AWAKENING TO SPRING'S GRAND SPECTACLE OF WINGS
Hmmm, what is this stirring in my soul and impatient rustling in my heart that has infected me?
Around this time of year my mind begins to wander of its own volition. My powers of concentration falter at inopportune moments. Even my feet get a bit restless. All because a little voice begins to whisper insistently in my ear: Migration!
For those of us who have a love affair with our feathered friends, spring is by definition our favourite season. It is a small window of opportunity – an oh so precious couple of months – when our binoculars are pointed skywards to catch every possible species that passes through.
It begins with the waterfowl migration in March. The wintering species are joined by throngs of returning ducks that fill the bays to overflowing. And, of course, their sister species – the handsome Grebes. Horned Grebes just beginning to display their chestnut necks and regal golden ear tufts. Show-off Red-Necked Grebes, often in flocks of a hundred or more, with their braying chatter echoing across the water.
And let's not forget the snow-white Tundra Swans with their massive six foot wingspan. Long and regal necks gracefully arching into a black bill with that diagnostic yellow spot near the eye.
Early April brings flocks of returning hawks cruising the ridges on warm thermals. The ubiquitous Red-winged Blackbirds with their welcoming conkereeeeee. Noisy Grackles, the bubble-bubble-zee of Brown Cowbirds and the ank-ank-ank of Nuthatches.
Our anticipation begins to swell in mid April as the Swallows arrive. The steely blue-green Tree Swallows are always first. But the fork-tailed Barn Swallows, swooping low over the water, won't be long behind them.
By now Killdeers are putting in their appearance heralding the shorebird migration to come. Name-saying Phoebes are flitting about and the oh-sweet-peabody-peabody-peabody of the first White-throated Sparrow rings out.
The day counts begin to rise in late April as Brown Creepers spiral up the tree trunks. Winter Wrens scramble across deadfalls. Golden-crowned Kinglets flit about the greening branches joined soon by their Ruby-crowned cousins.
The tail-wagging Hermit Thrush is abundant by now reacquainting us with the graceful fluted calls of the Thrush family. The first warblers are arriving on the scene lead by the distinctive yellow rump of the aptly named Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Tail-bobbing Palm Warblers are here and there and, perhaps, a Pine Warbler trilling from the tree tops.
But April is only the opening act. May is the month-long main event headlined by fall-outs of bright Warblers, symphonies of Thrushes, waves of Flycatchers, brilliant splashes of Orioles, Tanagers and Grosbeaks… the list goes on and on.
The grand spectacle of the spring migration is the unrivalled metaphor of metaphors for renewal, rebirth and a fresh start. Nothing else can feed our soul and revive our spirit quite the same way. Ah but if only it were not so short!
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
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