Existential Bird Metaphoring

Some of us are content to simply sit still... to hang out... to lie there and wait for something to happen. Take for example this WILSON'S SNIPE.Others of us have that constant, almost burning desire to push ahead... to drive on... to stand out from the crowd... to get unstuck from the jam.Yes, and like this REDHEAD, simply swim on through the traffic.Yet sometimes we find ourselves hovering, or worse... endlessly circling like this ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.Some 'fate-based' folks prefer to float through life. Sure there are those occasional ups and downs... or in the case of this WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, dives and flights. You've got to take the good with the bad. The rough with the smooth. The sweet with the sour. It's all about achieving balance.Some of us look pretty good when we stretch our wings. Take for example this AMERICAN WIGEON in flight.And yet, there are those who shine their brightest when simply taking the time to stop and relax.There are others who prefer the direct route, like this BALD EAGLE. No stop lights. No waiting. Who wants to slow down when there is something one needs to catch?Picking one self up and getting off the ground is always a chore. And some look better than others at doing it, like this EURASIAN WIGEON.But it's something we all must do to get to where we want to be...So spread those wings, get on up and enjoy the view once you're there... like this AMERICAN KESTREL.On a serious note, I had a blast this past Sunday on the Eastern Shore with my son Declan, my friend Chris Murray and his girlfriend Eliza Toomey (my wife Emery's sister), Ross Geredien, Paul Baicich and the BIRD COUPLE, Warren and Lisa Strobel. It's good friends like these, and a wonderful son like Declan that keep me anchored in life... tied down safe, floating in my safe little harbour... a river of my own happiness.Enjoy your week!

-Dan

Sunday Birding with THE Bird Couple & Good Migrations

I was lucky enough to spend Sunday birding Harford and Cecil Counties (that's the Northeast corner of Maryland folks) with Warren & Lisa Strobel (AKA THE BIRD COUPLE) and Ross Geredien (AKA Good Migrations Photography). That's the crew scanning the horizon at the busy, but very quiet (bird-wise) Turkey Point.We saw quite a good number of birds. Rarities? Well, we didn't see the reported SANDHILL CRANES at the mouth of the Big Gunpowder River. But we did have some great highlights such as the RED NECKED GREBE on the Susquehanna River, the many BALD EAGLES and GREAT BLUE HERONS (they have a rookery there) at the base of the Conowingo Dam. By the way, 'rookery' is one of my new favorite words for absolutely no good reason, other than the fact that it's fun to say.

Go ahead, say it. No no no... try it with a 'Sean Connery' Scottish accent. See? Fun stuff.There was one fun moment I should mention. For several minutes, we enjoyed watching a GREAT BLUE HERON attempt to eat a carp that was far too big. The bird struggled hard and long trying to successfully move this fish down into his gullet. Fish=1 Heron=0. This fish got away. Bloodied, scared and with a stories it can brag about to all of his other fish friends, this carp now can now tell all of his underwater buddies about the time he saw inside a heron's belly.

Finally, as sunset approached, we viewed two enormous rafts of TUNDRA SWANS and AMERICAN COOT at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. No doubt they were at the headwaters of the Bay staging for their long migration North. It was like the line at the airport, but only miles long across the horizon! Well, almost exactly the same as those airport lines really.

I wish I could show you some amazing photos from yesterday, but there were very few that actually came out in focus. True... I did offer up that one of the BROWN CREEPER. But instead of my amateur bird photography, how about a blurry image of my amazingly handsome, now smiling often, cute-as-can-be son Declan? He is my favorite thing these days... all smiling and what not. That is of course, my favorite thing aside from his Mom! She's a cutie too. If I may borrow a phrase from a commercial, Emery is 'a hottie from hottingham'.

Lucky, I truly am.

Enjoy your week,

Dan