BIRDS ARE LIKE PEOPLE…
Recently, I was commenting about watching birds in an email to a friend I call Largo Bob because he lives in Largo Scotland. I have a Brother Bob, and a Neighbor Bob so I must have some way to keep them all straight.
Largo Bob has a bit of a ring to it if you know your history. The real Robinson Crusoe, along with my friend, hailed from Lower Largo. And you thought someone had just made up the whole Robinson Crusoe thing, right? See what you can learn by reading obscure blogs? And it is all at absolutely no additional cost to you!
But I digress, back to birds.
I was telling Largo Bob how I enjoy spending some mornings on my morning patio. I have placed a couple of bird feeders nearby and my wife and I enjoy observing the various birds.
Now right away, I know you already have me pegged as an old guy. I have been around the block a few times, but I do not consider myself “old” in the accepted sense of the word. Even our oldest daughter is always saying, “you guys remind me of Grandma.” It may be only “old” people who have the patience, or the time to watch/observe a bird feeder.
Now Grandma, my Mom, seriously watched birds. She had both bird books and binoculars. We were recently at her house, a home that has had three owners since she had to move out. The latest owners, Michael and Shelby had graciously invited us over to see what the house looks like now. (Things like that still happen in small towns) It is amazing the changes the different owners have made to the house we called home when my sister and two brothers were growing up.
But one thing had not changed, and I saw it right away. Mom’s Purple Martin house was still there in clear view of the back kitchen window looking down from its pole over the back yard.
You do know Purple Martins eat mosquitos, don’t you? I learned that, and many other things from my Mom.
My interest in birds was piqued by our nephew who is a serious birdwatcher. Did I mention he is young! I told him it was fine for him, but we never had anymore than a couple of kinds of birds around here. Nathan introduced me into the Cornell University apps for identification and logging, and off figuratively, I went. Imagine my surprise when in a relatively short space of time I had discovered seventeen different species of birds in my backyard. Who knew? Imagine what I could find if I actually went looking.
Watching the birds around the feeders, I can observe their mannerisms, their food preferences, their time of arrival, and their attitude on arrival at the feeder. Some just go about eating. Is that not the purpose of the feeder and coming to it? Some on the other hand insist on bothering the ones that are already there calmly eating, insisting even on running some of them off. Another trait of people. Some people seem intent on aggravating the ones who are already there. It’s as if they do not have enough problems of their own.
I do all this observing while I am also busy doing serious stuff, like writing.
Eventually, the patient observer concludes birds are much like people. Or is it the other way around?
Like people, some birds are timid, some are bold. Some are scared at the slightest movement around them; some are not. Some learn from watching other birds, some do not. Some of our Cardinals for example are not satisfied with the tiny grains of bird seed. They have learned to get whole peanuts from the Blue Jay’s peanut feeder, then crack them open on the top of a nearby post then enjoying the whole peanut. There are people like that. Not satisfied to have just ordinary things, but looking to enjoy the delicious whole peanut of some of the better things in life. Granted, getting that peanut out of the feeder, and then cracking it open on the nearby post was not easy, or natural, it required attaining new skills. But it was worth it. Just look at the expression of pride on that little guy’s face. It took some observing and then some putting observations into action. There are people like that, and they usually do well in life.
Some birds are happy to eat off the ground, pecking through the scattered seed others have dropped. Other birds prefer to get their food off the table, not the ground. There are people like that.
Some birds require the seeds be laying there in easy reach just waiting to be picked up, others do not mind working at it a bit. And, as we have already observed (we have observed, haven’t we?) some people are like that, expecting others to do all the the heavy lifting.
There are yet more similarities between birds and people.
From time to time, we find evidence a particular bird has not been careful and/or observant enough of its surroundings. The story is told by the pile of feathers a cat leaves on the ground.
So, there are similarities, and there are lessons. PAYING ATTENTION is a lesson.
I have even discovered some birds eat other birds. I have been able to observe it right in my own back yard. Mississippi Kites which are a small bird of prey, feed on small rodents, reptiles, flying insects, and the occasional baby bird…. from another’s nest. I know, the horror of it.
There are several Kites on the golf course behind our house, and a couple of them hang around our back yard in the evenings. I watched one last evening come back to his perch with a baby dove in his talons. He proceeded to eat said baby dove while Mom and Dad dove, who had followed the Kite back to his perch hoping in vain to rescue Junior sat nearby and watched.
Isn’t that much like people, and like life as well? Some people feed on the weaknesses and insecurities of others. It’s rough out there! It’s like Lynn Anderson sang in her hit song from long ago, “I never promised you a rose garden.” She didn’t promise you a rose garden and life doesn’t promise you one either. You can see it every day in the news. Unless you are like me preferring to maintain an upbeat attitude and therefore you are not consuming much current events.
So have a great day. Pick a bird you admire and try to imitate its better qualities.
Oh, and if you would like to know Robinson Crusoe’s real name, leave me a comment. Do not ask Google.
That would be cheating, and yes, I think some birds do that as well.
During our time in Hooker we encountered numerous “crime scenes” (that’s what Dameris called them) in our backyard, likely perpetrated by a local cat. We did not let BC go outside, nor would he even if forced but he noticed the pile of feathers that would occasionally appear. I joked that we should get some Crime Scene Tape and post it around the sites.
Since moving to Owasso, we’ve witnessed the hawks take their share of birds, once in mid-flight right over our heads as we were walking. Our subdivision is bordered by woods on two sides so we see quite a number of birds, including some Scissortail Flycatchers on our back fence.
I never really cared for the song “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” probably because it is over-used at funerals so it has that connotation for me but I found your blog interesting.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26
Good thought! I marvel at the varieties of birds. When I first became interested in birds I said, “we only have sparrows and pigeons around here.”
I’ve since logged 17 different bird species in our backyard. I picked up a new one yesterday, a Northern Mocking bird so that’s 18.
They are all so different in how they are made, how they eat, what they eat, when they eat, size, color, sounds, parenting. It’s difficult to see evolution.
A Cardinal would have starved before evolving his strong beak to break open his favorite seeds, the Mississippi Kite and Kingbirds before the developed their aerial capabilities, and eye coordination, what would they have eaten until their favorite insects evolved, and the Robin before worms. I’ve never seen a Robin eat seed from a feeder.
Thank you for your comment.
So interesting you mentioned purple martins. We inherited from the owners of the house we bought in Granbury a purple Martin colony of houses, 24 to be exact. At the time, I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about them. As we have prepared their houses each Valentine’s Day since then, tended their houses while they’re here, and cleaned them when they leave, we have learned a few things about them. For example, we have no mosquitos while they’re here. Their dark purple feathers when providence provides me some, are exceptional fly tying feather colors. I have binoculars and watch them coax their fledglings to fly, among other activities. If you love purple martins as I now do, you come to dislike sparrows as they’re predatory on purple martins. Sparrows will take over their colony and kill every one of them if not stopped. It has caused me to ponder how worthless a bird a sparrow is. And yet, not one of them falls to the ground unknown to my Heavenly Father.
Mike, thanks so much for your thoughtful reply.
I remember having to clean the Purple Martin houses. The whole Purple Martin thing was Mom’s idea, but it always seemed to be us kids cleaning it out.
I remember wondering how those little birds could pack stuff so tightly into those small space
Your point on the sparrows is well taken. If God can take care of that sparrow, I should have no worries.
Thanks, Don. A very thoughtful and appealing piece! I think you have more bird species in the Panhandle than we have at our Fife home!
There are so many birds which I admire for certain traits. Today, I choose the blackbird. These are industrious birds – always working. They are up early bouncing across the yard looking for worms. The same goes for evening.
Last year I feel like I had a friendly, working relationship with one. I would dig on one side of the compost, and he would gather worms on the other side.
Yes, I like the work ethic and hard-won respect of the blackbird!
Good points…