I loved this, as I am an avid bird watcher. With 30 acres of farmland in my backyard, we get all different varieties. It wasn't until I retired from the hospital, I realized how many different kinds are right here. My blue jays call for me every morning. waiting for peanuts and egg shells to be tossed in the yard. in the summer the mockingbird sits on my roof and sings to all around. No one can match her, or silence her. Right before dusk the Canadian geese fly overhead in a V pattern as if I am an airport. Mr. Owl Hoots at me in the very early hours of the morning...yes, I know you are out there. Robins herald the coming of spring, in the Northeast we all wait for that first Robin sighting.
I have such joy in the woodpeckers, three different types. My favorite of all is the Flicker. He is a tan bird with black spots a bright yellow tail feather and a red crown and a big black mustache. He comes only in the dead of winter. One day I heard this banging in my house. I thought it must be air in the radiator. I followed the sound to find the Flicker loudly pecking on my oil cap outside. I started to investigate the species. They do that to attract the female. The loudest noise gets the girl. Lo and behold a month later he came to visit with his wife. She had no mustache and was a bit smaller. If we only sat and took the time to realize all of Mother Nature's gift around us. Thank you for reminding me of how special the birds are.
I had a very grand bardic chair carved for me by a travelling gypsy, and one day I was sitting in it under the oak tree and could hear all these little cheeps… I went around to the back of the chair and the woodpecker had pecked a hole in it and inside were baby woodpeckers. It was magical. XXX
Cardinals....the bird that is from a spirit to you. In courting they feed their females. I loved watching this. The females are green with orange beaks. I will bet that was a magical moment.
When the mockingbird has babies, the mother sings to them all night and day to teach them the songs of the other birds. In Florida, they lived in the hedge and any time of day or night I had birdsong!
We have one that sits on our roof and sings for hours. Another favorite is the red winged black bird. He was a very distinct call. Usually I hear him for weeks before I see him. When there is a Hawk in the area, the blue jays have a special call they do to warn all the other birds to watch out for the nests. My son Stephen flies drones and has flown the drone with the hawk. The hawk is very curious and not afraid. I will try and find the footage and email to you. It's very cool.
Birds are the wonderful creatures . my husband and I are avid bird watchers in the spring we travel just to get a look and hear all the songbirds in Ohio . beautiful part of God's choir. Your poems remind me of them . Great poetry.
Wonderful...such a treasure trove of poems... and inspiration. Definitely agree...Storytelling (and poetry) crosses all barriers to an expanding universe.
Such a beautiful post and I was mesmerised by your poems….. how I love the written word.
I have always loved birds, I was born in Manchester and was teased by all the northern boys for loving birds and wildlife in general! When we moved down South as a child I joined a young ornithologists club and my love for birds grew, owls were my favourites back then so I always had a family of owls nearby and my first house was called Owls Cottage….. then once I started healing people birds became a big part of my life and I feed the birds in my garden every day. My guide George tells me I have saved generations of birds, he calls me Snow White 😊 a few years ago I was upstairs and heard a tinkling sound coming from downstairs, I didn’t think much of it as my crystals are always moving around but when I came downstairs there was a young starling sitting on my kitchen ledge quite calmly watching me, there were no doors or windows open so I knew I’d drawn him inside and that it was a message for me to connect with them and I have fed them every day since. My favourite bird now is the Robin, every time I see one I feel their magic and I have 2 come every day, I know who they represent, I also have another one that greets me most mornings in my local churchyard when I walk my dog, again I know what message he’s bringing to me…..
blue tits, jackdaws and 2 beautiful pied wagtails are also frequent visitors to my garden - such beauty in our surroundings when we take the time to notice 🌟✨
Your are lucky to have the birds come to you and the birds are lucky to have you. They know who to trust. I am in an arboretum so every bird comes and an Eagle from the Isle of Wight is flying with the Kites at the moment. He landed in my orchard. One time an Eagle Owl from Siberia landed here with a damaged wing... much too big for me to capture, but TiggyWinkles, a local hospital for wild life, managed to take the bird but could not mend the wing so the bird lives in the sanctuary there, an aviary for others that could not be healed. They are all very happy and I go to see them often. They pair up in the aviary and live out their lives being cared for diligently. If I cannot heal them myself, I send them there. ***
Definitely crows! I have so many poems about birds and crows definitely… but space was a problem… and ravens and others… I have a huge statue of a raven at the front of the house and an owl at the side of the garden. The raven guards me… five of them meet in my garden with the rabbits, and I saw one once face off a fox from harming a baby rabbit. The fox was afraid of the raven and took tail and ran!
I had a nest fall out of a tree after the birds had hatched and flown, and discovered my hair and the wolfhound's hair lining the nest. I knew a bird had entered my bedroom window and wondered why... it had obviously taken my hair out of the hairbrush to line the nest! I still have the nest! xx I love crows and robins too.
Dwina I see you've (somewhat) met my best friend Donna! I've been trying to convince her this whole time to get a Substack page! now she listens to me lol!
I definitely think birds remember faces and people. Every Spring when I till my garden, I save the grubs for the Robins that are always nearby. They are eagerly waiting, , and even bring their babies to eat. It has become a Spring tradition that I look forward to. Your poems are just beautiful and inspiring!
when my grandmother died, my mother spotted a group of three black birds fly down our street past our grandmother's house, and later that day, I found a broken silver bird charm outside my car. my grandmother was Italian and believed in all the old traditions around birds being harbingers <3
I loved this, as I am an avid bird watcher. With 30 acres of farmland in my backyard, we get all different varieties. It wasn't until I retired from the hospital, I realized how many different kinds are right here. My blue jays call for me every morning. waiting for peanuts and egg shells to be tossed in the yard. in the summer the mockingbird sits on my roof and sings to all around. No one can match her, or silence her. Right before dusk the Canadian geese fly overhead in a V pattern as if I am an airport. Mr. Owl Hoots at me in the very early hours of the morning...yes, I know you are out there. Robins herald the coming of spring, in the Northeast we all wait for that first Robin sighting.
I have such joy in the woodpeckers, three different types. My favorite of all is the Flicker. He is a tan bird with black spots a bright yellow tail feather and a red crown and a big black mustache. He comes only in the dead of winter. One day I heard this banging in my house. I thought it must be air in the radiator. I followed the sound to find the Flicker loudly pecking on my oil cap outside. I started to investigate the species. They do that to attract the female. The loudest noise gets the girl. Lo and behold a month later he came to visit with his wife. She had no mustache and was a bit smaller. If we only sat and took the time to realize all of Mother Nature's gift around us. Thank you for reminding me of how special the birds are.
I had a very grand bardic chair carved for me by a travelling gypsy, and one day I was sitting in it under the oak tree and could hear all these little cheeps… I went around to the back of the chair and the woodpecker had pecked a hole in it and inside were baby woodpeckers. It was magical. XXX
Cardinals....the bird that is from a spirit to you. In courting they feed their females. I loved watching this. The females are green with orange beaks. I will bet that was a magical moment.
When the mockingbird has babies, the mother sings to them all night and day to teach them the songs of the other birds. In Florida, they lived in the hedge and any time of day or night I had birdsong!
We have one that sits on our roof and sings for hours. Another favorite is the red winged black bird. He was a very distinct call. Usually I hear him for weeks before I see him. When there is a Hawk in the area, the blue jays have a special call they do to warn all the other birds to watch out for the nests. My son Stephen flies drones and has flown the drone with the hawk. The hawk is very curious and not afraid. I will try and find the footage and email to you. It's very cool.
I love that, Joanne, and can imagine the hawk flying with the drone. They really are fearless. ***
Birds are the wonderful creatures . my husband and I are avid bird watchers in the spring we travel just to get a look and hear all the songbirds in Ohio . beautiful part of God's choir. Your poems remind me of them . Great poetry.
Thank you Teresa. I have always loved them. xxx
Wonderful...such a treasure trove of poems... and inspiration. Definitely agree...Storytelling (and poetry) crosses all barriers to an expanding universe.
Such a beautiful post and I was mesmerised by your poems….. how I love the written word.
I have always loved birds, I was born in Manchester and was teased by all the northern boys for loving birds and wildlife in general! When we moved down South as a child I joined a young ornithologists club and my love for birds grew, owls were my favourites back then so I always had a family of owls nearby and my first house was called Owls Cottage….. then once I started healing people birds became a big part of my life and I feed the birds in my garden every day. My guide George tells me I have saved generations of birds, he calls me Snow White 😊 a few years ago I was upstairs and heard a tinkling sound coming from downstairs, I didn’t think much of it as my crystals are always moving around but when I came downstairs there was a young starling sitting on my kitchen ledge quite calmly watching me, there were no doors or windows open so I knew I’d drawn him inside and that it was a message for me to connect with them and I have fed them every day since. My favourite bird now is the Robin, every time I see one I feel their magic and I have 2 come every day, I know who they represent, I also have another one that greets me most mornings in my local churchyard when I walk my dog, again I know what message he’s bringing to me…..
blue tits, jackdaws and 2 beautiful pied wagtails are also frequent visitors to my garden - such beauty in our surroundings when we take the time to notice 🌟✨
Your are lucky to have the birds come to you and the birds are lucky to have you. They know who to trust. I am in an arboretum so every bird comes and an Eagle from the Isle of Wight is flying with the Kites at the moment. He landed in my orchard. One time an Eagle Owl from Siberia landed here with a damaged wing... much too big for me to capture, but TiggyWinkles, a local hospital for wild life, managed to take the bird but could not mend the wing so the bird lives in the sanctuary there, an aviary for others that could not be healed. They are all very happy and I go to see them often. They pair up in the aviary and live out their lives being cared for diligently. If I cannot heal them myself, I send them there. ***
Sounds like you live in beautiful surroundings. We have taken many injured animals to TiggyWinkles - an amazing place x
Birds are truly magical messengers. Beautiful poems, Dwina--Thank you!
I agree about the magical messengers. Glad you liked the poems xx
Crows!
Definitely crows! I have so many poems about birds and crows definitely… but space was a problem… and ravens and others… I have a huge statue of a raven at the front of the house and an owl at the side of the garden. The raven guards me… five of them meet in my garden with the rabbits, and I saw one once face off a fox from harming a baby rabbit. The fox was afraid of the raven and took tail and ran!
This is beautiful for I have a certain birds that follow me all the time . Crows and robins .
I had a nest fall out of a tree after the birds had hatched and flown, and discovered my hair and the wolfhound's hair lining the nest. I knew a bird had entered my bedroom window and wondered why... it had obviously taken my hair out of the hairbrush to line the nest! I still have the nest! xx I love crows and robins too.
That is awesome! If you leave ribbons around they will put them in their nests as well!
i think they were little song birds or wrens… not sure. It was so magical to find my hair and Paddy’s in the nest!xx
How wonderful that you saved that nest. A gift from above for sure.
Dwina I see you've (somewhat) met my best friend Donna! I've been trying to convince her this whole time to get a Substack page! now she listens to me lol!
I definitely think birds remember faces and people. Every Spring when I till my garden, I save the grubs for the Robins that are always nearby. They are eagerly waiting, , and even bring their babies to eat. It has become a Spring tradition that I look forward to. Your poems are just beautiful and inspiring!
when my grandmother died, my mother spotted a group of three black birds fly down our street past our grandmother's house, and later that day, I found a broken silver bird charm outside my car. my grandmother was Italian and believed in all the old traditions around birds being harbingers <3
Your mother and mine would have got along very well, as she was very careful of the birds!
Delightful. Literally reading this as I listen to gang of tiny twittering birds in the tree outside the gang.