Saturday, January 16, 2021

The Saturday Morning Post - It's a Life Around Birds


 This appears to be an Eastern Phoebe, pretty bird, and this one was fairly easy to photograph, I followed him or her, from branch to branch for probably 100 feet.  I am finding in colder weather, some birds flit about less, making them easier to photograph.  I a recently morning walk I saw a record five bald eagles.  Two of them were far enough off to not be able to photograph them.  I am hoping this is a sign of a third nesting pair within a mile of river front.  

We have a couple of large hawks, one may be a falon, one eludes identification, it may be an immature osprey or eagle that has lacks adult coloration.  

Here in the Washington DC area we are in a major flyway for migratory birds. The shoreline of the Potomac River (about a mile away as the eagle flies from where I live) is an ideal viewing location. Many bird species pass through in the spring and fall, but are not here in the summer or winter.  We are also far enough south, that some birds that summer farther north, winter here.  Some birds that are classified as migratory, stay here year around.  A moderate enough climate. 

I seem to have overcome one of my irrational fears.  Flying birds.  There is a reason we LOVE penguins, I had a fear of being hit in the face by a flying bird (thank you Alfred Hitchcock!) I would still be uncomfortable in an enclosed space with free-flying birds, but in the open I am doing really well.  A couple of weeks ago, an eagle flew over my head, perched on a branch almost directly above me, let me take photos for 20-30 seconds and then flew off.  A decade ago, this would have caused significant panic, today it bring amazement at being so close to such a magnificent bird (the photos turned out so-so, very backlit and some focus issues with branches in the way.)  

So there I am, exposing another one of my irrational fears? 

Are there any irrational fears you will share with others?  

21 comments:

  1. Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds gave me nightmares for years. But, surprisingly, although I had some passing thoughts, I never panicked with flying birds (except for pigeons and gulls overhead who might poop on me). I have fears but none of them are irrational. If you understood like I do, you'd be afraid, too.

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    1. I had a client once who told me if I'd quit drinking the water, I'd hear the voices too.

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  2. I have galeophobia. No, never saw “that movie”, I’ve had it ever since I can remember. It’s so bad, I can’t be in a body of water (even a pool) after dark or if I can’t see under the surface. I ran panicking from the Boston Aquarium in 9th grade when a Shark swam past in a central, circular, tank. I can’t stand images of them of any kind. Even typing the word bothers me. Sadly, I otherwise LOVE sea life and shows about oceans and seas and the life underneath (hell, Aquaman is one of my favorite heroes and Little Mermaid one of my favorite movies) but my fear always has me tense when I watch scenes in or around water. It’s mostly a harmless fear (although embarrassing at times) but doubt I’ll ever scuba dive or enjoy a glass bottom boat.

    Sean
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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    1. I could tell stories that would freak you out; I lived and swam in Florida for 20 years. Sharks are magnificent creatures, I wish TV would stop sensationalizing them.

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  3. I can't stand anything fluttering around my head either. I went in a Butterfly House once at a conservatory garden and had to leave immediately.

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  4. That is a very pretty bird and you got a great photo of it.
    I can't think of any irrational fears. Surely I must have some but I can't think of any.

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    1. He Who Must Not Be Named would frighten most of us.

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  5. water, flying, heights are my fears.

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    1. There are reasons I don't live on the 16th floor.

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  6. I am not a real fan of heights, though I love being way up high. Go figure.

    And I'm a little claustrophobic at times, but I blame that on sleeping in a bed with a full grown man, a cat on my feet a nd a cat on my back, and a cat by my side.

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    1. Need a bigger bed? I built a house one time for a couple that had a custom double king size bed, we added six feet to the bedroom so it would fit.

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  7. I hadn't thought of your bird aversion in this regard. Happy to hear it has improved!

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  8. SPIDERS! It's a mundane fear, but it is mine and my five sisters. Mother's fault. Yet we all went together to see Arachnophobia when it came out. Six reasonably intelligent women, ages 26 to 34, sitting in a row, with our feet up off of the floor and gripping the person next to us. I feel for the guy who ended up sitting next to the youngest. He probably has finger bruises on his arm to this day! He was a good sport. I own that movie.

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    1. I am sure spiders have their place in the great circle of life, but it is not in my place, smash them with glee.

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  9. Anonymous1/16/2021

    The odds are in my favour but I have an irrational fear of being on a footpath in the street and being hit by a car. I look for a pole to stand behind to protect me from an out of control car but then wonder if the car hits the pole and it comes down on top of me, that could be worse than being hit by the car.

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    1. Always good to have an escape plan

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  10. at the Arizona zoo (or is the botanical gardens?) one can go inside the hummingbird house and have them flit about you. No thank you.

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    1. With those sharp pointy beaks? I'd sooner snorkel in a Florida swamp.

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