The last month or so my birding has been confined to what I can see from the chair on my deck. My recent surgery has kept me from getting out to the fields and meadows that I have enjoyed since childhood. My feeling of loss, even though thankfully temporary, has taken more from me than just seeing what birds might be visiting my favorite haunts but has seemed to have deprived me of some of my much needed emotional and spiritual connection to the outdoors and our birds.
Maybe much more than we can understand, at least just speaking for myself, nature keeps me more focused and renews my resolve to face the challenges of the day. Nature can do that, and for the folks that remain close to the natural world it plays an important part of our everyday lives
Ever since man first beheld birds flying high in the heavens there has been a special connection to our winged wonders of the skies. Mythological fables regarding birds blend through every culture, every religion and always has a parable which includes a spiritual linking with birds, from the many Biblical stories involving the Dove to the timeless unique Native American sacred connections to birds such as the Eagle.
Man has evolved accepting and understanding that the sighting of birds at important times could have significant personal meaning which may help them receive a message, guide and direct them throughout difficult times in their lives or connect to the memory of a loved one long gone.
But not everyone gets the message and somewhere along life’s arduous journey seem to have lost our way. Maybe because we have begun to lose our feeling of fitting together with the natural world around us or possibly because we have just chosen to ignore the signs that nature expresses to us it seems that less people are feeling that closeness of nature and may be missing that extraordinary experience that only being part of the natural world can give us.
Most birders, I believe, have not lost that special connection with nature. They may not talk much about it to each other or find the need to express it that often but when the Red-tailed Hawk soars overhead or a Great-Blue Heron stands majestically on the shore they don’t need to say anything. You can just see it their faces that there is something special happening, there is that unexplainable bonding, an ancient linking with nature that has united them with the spirit of the birds forever and then there is no longer need for words.
Many birders have their own “special” bird that has a deep personal meaning to them. When they cross their bird’s path it can bring back fond or even sad memories of days gone by. They may feel a connection with a loved one or even feel they are being guided on the right path. Birders just don’t walk outside to look at birds and forget about them; there is something that touches them deep in their soul that stays with them for a lifetime.
Sitting on my deck I have once again realized that there is still magic even in the Starling with all its whistles and squeaks and also in the much maligned House Sparrow with its chirps, fluttering and constant search for its place in the environment.
Our connection with nature runs deep. There is something we may never fully understand and have lost touch with but in our hearts we know we are as much a part of the natural world as the Robin or the Wood Thrush. If we are honest with ourselves there is no denying it; we are part of the environment, connected through eons of living side-by-side with nature. The only question is if we will learn to hear its message.
