The Free Radical

Birds, birds, birds! Am I in an Alfred Hitchcock movie?

These two are osprey. They are also known as the “fish hawk.” They mate for life, and are almost always found near substantial water sources. I guess around here the river and Spur Lake qualify as adequate hunting grounds for these fish lovers.

They met up with me fairly early on the walk, hovering above me and calling out while I was still plodding through the densest part of the forest. Then, as we came out of the thickets, they were waiting at the power line to continue a lengthy interaction.

You can see that the one on the left possesses a stick beneath her taloned feet. It doesn’t seem the right time of year for nest-building and they both spent at least five minutes circling above me and continually calling out with the one holding that rather large stick in flight the whole time. Odd. (I really tried to get a photo of them in flight, but training a camera at full zoom on a moving target in a very bright sky long enough for the camera to autofocus is nearly impossible!)

The symbolism of Osprey suggests that there is important information pending, and judging from their prolonged antics, it will be huge in scope and ultimately uplifting. Carrying around a bit of terrestrial matter (the stick) in such a conspicuous manner for such a long time for no apparent reason other than communicating with me seems a very clear message.

Additionally, Osprey lends courage to emotional issues as she is expert at diving beneath the surface and procuring exactly what she wants and needs– even being able to close her nostrils for the dive.

For the whole of this summer season so far, birds of awe-inspiring renown have been visiting and cavorting daily. Not a single day goes by without Hawk checking in with with us, either visually or vocally through her distinctive, plaintive cry.

Short-Eared Owl made another brief appearance last week, swooping across the trail to the Mesa right in front of Benjo and me.

And ever since Rodney’s disclosure of Raven Nation’s involvement with the Ancient StoryKeepers, our daily interaction with Raven has become very familial. They’re almost like daily companions now!

I’m still impressed by Raven’s extensive lexicon. I think I’m almost understanding bird-tongue!

Humanity, we are rising up to a lofty height, despite media appearances, and our friends are welcoming us to make with them new footprints across the sky!