I take a walk around the neighborhood near my office on as many consecutive days as I can during the workweek. I try to get up from my desk and take a short mile and a quarter walk at around 10:30 a.m. (in all kinds of weather). If it isn't raining and the winds are calm, it's a very quiet neighborhood. If the mowers aren't in the condo complex right up the street- Monday is their day- it's a beautiful nature walk. In this area, most residents are at work when I walk so there are hardly any animals, or people, or vehicles to contend with.
Today being a Monday in September (still grass-growing season), the mowers & trimmers were out in full force. But - what I noticed most of all during this mindfulness walk was that there were no birds. Yes, the city is nearby, traffic, sirens and back-up beepers can be faintly heard while I concentrate on my steps and my breath. These urban threads of sound fade easily into the background. Yes, it's Indian Summer in the midwest and so the drone of insects in the grass and late season locusts in the cottonwoods are still an undercurrent of sound to accompany my footfalls, but where were the birds?
Usually on this mindfulness walk I can hear all kinds of birds, far away, close by, making a sound with their throats, chattering in the trees, honking or chirping at each other, or I just hear the beating of their wings as they fly by and around the roofs and treetops....but today, September 15th, there wasn't one single bird in the sky, in the trees, or in the yards. That seems very strange to me. Is it migration morning? Are the crows coming early this year? I only noticed because of the lack.....
Where are the birds?
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I haven't noticed and probably wouldn't have without your mention. But a few weeks ago we were in Oklahoma watching a gaggle (whatever) of vultures cruising around. I'd never seen anything like it.
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