It's a short walk to my son's school, maybe a block and a half. The two of us make this trek every morning and afternoon. I noticed this morning the abundance of wildlife in that short distance. I saw squirrels and chipmunks and half a dozen or more different types of birds.
It is interesting how species of birds vary in their behavior. Some are small but noisy, sounding like a busy body talking to her neighbor. Others are quiet and devoted, only seen with their mate. Some birds were hopping along the ground while others flitted about in the air. Many were colorful while others were plain, almost fading into the background.
I've also been keeping up on basketball. The "Birdman" on the Miami Heat is an interesting species all by himself. He reminds me of the truly awful film Sssssss made decades ago. For some reason it has played on the TV multiple times over the years. It's all about a crazy scientist (Dr. Stoner, interestingly enough) who turns people into snakes. It's creepiness is highlighted when one of the "good guys" is discovered too late as half man-half snake. I don't think we need to go to these physical extremes to demonstrate the similarities between humans and the animal world around us.
For instance, one of the birds I noticed this morning was a hawk. He first made his presence known with his loud call. I finally located him perched on the corner of a house right in front of me. I have since identified him as a Northern Harrier. Beautiful and majestic, this is actually the same bird I saw in the same place yesterday afternoon. Only yesterday this large predator was being picked on by a blue jay. The blue jay kept flying at him and chasing him off.
Isn't this world an interesting place? How many "bird people" do you know that look completely human? Gives you pause to think about it. If you were a bird what species would you be?
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