Friday, October 24, 2008

HOW DO THEY KNOW?


It seems that from the moment the ice is gone in the Lake each spring until it returns in winter, there are times when all the diving and skimming birds spontaneously and mysteriously congregate in huge rafts. It’s obvious they do it because there are equally huge schools of fish near the surface – sometimes it even looks like the water is doing a slow boil, as the fish launch themselves a few inches above water. It brings the gulls and terns and cormorants from near and far. Occasionally even a great blue heron will flap around, trying awkwardly, and without success, to get in on the feast. It always makes me stop and watch; it’s such a phenomenon. I wish I knew how they knew. Seemingly, it happens out of nowhere. Maybe one bird flies over and sees the shadow of the school, then that bird tells another, and that one tells another and so on and so on…that would do it. Or maybe it’s something else, like bird telepathy. Personally, I believe in that, and not just for birds, but for all species, ourselves included. Some call it M-field energy; others call it the 100th Monkey Syndrome, it’s also been called “subtle energy.” It’s the level of consciousness where we are all connected, and information can pass between individuals and groups by non-conventional means.

Well, whatever the answer is, the gathering of birds serves to remind us that there is still much wonder to be found in the world. Because I live near Point Pelee, in Canada, I am fortunate to be able to witness both the spring and fall bird migrations, plus the fall monarch butterfly migration. And on occasion, the fish and birds come together in the waves just beyond my backyard.

Click photo to enlarge

12 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Such a lovely post! And I, too, feel there is some form interconnectedness between us all, humans, animals and nature as we move through the seasons of the year. We're both blessed to live in beautiful spaces where we can enjoy the beauty of nature, that somehow manages to help put all idiocy of politics into perspective. That is, if you can quiet your mind and truly make the effort to move past them to a gentler view.

Unknown said...

I think so too ... there's a magic out there that can't be fully explained, and that connects us all to each other and to something else. Or, as put at the end of The Great Gatsby: "for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder." Maybe it wasn't so transitory after all, Fitzgerald, tended to get things half right.

Lloyd Irving Bradbury said...

I am working on a bird painting thank for helping me with mental emiges since i can not see them but heastr them in your description

Kat Mortensen said...

Like the Faberge Organic shampoo commercial: they told two friends and so on and so on...

Kat

me ann my camera said...

I can't help but think of my grandmother's old party line. You think you've got a secret until ...

I am kind of a believer in 'bird telepathy', and by their nature of collectivity birds flock together and feed together. (Thus creating the need for all those great nouns :-) Great picture, especially when enlarged by clicking.

magiceye said...

wow... must be so spectaular!

bobbie said...

Yes, it must be a spectacular sight. I would love to see this. Your photo is wonderful.
I too believe in this - whatever it is - among all of us.

Rose said...

You wonder about this, and it brings to mind my own ?s about birds. Do you ever notice how there seems to be certain points/places on power lines where they all congregate? I have wondered forever what attracts them all to that particular point.

And I would give a lot just to be able to be up on a level with them and take a picture looking down the wire.

Raven said...

Lovely post. It really is good to remember the magic and mystery and beauty around us. I believe we are deeply connected energetically and spiritually and that everything we do - big and small - impacts the whole. I'd love to see the monarchs. I was hoping I'd see more butterflies here this year but I guess Hancock is not on their route.

Michele Wassell said...

What a lovely post... I couldn't imagine life without the beauty of nature... its a very magical place and brings so much peace...

me ann my camera said...

Tho off topic to this post, I just wanted to thank you for the 'Crow Hop' url. I often look at nature and get insight into how original dances might have been inspired to imitate creatures in nature. Sometimes its fun to do the imitation yourself. My first introduction to Indian dancing was watching the 'Chicken Dance' on the outskirts of Banff one summer, then later watching the dances at the Calgary Stampede.

Quiet Paths said...

With the current theories in physics in mind we are all closer than we think.... great post. I love the picture in its full frame. That looks so amazing. Now I want to see one like that of the butterfly migration....