CUC Bird Walk Report: Sun May 24

"Birds are the life of the skies, and when they fly, they reveal the thoughts of the skies."
- DH Lawrence

To go along with CUC's Journey Groups theme of the month and the holiday weekend, we reflected on transcendence and remembering loss. We shared silence, heard poetry and quotes, and discussed the events in our lives.

Today the bird world was much like the human world, a time of young ones leaving the nest. In this season of graduation and coming internships and college, the youth turn to independence as do the birds. The 2 robin chicks left their nest near the parsonage only yesterday, and the robin nests under the eaves of the sanctuary all are empty. Not all chicks are convinced that being on one's own is a good idea, as we noticed when one chickadee kept following her parents around, flapping her wings with beak agape. Perhaps this behavior reminds you of those humans you know.

Towards the end of the walk we stood talking under the Parsonage bird feeder, the good weather tempting us to stay outdoors as long as possible. There, one looked up to see a mature red-tailed hawk flying over the Parsonage, the sun shining through the bright red tail to fall on our smiling faces. Not everyone was in a smiling mood, for the hawk was being mobbed by 3 blue-jays. Mobbing occurs when smaller birds attack and swoop at a predator as a warning and signal - "We see you and we won't let you get away with it!"

And so ended our walk, seeing the beauty around us, transcending our stories by sharing our thoughts with those who inhabit the skies.

Here's the species list for the day: - 30 individuals of 17 avian species.

3 Mourning doves
6 American robins
3 Black-capped chickadee
1 European starlings
1 White-breasted nuthatch
2 House finch
1 Carolina wrens
1 Northern cardinal
4 Blue jays
1 Fish crow
1 Starling
1 Common grackle
1 Red-tailed hawk
1 Cowbird
1 House sparrow
1 Northern flicker
1 Mockingbird
2 Gray squirrels
3 chipmunks

5 humans