My kids believe that I have a magical bird that moves into a tree in our backyard in the spring and he stays there all summer. They believe this, because I told them it was so.
There is a particular whistle that I associate with warm mornings in my childhood, so whenever I hear it now I whistle back.
Maybe I shouldn't? I've just learned that it's not only a mating call, but is also used as a singing competition among males and maybe there's a chance I'm f-ing up their system? And also, wouldn't it be perfect if human males had a sing-off for seniority? Ha.
It's hard not to play, though...my kids think it's amazing that I can sit and have a conversation with "my bird" for many minutes. When I stop getting a response I tell them that he had to go to bird work, or needed a bird nap, and he told me he'd be back later. They trust, with their innocent little hearts, that it's totally and completely possible for their mom to have a friend that just happens to be a bird, and we're so close that we chat every morning and he lives in our backyard.
I mean...I'm playing along, and....well I guess wove this whole tale to begin with, so who's to say it's not actually a little bit of magic in our every day lives?
Sometimes we'll be out for a walk in the next town over, and my kids hear "mom's bird" and they get nervous that he's so far from home. I tell them that he followed us so he could watch us from above to protect us and he knows the way home. They always seem content with that.
With this elaborate story in our lives, you'd think I'd actually know a little more about "my" bird, right?
Well I didn't until today. I didn't even know which bird made his sound, or what color he was, or even what tree he was hanging out in. He's come back recently, so I felt the need to remedy this lack of insight. I woke up early to my birdsong alarm (psst, traditional alarm sounds jolt your fight or flight response and unbalance your root chakra) because I happen to find the songs of birds to be the most magical, bright, and beautiful sound one can find. I mean, have you ever just sat in it and closed your eyes? It's incredible. It's like hundreds of tiny fairies playing teeny tiny flutes, just for you.
So I googled and searched and listened to videos of bird calls, and finally - I found him.
The Black Capped Chickadee.
Chickadees have many songs, but the one that he and I converse in is called "Hey Sweetie". I mean......how much do you love that?
On summer mornings, I sit on my patio with a mug in my lap, I say "Hey Sweetie" to a black capped chickadee and he says it back, and my kids find the whole exchange to be a magical fact of life. I am so in love with this notion I could cry.
Listen to "my" bird sing out hey sweetie around 2:30-2:40 of this video:
Isn't he gorgeous? Sigh, so much love for my little sweetie.
So interestingly, while reading into all of this, I started to feel anxious about pulling out my new paint by number kit. These kits are something I do to clear my head, feel creative, and end up with something gorgeous. I always seem to pick kits with birds prominently featured....I feel very connected to hummingbirds and cardinals, and I knew I had another kit lined up but couldn't think of which kind of bird was on it. I just knew that it involved lilacs, and lilacs are my FAVORITE. I mean, favorite-favorite. It's one of those deeply ingrained qualities of me that everyone knows because I'm so vocal about how very-favorite they are to me.
So I went to peek at it....and I kid you not. It's lilacs and chickadees. Mama's bird, and her favorite flowers.
Magic.
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