November Birds

The birds of November captured my attention this year. Standing in my yard I would watch as a flock of pigeons would cross the sky swooping one way and then another. They seemed to be in perfectly synchronized, with their wings folded back into a "V" shape and their heads thrust forward pointing the way. They fly as one, dark silhouettes against a gray sky.

Geese started flying through this area over a two months ago, first in small formations, low overhead and then in larger and larger formations. They fill the sky with their noise and their "V" formation. At dusk the occasional lone goose can be heard honking as it flies above towards the woods and pond. Their migration began with the golden colours of autumn but now they fly against the ominous early December sky. It doesn't bother them. Only me.

Around my house the Chickadees have come to roost in a large bush that sits outside the front window. They are raucous in the early evening, flitting from that bush to the neighboring Rhododendron, pecking at the hanging basket of suet. In the morning the quietly fly away, low, over the lawn to warm themselves on my fence. When Chloe is outside she watches their flight with great interest, her large brown Spaniel eyes bright with excitement.

House Sparrows share the bush and suet with the Chickadees and other common birds including a Blue Jay. They are amusing to watch and listen to but none strike a chord within me as has been struck by watching the flocks drifting together through the sky. There is something so melancholy about it, something so not of this earth. Something so November.