Although HG is a born and bred urbanite, oblivious to much of the beauty of nature and its infinite variety, HG has oddly found that observing seabirds is a source of unending pleasure. HG/BSK’s Prince Edward Island home, perched directly above the sea, is the ideal theater for enjoying seabirds. The Heron, of course, is the most graceful bird. Statuesque in repose. Poetic in flight, a streamlined Art Deco vision. Cormorants provide comic relief. The least graceful of fliers, flap-flap-flap go their wings in a manic pattern as they progress across the sky. Crows are graceful but unpleasantly noisy and untidy in their excretory habits (they target HG/BSK’s decks). Gulls of all kind soar through the air with the greatest of ease, seemingly mocking the clumsy Cormorants. Harrier Hawks do, in the words of the song, “make lazy circles in the sky.” Every now and then a mighty eagle soars into view and all of the birds scatter. Among the smaller shore birds, HG derives particular pleasure from colorful Meadow Larks and quick-stepping Sandpipers and Piping Plovers (the latter, alas, is an endangered species that PEI naturalists are making an effort to preserve). But, HG’s favorite sea bird is that mighty fisher, the Osprey. They are feathered dive-bombers. Ospreys fly a few yards above the sea, ever alert to the possibility of a meal. Then they spot a fish. The Osprey comes to an abrupt halt and does a swift, vertical dive. There’s a big splash when the bird hits the water. It is one of nature’s most diverting spectacles.
Leave a Reply