Blackbird, fly; you were only waiting for this moment to arise



The blackbirds and song thrushes are back for the season and we have a permanent chorus of "liquid gold" birdsong outside our windows.  Especially at sunset the birds will perch high in a tree and sing their little hearts out. The most magical thing though is that they really do sing in the dead of night.  Walk down the dark, empty street at 3 a.m. and everything's silent except a little bird who is happily filling the world with song.  

Last year we realized how ignorant we were when it came to British birds (didn't recognize a single one) so we headed to the library and got a bird book.  Then we upped the nerd-factor and got binoculars.  And bird feeders.  We have also crossed over the complete nerd threshold, which is when you can't wait to see your spouse so you can excitedly blurt out all the birds you saw that afternoon.  
Your spouse replies, "No! A yellowhammer ?" 
"Yeah! I know, I could hardly believe it!" 
"Luckyyyy!" your spouse whines, and searches immediately for the binoculars.  

And that's what happens when you live a zillion miles away from family and friends.

6 comments:

Olivia Meikle said...

We were already that nerdy when we were still in the States, so welcome to our happy little club!

And did I ever tell you about the time I saw a wild parakeet in NC . . .

Katie said...

HA! You would beat us to nerdom. Do you have a whole new world of weird Chinese birds to stare at now?

KT and Lance said...

I love the bird story! It especially hits home because I'm enjoying all my new birds! I like that you notched up the nerd factore to figure out what they were, I need to do that, but mine won't be for birds, it will be for BUGS!!!!!

We mailed you a card about a week ago, and today when I was driving, Eli asked me, "we send card to Katie and Marc today?" I was shocked he rememeber!

Emily said...

I just read this out loud to Rich with voices and everything and we both had a hearty chuckle. The "Luckyyyy" whine was especially nostalgic. :) We miss you terribly.

Olivia Meikle said...

There are some great ones--but I don't know what any of them are. And whenever I ask the Ayi or the driver, they look at me funny, then say slowly and carefully in chinese: "Bird." They probably think I'm slow.

Michelle said...

well thanks to your brother, we've been nerds since the beginning. I think he took me birdwatching when we were dating...and as you know we lived by the entire family at that point. So no excuse. I have to say though, I think we're all pretty awesome nerds. Who shouldn't pay attention to the amazing creatures and nature around us? In Boston it is especially serene to be walking down a city street littered with garbage and loud vehicles passing by only to be swept away from all the chaos when you notice a bright red male cardinal perched on a tree above. I would much prefer to forget about all the other noise and just hear the song. I'm so gald I married into a family of birdwatchers....never occured to me before....aren't you outside just to play sports? (still love my sports...just spreading my wings a bit :)