Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Birds

Knowing that I had a long day sitting in my work chair today, I went for a walk this morning around my apartment complex. I was up rather early (for me), so I was able to walk around before most people were leaving for work. In fact, in a 600+ apartment complex (I really don't think I'm exaggerating), it was just me out and about this morning...and some guy driving an ex-cop car from Dumpster to Dumpster, then diving in and picking out the glass bottles.

Well, it was just the two of us, and the birds. I don't remember being especially attuned to birds before in my life. When I was growing up, I don't recall giving them much thought. I thought birdwatchers were harmlessly kookie. Within the past year, though, I think I might be in danger of joining their ranks.

There are so many fascinating birds in this area, more than I know the names of. The tiny sparrow hoovering six inches over the grass looking for worms was adorable. The raucous calls of the tiny yellow birds contrasted with their two-inch height. The blue jays pierced the air with their dive-bomb sounds. Ducks and geese honked as they flew over. But it was the turkeys that finally made me realize how many times I'd been stopped, frozen in place during my walk by one bird or another. Turkeys are no small creatures. Put seven of them together, and they make quite a large flock. They're wild here, but they're not too scared of people. This flock got within seven feet of me before they got nervous. I eventually shuffled around them through the rows of parked cars and managed not to scare them too much.

All in all, it was a wonderful way to start the day, surrounded by nature while walking through the pathways of my apartment complex. The walk was as needed as I predicted. I just finished nearly nine hours sitting here, and I'm done!

3 comments:

Shaida said...

Thank goodness those turkeys finally got nervous of you! They make ME very nervous...

Back when I used to commute across the Causeway, the birds were my favorite part. Huge flocks of birds would occasionally just take flight en masse, make a few huge, slow loop de loops over the freeway, and then land or fly off out of my field of vision. Very distracting while driving, but totally fascinating to watch. There's also some sort of white, long-necked bird that roosts out there, and when they fly over they look positively prehistoric. It would always make me think of that scene in Fear & Loathing when they enter "bat country," but in my case I'd think "Pterodactyls!" in that same voice and crack myself up.

Rebecca Chastain said...

The turkeys were lying in wait for me today! Positively lurking around the corner of a building. I think they're onto me. Tracking my movements. Plotting for when they'll converge...

I admit, I turned around today and went a different direction.

TikiBird said...

Shaida, I have not seen that movie, but your post still cracked me up.

Rebecca--I don't know how to break it to you, but you're already a birdwatcher.