I have been interested in birds forever. My family has always been outdoorsy. We all know how to identify various birds from bluebirds to red-tailed hawks. My brother did his science fair project on what types of seeds attract which types of song birds in middle school. What can I say, we're a little weird.
My husband laughs at my interest in birds - says this is an old lady's hobby. I'm not yet thirty so that's a bit insulting. However, my persistant observation of the little songbirds and hawks outside are starting to wear him down. Like today, for instance. I was working on laundry not really paying attention to the going's on outside and my husband came running out of his study: "Quick! You gotta see this. It's HUGE."
Is it the large shape my parents and I saw a few months back that surely is an owl? We've seen large shadows flying through the backyard woods in the early evening but have yet to catch a glimpse of the creature. One of the reasons we never leave our cat on the balcony alone - she could be its next meal.
We scurry back into his study and he points out the window. Sitting hunched in the falling snow is a dark shape perched on a limb. It is immediately apparent this bird is large but not the dark figure I've seen before. This one is different. I grabbed my binoculars to start the exciting moment of indentifying.
The bird has fluffed his feathers against the snow and is looking around alertly. I can see his sharp hooked beak against the white snow. His breast is red and white with dark shoulders and head. From what I could see of his tail, it looks short and rounded but with the feathers puffed out it could be longer. My first thought - has to be a Cooper's Hawk or possibly a red-shouldered hawk. Out to the guidebook to figure it out. Given where we are in the East coast, both birds are possible. However, the Cooper's is much more common.
I'm relating this story to you because it points out that small things we often miss in life. I am always amazed at how many people take these little creatures for granted. They sing and hop about while most just ignore them. I asked a co-worker the other day if she had noticed the little juneco sitting on our office window. "Oh? what's a juneco?" These little grey birds sitting outside our window. It's a detail in life that, for me at least, makes life more entertaining. So enjoy the small things in life. Whether it be the last bite of ice cream, catching a green light when you're running late, or catching a glimpse of a Cooper's Hawk against the white snow, take a moment to savor it.
