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Hmmm, was there hidden significance in that flowering tree on the spit where nine different bird species flitted in and out in an otherwise slow bird-watching day?

Migration bird-watching is a hit and miss game. Weather conditions dictate what the day will hold. Bad weather often results in a ‘fallout’ of birds – meaning the birds are grounded by bad weather and therefore stacked up in the woods. A string of good weather days often translates into dreary birding where there is little to see.

Today was my first fall migration outing of the year. The weather was made to order… for everything but birding. It was a sun-bleached, cloudless, vintage August day with only a smattering of migrants on the spit.

But mid morning I came upon a flowering tree that was literally a sunburst of activity. Half a dozen sputtering Eastern Kingbirds, a hyperactive Ruby-crowned Kinglet, several inquisitive Willow Flycatchers, a female Oriole stopping in for a quick look-about, a whistling Fox Sparrow and a quarter of warblers – the mandatory Yellow, a still gaudy Magnolia, a flash-of-orange-and-black Redstart and a classy Nashville.

That tree was the highlight in an otherwise underwhelming day. But isn’t life a bit like that? From time to time the fates align and smile on you. Everything goes your way. There’s a bounce in your stride and a silly grin on your face.

In between these ‘fallout’ days are a string of ordinary days – not bad but not great either. I’m trying to learn not to live just for the ‘fallout’ days. They’re great when they come and they definitely recharge my battery. But I ought to be able to enjoy the ordinary days nearly as much. It seems to me that may just be the secret to happiness.

A flowering tree buzzing with a sunburst of birds in a slow migration birding day – a random act of metaphor to remind me that there’s more to life than the ‘fallout’ days.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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Tags:   bird-watching · birding · fallout · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · migration11 Comments