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Berkshires

BirdingFeatured

The magic of birds in motion

by Liza Gyllenhaal June 1, 2020
written by Liza Gyllenhaal

We’ve been watching the birds return to their summer homes these past few weeks.  One morning, an explosion of bright orange hit the living room window as a pair of claws scrabbled at the iron mullions, trying to gain a foothold. 

An American Robin collects construction materials

It was a Baltimore Oriole, come back to the place that had offered free orange halves the year before.  I quickly nailed fresh oranges to the porch post and soon both a male and female (not to mention a sapsucker and red squirrel) were pecking at the fruit.

The orioles are nesting high up in the trees facing the house now.  An American Robin has built her nest in the eaves of our barn.  It’s a large, somewhat messy affair with straw, which I use to cover the vegetable beds in the winter, spilling down through the rafters.  

American Robin

A clan of quarrelsome Blue Jays has commandeered the towering hemlocks by the garage where, last year, the hummingbirds nested.  I’m not sure where they’ve moved to now; they seem to be coming from all directions as they swoop down to hover at the feeders. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The other evening at dusk I was standing in the dining room, looking out at the back garden, when a hummingbird stopped in mid-flight, wings beating 80 times a second, and stared back at me for what seemed like a long time.  Who are you?  it seemed to be asking.  What are you doing inside when there are so many wonderful places out here to nest?

Blue Jay

Part of the joy of bird-watching is seeing them in flight.  The hawk circling high above a field. An owl flapping silently into the woods at dusk. A crow pumping through the air on some purposeful errand.

Recently, I came upon a poem that I think captures the magic of birds in motion — far better than ordinary prose.  It’s written by the American poet Li-Young Lee who was born in Djakarta, Indonesia, to parents who were political exiles from China.  His father had been the personal physician to Mao Zedong. 

I think it’s Lee’s innate understanding of these different cultures and languages that gives his poetry such spiritual grace and resonance.

One Heart

Look at the birds. Even flying
is born

out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open

at either end of day.
The work of wings
was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every falling thing.

Li-Young Lee began writing as a student at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is the author of five books of poetry and a memoir and has been recipient of almost all the major poetry awards. 
 
 
 

This post is republished from Liza Gyllenhaal’s “Writer in the Garden,” an exquisite website devoted to the intersection of gardening, nature and poetry. Liza, who is Anders’ sister, is a novelist and avid gardener, who writes about life and nature in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. We love it when she takes up the topic of birds, or goes close enough that we can publish her pieces on Flying Lessons. 

 

June 1, 2020 0 comment
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Here are links to some of the deeper stories we’ve written for publications from the Washington Post to The Miami Herald exploring the frontiers of birding and avian research. This story for the Post was about the role of every-day birders in creating the largest citizen science project in the world. This piece for The Herald looked at the surprising strength of the Roseate Spoonbill in the midst of climate change. And this article and video for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer is about how some adventurous hummingbirds are abandoning their migration and staying the winter in the U.S. Our latest story in the Washington Post is about a rescue mission for the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 

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Barred Owl Orlando, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
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Hairy Woodpecker Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
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Prairie Warbler Cape May, New Jersey
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Red-bellied Woodpecker St. Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida
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Eastern Wood-Peewee Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
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Eastern Meadowlark Kissimmee, Florida
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Black-throated Blue Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina
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Roseate Spoonbill BIRDS IN FLIGHT FELLSMERE, FLORIDA OSPREY BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida American Flamingo BIRDS IN FLIGHT Rio Largartos, Mexico COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL EASTERN MEADOWLARK BIRDS IN FLIGHT KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA Red-shouldered Hawk BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL PALM WARBLER BIRDS IN FLIGHT ORLANDO, FLORIDA BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER BIRDS IN FLIGHT LORTON, VIRGINIA BROWN PELICAN BIRDS IN FLIGHT ASSATEAGUE, MARYLAND COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL WOOD STORK BIRDS IN FLIGHT MELBOURNE, FLORIDA COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL

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We’re two journalists who’ve traded in our work in publishing and syndicated writing for following and photographing the birds. We live in Raleigh, NC, but are traveling the country every chance we get -- and are sharing the lessons birds are teaching us and the photos we take along the way.

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This website is about what we can learn from the birds around us. Some of the lessons are obvious, such as the way birds can be a barometer of environmental changes. Others are subtle, like the way you, as an observer, have to adapt to navigate the world in which birds operate. We ourselves still have much to learn about birding, a late-in-life pursuit that has captivated us in retirement. But we decided to start writing about the lessons and teachings as we’re finding our way, in hopes that our storytelling and photography will help to celebrate a captivating element of nature.

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Flying Lessons
  • Home
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      • Belted Kingfishers Gallery
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      • Magnificent Frigatebird
      • Woodpecker’s Nest
      • Red-shouldered Hawk Gallery
      • Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
      • In search of Warblers
      • Ecuador’s Hummingbirds Gallery
      • Purple Gallinule
      • Sandhill Cranes — and their chicks
      • White Ibis Gallery
      • Catching Birds in Flight
      • Roseate Spoonbills in all their glory
      • A Rookery for Storks
      • Shore Birds
      • Dining Out
      • Love is in the Air: Two Barn Swallows’ take on the Birds and the Bees
  • Videos
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