I have been listening for days to
a bird’s beautiful song. I’ve asked customers
if they know anything about birds, most said no. I’ve asked if they could hear the song and
many thought I’d lost my mind. So I did the next best thing, I searched the
internet, my Audubon Society Field Guide, and I tried to find the bird through
my binoculars. Sadly, there was too much
information to digest. AND I discovered
I get dizzy while looking through binoculars.
In the old days I would have
contacted the library and talked with a reference librarian. Instead, I decided to contact the local
newspaper. Gratefully the H-T Outdoor
Section Manager referred me to the local President of the Audubon Society. Over e-mail and phone he directed my focus
to...indigo buntings, warbling vireos and orioles. With still no definitive match he came to the
golf course to help me solve the mystery.
Unfortunately, the bird wasn’t
singing when he arrived. So he played
bird songs on his phone (which was a hoot) and I did my best rendition of the
bird’s fancy song which I described as a “showtune”, which solved nothing (double hoot). Fortunately, as he was attempting to leave,
he heard what he thought was my bird.
With his binoculars and an explanation that birds put their own spin on
the notes from time to time, he is almost certain that my bird is an
oriole.
In case you are now curious, the song goes
like this, “Do do do do do do do do doot.
Doot. Do do do do do do do do
doot. Doot.” I know its kind of hard to appreciate its beauty without the notes. But I hope someday I can get it recorded.
A birder I may never be, I'm just enjoying a sweet melodic mystery adventure. Now class,
go out there and be curious!
Postscript. After this writing my birder authority heard
a bird over the weekend and he wrote me this e-mail message “I heard a couple of singing Orchard orioles on Saturday and
thought, "that could be a showtune!"
(Triple Hoot!)
