Choosing to throw away my life list hasn't lessened my enjoyment of seeing the birds. We were lucky enough to again have the chance to say hello to the Red Knots passing through this month. The cycles of the natural world are comforting.
I don't have a life list anymore either. But I'm aware, when I'm in a new place, that I'm seeing birds I haven't before. And I do think those guillemots are very cool. They zip along like lightning and then when they stop -- those orange highlights!
Gannets are enormous and sleek creamy-white seabirds, with black wingtips, yellow heads and necks, and startlingly outlined eyes. They nest on the rocky cliffs of the European and North American coasts of the North Atlantic and, once grown, spend their days sailing across the ocean. The acrobatics by which they make their living ~ steep climbs into the air and speedy plunges straight into the sea ~ are rivaled only by those of pelicans.
What better metaphor for a sweeping search of one's life choices and opportunities than a gannet extended above the waves, a regal and yet restless surveyor of the vast ocean surface? The gannet reminds us that life is an adventure in both beauty and profound unease, and that the sea itself is limitless in its textures and possibilities.
6 comments:
those photos are wild - especially like the matching red beaks and feet!
You would have seen the Atlantic Puffin in Europe. I believe the other two species (incuding your tufted) have only a Pacific range.
Virginia
Thanks, Virginia!
Sure.
Choosing to throw away my life list hasn't lessened my enjoyment of seeing the birds. We were lucky enough to again have the chance to say hello to the Red Knots passing through this month. The cycles of the natural world are comforting.
Virginia
I don't have a life list anymore either. But I'm aware, when I'm in a new place, that I'm seeing birds I haven't before. And I do think those guillemots are very cool. They zip along like lightning and then when they stop -- those orange highlights!
Very cool.
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