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Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v13n04)
Right in my Own Backyard - What I Learned! - by Brandt Carter
posted: Feb. 19, 2016
What I Learned!
Every once in a while someone will ask, "What have you learned?" Whether from a class, a life-lesson, a fight, a book, "what you have learned" is significant. Because of my store and my hobby of birdfeeding, I mused about what I have learned from birds. So here goes!
- "The early bird gets the worm" I love being first so I can get my choice!
- I observed how the birds eat at my feeder and wish I could learn the lesson they display so perfectly: eat small meals and eat only when you are hungry.
- Eat what is good for you is another message. You won't see them eating candy, drinking pop or coffee or having cocktails. No, they love seeds, berries, suet, and peanuts.
- Sing your heart out is a great lesson. When you are awake, make some noise, don't be silent, engage, and sing or speak beautiful words like the birds music. They only scold when there is an enemy in their territory.
- Go for the male with the best nest. This is a lesson I observed later in life, but I never fail to share this lesson with young women. A male wren will carefully build multiple nests, and the female will choose the perfect one.
- Go south for the winter. Migration is not shared by all birds, but only by the ones who nest in the south or need the warmth for survival. I wish I could go to the sunny south more often.
- Feed and take care of your young. Dad may help every so often, but the mom is usually the major caregiver. They don't depend on handouts or substitutes (cat birds don't practice this!). They are ferocious when it comes to taking care of their eggs and young.
- Nature has reliable laws. . . follow them.
- Fly fast when in danger. Birds rarely stay for the fight.
- Keep clean. Watch a bird dust up in the drive way or take a dunk in a birdbath. This helps their feathers stay in condition.
- Push your kids out of the nest when it is time. You have never seen a teenage or adult bird living with their parents. And the birds do push, they don't ask!
- Be proud of who you are. You have never seen a cardinal trying to be a hawk or an owl.
These wisdoms are all observable in our backyard and at our birdfeeders. What lessons in life have you learned? Share them with child, and enjoy their delight when they find out you may have learned them from a bird, or a cat, or a dog.
Brandt Carter, artist, herbalist, and naturalist, owns Backyard Birds at 2374 E. 54th Street. Visit her web site www.feedbackyardbirds.com. Email your bird questions to Brandt@BroadRippleGazette.com
brandt@broadripplegazette.com
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