Far from Home But Near to My Heart

Hmmm, is the celebrity bird hanging out on Lake Ontario an oddity or a kindred spirit calling out to me?

The Farmer’s Almanac says winter does not officially begin until December 21. But I’ve already hunkered down for the long siege. I’m not counting the days until spring quite yet. But I am casting longing glances at the field guides on my bookshelf and daydreaming about big wave days in the spring migration.

Hardcore bird-watchers keep going through the winter. Around this time of year, it is more about quality than quantity. Living in the Great Lakes Basin yields some surprise avian visitors in winter. Occasionally, a bird that belongs in the Atlantic Ocean finds its way up the St Lawrence River to Lake Ontario.

At the moment, the celebrity bird on the east end of the big lake is a Thick-billed Murre. It is a chunky black and white bird that looks a bit like a loon on steroids. My field guide says that this bird species is solitary, winters on the open ocean and is seldom seen from land. This makes it all the more exciting for bird enthusiasts that it is hanging out this far inland.

When I hear about one of these nomadic birds, I always wonder what the experience is like for it. I have to believe that it knows it is far, far away from home. The landscape is very different and there are no other birds of its species around. Does it feel, if you’ll pardon the pun, like a fish out of water?

And yet, a stray bird like this one often hangs around for quite some time. It makes me wonder if in fact it is not lost but rather on a big adventure. Maybe it is the free spirit of its species and this is just the latest episode in its ongoing quest to explore new horizons.

I am not what you would call an adventurous person. My comfort zone is fairly narrow. The things that give me pleasure are quite specific and uncomplicated. However, I am also not one to take the middle road or to bow to the pressure to conform. I have arrived at a time in my life where I believe it is okay to be unique and even a bit eccentric.

So maybe I have more in common with the Thick-billed Murre, who is vacationing on Lake Ontario, than it might seem at first. It would not bother me to be the odd bird (again, apologies for the pun) on the scene if the place I was hanging out was the kind of place that makes me happy. I would not be terribly concerned about what others might think about my choice.

I am pretty sure that the Murre is not aware of its celebrity status and would not much care if it was. It is just asserting its independence and doing what comes naturally – even if it is what is not supposed to be natural for its species.

As I’ve already implied, I don’t do much bird-watching in the winter. But, if the Murre ventures further west down the lake into my stomping grounds, I just might take a drive to the lakefront this weekend. It would give me pleasure to see a living metaphor of the be who you are whatever that means philosophy and a fellow nomad on the road less travelled.

And the fact that it would be a lifer on my bird list would round out the experience quite nicely.

~ 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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