I walked up to the mailbox on Saturday, March 26 to see if anything interesting had arrived. As usual, I found a mixture of different items. Most of them were appeals for money from the various environmental organizations that I support and advertisements for this and that, but what really caught my attention was a handwritten letter from a friend.
I receive letters from my father several times a week. We got into the habit of writing to each other during the COVID shutdown and I am very happy that this habit has continued. We send notes back and forth and my father is particularly good at finding something interesting in the newspaper to share; cartoons especially. But I very rarely receive mail from anyone else. This was a real treat.
The letter was from my friend Michael, who lives in Vermont. I opened the envelope and discovered a sheet of folded parchment paper inside. Opening a letter like this is like opening a present. First you remove the wrapping paper and then you open the letter itself having no idea what is inside. When the surprise was revealed I laughed out loud!
Here, in its entirety, is the letter that I received: “March 21, 2022. My Dearest William, What’s with you and birds, anyway? Sincerely, Michael.” An absolute classic! This was clearly a way of saying, “Hello! What’s up? Write back.” So, without hesitation, I did just that. What follows is my best recollection of the letter I sent back:
My Dearest Michael, Believe it or not I have been asked this question many times. However, your recent letter got me to thinking about the question anew and after a period of reflection I think I have an answer for you. There are many reasons to appreciate birds. The first among these is probably their large number and variety. Here in New England we only have two species of deer (including moose), two rabbits, three squirrels, one chipmunk, one raccoon, one opossum, one skunk, one otter, one beaver, one muskrat, one bear, one coyote and two foxes. There are others, like bats, bobcats, weasels and a few rodents, but most are seen so infrequently that many people may go a year or more without ever spotting one.
In contrast, birds are astoundingly diverse and numerous. Massachusetts is home to 16 species of sparrows alone. When it comes to the wood warblers, there are an astounding 35 species and if you know where and when to look you might be able to see 20 of those warblers in a single day. I keep lists of the different species that I see in my yard each month and the winning number is from May of 2020 when I saw 65 species. You simply can’t do that with mammals.
Another reason to like birds is the fact that most of them live their lives out in the open. Because birds possess the power of flight they are quite confident in their ability to avoid danger. As a result, they are willing to be seen, which the majority of mammals are not. Furthermore, sight is extremely important to birds because they can see color. As a result, they decorate themselves in gorgeous plumage that is a pure delight to the eye. What is more beautiful than the bright red of a male cardinal, or the metallic blue-green sheen on a tree swallow’s back?
But the quality I most admire in birds is probably their penchant for singing. With so many species competing for space there has been a real need for identification. Unlike mammals, which rely heavily on scent, birds communicate with sound, and a lot of it. Songs are advertisements and warnings alike. “This is mine! Come take a look, ladies!” But there are also equally charming call notes and contact notes that simply allow birds to keep track of one another. Their power of flight means that they can cover distances quickly and their small size means that they can loose sight of one another easily. A short call can simply reassure each other that their friends and loved ones are near.
Especially in the springtime, birdsong can be astounding. Just as our eyes are hungry for colors after a long winter, our ears are also desperate for some sounds of life. What could be more beautiful than the joyous song of a robin as the sun retires to the west on a spring evening? Perhaps it is the exuberant “chonk-a-ree” of a red-winged blackbird the following morning; uttered just as dawn is breaking in the east.
With every passing day the ardent admirer of birds will listen intently to see if any new voices have arrived in the night. There’s the bluebird and then comes the phoebe. There’s the chipping sparrow and then comes the towhee. Each species that arrives from the south adds its voice to the growing symphony of life, a breathtaking fugue that echoes across the firmament.
That, I suppose, is why I like birds. Your Most Resplendent Devotee, William.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 24 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he currently teaches high school biology and physics. For more in formation visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or head over to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.