The old man sitting at the pond feeding the ducks, Mary Poppins singing about feeding the birds, and the lonely old woman in Home Alone 2 who saved Kevin with her birds are just a few examples that warm our attitude towards birds. Feeding birds is multi million dollar industry, our society loves to encourage it, and watching them is a delight for many; myself included.
Some birds only appear during certain seasons, and others make their homes in our eaves or branches. Some birds keep insects at bay, while others steal our crops. People keep birds as pets or food, certain species are hunted, but birds are seen as an overall positive influence in human culture. For thousands of years, we’ve marveled at the ability to move freely around the world. Two hundred years ago, people rarely left their communities behind, and in a lifetime, would travel maximum fifty miles from their birthplace. At the same time, Falconers and Fanciers have used birds for hunting and messaging for thousands of years and birds are still used today for pest prevention and entertainment.
When bird falls from its nest, we rush to help it because something in us tell us to aid this small life when sometimes, nature needed one less mouth for the survival of the brood. Humans are compassionate creatures but they’re also superstitious and susceptible. Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe taught us to fear birds and there’s even people in the world who believe that birds are a government conspiracy to watch us. To me birds are fascinating and like a silly cartoon character, I talk to them, feed them, and I get lost in the adventures my imagination tells me they went on. They’re a chance to dream, they’re a new adventure, and they may visit the window of someone you haven’t seen in ages. Bird lives are fleeting and wrought with dangers, but to conquer the land, sea and sky like they do is a daydream I’m willing to indulge and photograph. Flock behavior is mesmerizing but erratic behavior is indicative of danger. Our ancestors didn’t just watch the sky for the stars and the weather, they also watched for migrations and omens.
