week I’ve seen a goldfinch. There’s also sparrows, towhees, and robins at my feeders, and recently we’ve been getting a couple pigeons. During the winter I put out suet and get crowds of tits on the feeders, and year-round I have black oil sunflower seed and no-waste in two different feeders. The neighbors two doors down have four various ways to feed squirrels, so they’re regulars under my feeders. I put my hummingbird feeder out yesterday after catching one trying to drink from my car taillights.
My drive to work parallels the Cedar River and I watch the bald eagles year-round— there’s an aerie visible from the road, and in the spring all the teenage eagles steal trash from the regional dump and drop it in peoples’ yards.
Thank you for your post. I am in the Northern Virginia/DC area. Today on a hike, I saw cardinals, bluebirds, a vulture eating a deer in the C&O Canal, and a lot of turtles sunning themselves on limbs in the canal.
I want to learn more about the birds in the area. Others have recommended the Merlin app to identify by their calls. Any that you would recommend?
You know I love this! The funny thing is I had placed your location wrong, for some reason I had it in Wyoming I think. I have a friend that used to have a small property at altitude an couple hours from Colorado Springs. No house, they camped there. But I got to spend one June day up there watching hummingbirds and mountain bluebirds and other birds I never see. I absolutely love this: "If as a child you ever dreamed about fairies or imps or trolls, those are just birds." I can tell in your writing that you love birds. I love birds too. It's probably why I resist calling myself a "birder", because of the weirdness you describe above of some trophy hunters that do love to call themselves birders. That's not my way. But I do have a friend that points out "whatever works to get people to want to take care of the birds". Can't wait to hear about Dominica!
I'm sure everyone and their brother are going to congratulate you on this wonderful piece, so I'll tell you about the German children's song "Die Vogelhochzeit" (The Bird Wedding) instead. Every verse names a bird and what they bring to/make for the wedding. The translation (below) is horrible; most verses rhyme and fit the melody, but just so you get the idea. Anyway, don't know if I'm ready to be a birder but I LOVE BIRDS. There, I said it. https://lyricstranslate.com/en/vogelhochzeit-bird-wedding.html
Oh yeah: "irruption." That's what Chuck Palahniuk would call "establishing your authority." Wonderfully done!
Hokay, so, I'm using my long holiday weekend to catch up on my backlog of unread newsletters, and I'm both so glad I'm reading this now and so annoyed that I didn't read it earlier. 'If you hear a bird that makes you go, “jesus, that’s a rough call,” and it sounds like someone hacking on helium, that’s probably a jay.' - I literally LOLd. I haven't even gotten to the magpie section - truly the most magical birds here - I just had to leave a comment mid-read. Thanks for writing (this and all the other things)! Yay birds!
Truly nothing more delightful than a magpie. Only one bird winters here, and it's them. So obviously my love for them knows no bounds.
We are in southeastern Michigan. Our house backs to wetlands and we are fortunate to have tons of wildlife and birds. The wetlands used to be full of cattails and RedWing Blackbirds but about 10 years ago some invasive species ran almost all of them out and we hardly see those anymore. In compensation, we now have 2 nesting pairs of Sandhill Cranes that love the new conditions here and arrive like clock work, have a baby or 2, and parade around the yard all year training junior. Nothing like being greeted as you walk around the side of the house by a 5ft tall crane that makes a sound very much like the Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movie when it’s protecting its baby. But they are great fun to watch especially when they take Junior for a walk each night.
We also have Blue Jays, Cardinals, Titmouse, Junkos, wood ducks and 4 species of Woodpeckers (ladderback, red bellied, downy and the occasional Pileated) who adore my wife for putting put suet blocks all year. The Pileated we once watched reduce a 5 foot (18” diameter) tree stump to kindling in about 30 minutes. The most impressive display of bird power I have ever seen. If you have not seen one work before, they are amazing to watch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJCSSIQ1fI.
I used to give my wife a hard time about all the bird food she puts out but not anymore. The make our backyard a entertaining.
Sandhill cranes are such a gift — my parents have some in their pasture and I love to listen to their calls, and like you said, see them raise their young every year! Obviously I loved this video, too. Pileated woodpeckers are like sky beavers. And I love beavers.
I have a 2 year old obsessed with birds. I've begun to teach him the names (as well as plants) but I haven't gotten much further in my own education than the NE basics. This app may be on my short approved list. I wanted to share it in case it helps any other amateur birders out here. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org
I live in Michigan. I started with one feeder, expanding to three. I have several groups coming in daily. My favorite are the yellow finches. Second favorite are the cardinals. They became friends. The squirrels not so much, but as lonely as I've been since living here even the raccoons are welcome. Great share, informative - and getting a dog or cat is out of the question for now. I don't want to disrupt my outdoor visitors.
"Last snowstorm of the season was May 4" -tempting fate, what makes you think that's the last?Mother nature laughs at your optimism...
Tempting her into a little precipitation? 😅😅
Georg Wilhelm Steller's father's name was originally spelled Stöhler, but later he went with Stöller. His wildlife discoveries were made on the expedition of Russian Vitus Bering, so Сте́ллер. Anyway, his description of the jay was the result of an accident: the expedition got lost in the North Pacific but finally found Kayak Island, where Steller encountered it, and also 'discovered' Alaska.
[I'd ordinarily send an email to make a spelling correction, but I don't see an address. I'm going to delete this comment from your excellent post shortly.]
Oh thank you! And let’s keep it for posterity. Also, if you receive the essays via email, you can just reply and it will make its way through the enter to me 😊
Loved this essay! Super informative and I really like your point about birds being around us no matter what we are doing.
My constant companions 💛
I absolutely loved this essay! I moved from a city to a rural area in the last few years and have been absolutely fascinated with the birds I've gotten acquainted with in that time. I'm in the Mojave Desert in California (high desert area) and was honestly surprised at the sheer amount of bird species that can survive in this odd place when we first moved, but they've become an incredible comfort (and dare I say friends) the longer I've been here.
First up we have one of our most famous residents, the Gambel's quail. They are one of my favorites. They have a "lead" quail that charts the course from bush to bush and the rest of the flock follows single file all day long. The lead quail will often perch himself (almost always a male) on something higher up if the flock is feeding to keep watch. He likes to hang out on top of our deck while the group munches on our plants in the back yard. Also these guys look so stinkin' cool (a Google image search will do them justice if you're not familiar).
We've also seen our fair share of roadrunners, and I was surprised by how big they are! They are also fearless — they often eat young snakes and lizards. They are among the birds that I think most closely resemble some dinosaurs, especially when you see them run.
Other than those, we've got two pairs of nesting mourning doves, a pair of nesting black-throated sparrows, three species of hummingbirds (Anna's, black-chinned, and Costa's) that would feast on our blooming ocotillo all day if they could, a resident Great Horned Owl who we share with the neighbors, and the odd California thrasher. During migration times, we get turkey vultures, warblers (not sure which), and hooded orioles.
We don't have any nearby birds of prey, which is fine by me and the family of squirrels that live out front. We have seen hundreds of red-tail hawks, several prairie falcons, one young golden eagle, and one other massive BOP that I wasn't able to ID.
This essay convinced me to invest in a birding book, so job well done!
Started feeding the birds this past winter, as a way to honor my grandmother’s favorite pastime. Her favorite bird was the cardinal, and wouldn’t you know it. The very first bird to show up at my new feeder was a beautiful bright red cardinal.
I am in the Shenandoah Valley of northwestern Virginia. Even though I live in a planned community we have an active bird population. I regularly see finches, including many goldfinch, bluebirds, wrens (a Carolina wren appeared this year for the first time), cardinals, robins (of course), and ruby throated hummingbirds. We are next to a lake, so we also have many geese and ducks, as well as our very own Bald Eagle couple. Many of my neighbors have Baltimore Orioles that visit their feeders, but I haven't seen them.
As for the part about birds not needing us or our bird feeders, I have been toying with the idea of giving up mine and replacing them with hummingbird feeders. I already have two and a friend gave me a couple last week. She said all of the hummers come to my yard anyway!
I’m about 30 miles SE of Seattle, and my daily birds are red-winged blackbirds, mallards (we live next to the neighborhood storm water retention pond), house finches, juncos, chickadees, and twice in the last week I’ve seen a goldfinch. There’s also sparrows, towhees, and robins at my feeders, and recently we’ve been getting a couple pigeons. During the winter I put out suet and get crowds of tits on the feeders, and year-round I have black oil sunflower seed and no-waste in two different feeders. The neighbors two doors down have four various ways to feed squirrels, so they’re regulars under my feeders. I put my hummingbird feeder out yesterday after catching one trying to drink from my car taillights.
My drive to work parallels the Cedar River and I watch the bald eagles year-round— there’s an aerie visible from the road, and in the spring all the teenage eagles steal trash from the regional dump and drop it in peoples’ yards.
Thank you for your post. I am in the Northern Virginia/DC area. Today on a hike, I saw cardinals, bluebirds, a vulture eating a deer in the C&O Canal, and a lot of turtles sunning themselves on limbs in the canal.
I want to learn more about the birds in the area. Others have recommended the Merlin app to identify by their calls. Any that you would recommend?
You know I love this! The funny thing is I had placed your location wrong, for some reason I had it in Wyoming I think. I have a friend that used to have a small property at altitude an couple hours from Colorado Springs. No house, they camped there. But I got to spend one June day up there watching hummingbirds and mountain bluebirds and other birds I never see. I absolutely love this: "If as a child you ever dreamed about fairies or imps or trolls, those are just birds." I can tell in your writing that you love birds. I love birds too. It's probably why I resist calling myself a "birder", because of the weirdness you describe above of some trophy hunters that do love to call themselves birders. That's not my way. But I do have a friend that points out "whatever works to get people to want to take care of the birds". Can't wait to hear about Dominica!