Walsingham gardens February 28, 2017

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Northern Pinellas February 27, 2017

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Boca Ciega Great Horned Owls February 26, 2017

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bird words

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.