Standing outside yesterday evening in Detroit, I was on the phone with my mom and she asked me, ‘are those birds??’ I realized it must have been loud enough through the phone that in NYC it would sound like a full bird sanctuary or circus. Surrounded by trees and brush, and unable to see them anywhere, I was nestled in this safe cocoon of sound, of the early night calls of our feathered neighbors.
After I hung up the phone I stood there for a long while, taking it in and listening to all the different voices. I opened the trusty Merlin Bird ID app and recorded their calls. American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Chimney Swift. I love using the app, seeing the soft charcoal lines of their voices, watching their pictures light up when it’s their turn to speak. It always feels somehow like having a conversation with them.
This morning as I write this, I hear different birds outside my window, with different voices and calls from last night’s friends. They are different from the bird calls I heard in Michigan when I was little too. I’m always transported directly back to childhood when I hear a Mourning Dove call. It’s both sweetly comforting and also sad like a pang to the heart, almost too much to bare.
Along with the sound of the Mourning Dove, the bird that reminds me most of childhood is probably the Seagull. While not necessarily a backyard bird, seagulls in lakeside Michigan were always a frequent friend to see. The memories I have attached with seagulls are so precious to me like sacred treasures, almost too much to think about, and so amazed to have them as well.
Are there birds that remind you of childhood or precious memories? Is it seeing the bird, hearing their calls and songs, or both? Please share your memories and thoughts of birds and their voices.
I hope you’re having a great weekend. Please share any thoughts about birds, and I’ll see you in the Chat to share your photos if you have any. Happy Saturday, everyone.
Having moved to Virginia from Colorado after 20 years in the Rockies I've been greeted by so many of the birds that I knew as a child growing up in the east. Cardinals in particular and also the wonderful Mourning Dove and Mockingbird. Songbirds were rare in the part of Colorado where I lived so it's been a welcome cacophony.
As a child, I loved birds: robins, cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, mourning doves, red-wing blackbirds, goldfinches, cedar wax wings, and crows (I adore crows!). I've always had a copy of Peterson's nearby and studied it for hours to learn about them. As an adult with a nice little plot of land in the country, I have so many birds visiting the feeders, and I love listening to their songs. We even have Ravens! The beauty of the New York State bird, the Bluebird, is stunning! I've been enjoying watching the parents feeding their fledglings that they've hidden in the trees and bushes around our property. Last night they had them in the Wisdom Tree, where I love to go sit in the evenings to drink a glass of wine, but they fiercely objected to my being there, especially because my kitty, Harper Lee, was there with me. They will grow up fast and be fending for themselves; soon enough, I'll have my tree back! We have a variety of woodpeckers and sparrows too. The hummingbirds squabble over their feeder and the bee balm in my garden. I love hearing the whistle of the Eastern Towhee; it is one of the birds I look forward to hearing in the early spring, and the Bobolinks are always the last ones to arrive in the spring migration. Our climate has changed so much; there are robins that no longer migrate south; I've noticed this for well over a decade, and it's so strange to see them in the middle of winter, quietly tut-tutting, foraging, and sheltering in our pine trees. Birds are wonderful creatures, and I feel so blessed to have them visit my garden!