Avian Morbid Recluse: Rebirth

When I last visited the topic of birth death more specifically, "the natural expiration of our avian friends", in my post "Avian Morbid Recluse", I suppose I overlooked the most important part of the matter; the birds life. Simple mistake I suppose. Birds embody an existence that is ever present in our natural environment, much like the oak tree we surround for it's shade, the blades of grass that cushion our steps, and the field mouse that for very logical reasons stays out of our lives. We become blind to their existence, we take a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air and continue our lives as if we live on the same earth but in separate realms. I imagine back to a time when I marveled at their attributes, their grace, their freedom, but like all wonders with age, I suppose I have begun (subconsciously) to accept their actuality and submit to the monotonous life I once denied I would ever settle into. This is my rebirth. As I have continually been reminded in Digital Commons, I too often look, but do not observe. I glance at the bird, the oddly dark haired squirrel, the deer starring deep into the headlights of my speeding car, but I do not once think, or observe what they could possibly be doing or dare I say, feeling. "They're just animals", but I laugh, because I know we can never really describe what that means. "They do not think, they just do", but what do they see? How do they feel? What do they know? The majesty of our feathered, furry and scaly friends is an ode to human limitation. We strive to be like them, and study their virtues, but we still demean their existence.

Here are a few POV videos of truly amazing creatures. Step into their reality, embrace their abilities. Would you trade the eagles flight, for your cognitive abilities?

The Eagle:


Here is a link to more animal videos.

I would also like to suggest a book that exploits human inquiry in nature and explores our place here on earth. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Kimmerer is a plant ecologist, writer, and professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Here are some reviews if you are skeptical in exploring this book on my word alone.

To be further explored...

Wind Energy Is Killing More Than Carbon Emission's: Bird Fatalities

It's difficult to imagine something as elegant and "harmless" as a windmill could be accounting for so much spilled blood, but according to the 2014 State of Birds Report, windmills are predators, and birds should beware. 
This is not the first time I have pondered the circle of life for our feathery friends (Avian Morbid Recluse), but it is the first time I have found well supported answers on where they dig their graves. According to this chart, birds lay victim to humans in a multitude of ways.

source

This bird massacre is getting out of hand, even cats (owned by humans) are partaking in this slaughter frenzy.

It pains me to see media coverage on these incidents, and stinging statement such "the wind energy industry has occasionally been at odds with conservation groups because of bird deaths" especially because there are bigger birds to fry on the avian hit list. Partially outlined in a previous post of mine (Climate Change: Retire Your Binoculars), a factor not accounted for in this chart is the fatality count for birds lost to the effects of climate change. This is unfortunate, because when the body count from these incidents above are summed, they are laughable in the face of the dangers presented by our changing climate.

But enough of that rant, I am sure you have heard enough climate change action from the media lately, and while the most effective method for saving the birds may be a reversal of this climate conundrum, many of the causes of death above are unfortunately unforeseeable and irreversible. I would have never considered many of the columns to be significant threats to the birds right to life. Who would have thought building windows would be so effective in bird population control?

To be continued...

Avian Morbid Recluse

http://i.imgur.com/uZs9U0o.jpg

Since the erection of this blog I have been fighting constantly to maintain a connection with my title, The Clumsy Bird. The spontaneity of my decision has kept me on edge in mind and pen to explore a world much different than ours, a world not restricted by walls or water.
So without digression I present my latest dilemma.
Free of humanly dangers (namely cars), that expose us to such morbidity, birds have been able to avoid a large part of the Darwinian games. So if they are not dying at the hand of their own stupidity, 

Where do birds go to die?

It's hard to say exactly... Because they are such free creatures, they have a near limitless amount of choices when the time comes to decide their grave. So how do they choose?

Exploring the possibilities I imagined an elderly majestic eagle accepting his impending fate and plummeting to his glorious death over the snow covered mount tops of Alaska. But how often do you see birds fall out of the sky? I wouldn't know, I suppose I am never watching for it (maybe I will begin).

Scavenging through google I found a very informative answer on askville from amazon.

The explanation offered by darwin™ states that birds, like many other small animals, are readily taken when found in the wild. The reason you don't see many dead birds laying around is because they have already become a snack for other animals (rats, raccoons, foxes, vultures), ants, maggots, worms and bacteria. AND, darwin even goes as far to mention that like many things, the answer is in the eye of the beholder. Have you ever started looking for a new car and found one that you really liked, then all of a sudden you see that car everywhere?

But this really only answers half my question, and now that I think of it, how pertinent is the afterlife of a bird to my initial problem? Through some productive googling I believe I have found the answer and unfortunately it is not as majestic as the one I had hoped.

Birds, like most animals, seek solitary shelter in times of weakness. When, sick, old or wounded, birds will fly solo and seek sanctuary. The reason for this is because, ailment unspecific, being alone is what may save them and their "herd". When sick, the bird will be unable to effectively avoid predation, so hiding lowers the possibility of them getting picked off, allowing them a chance to possibility recuperate and return to their gang. Interesting enough, their instinctive isolation is also a method of preventing the spread of sickness throughout their herd. When wounded, for the same reason, hiding could expand their life if they are able to recover.

As I explore these conclusions, I still have not found complete closure. In my initial realization I had not accounted for the many ways that birds can pass, I suppose my obsession with this topic is more focused on the natural expiration of our avian friends.

To be further explored...

Some interesting elaborations on a similar matter can be found here.