Snipes and shrikes and piping plovers
Bird words I have heard
Learning the language of ornithology
Differentiating sounds and shapes and coloration.
If you like to be outdoors in nature
Walking through the woods and fields
Standing beside a stream or lake or seashore
You will see them best with binoculars.
Here today and usually gone tomorrow
Quick flight hops from branch to branch
Follow any movement to catch a glimpse
Before the avian form disappears.
This transitory presence appeals to me
Like the passage of time in the larger context
The birds in early morning and as sunset approaches
The shorebirds at low tide and migrants with the seasons.
The first time you see a bird that is new to you
That is a once in a lifetime thrill that never gets old
But the common birds all around us every day so familiar
Let us observe up close a life apart from us.
I take photos as a way to collect specimens
Examined closely compared with field guide images
Though my primary purpose is to frame the bird
To capture the beauty of the moment.
