The only thing I remember about birds from my childhood is freaking out watching Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds. It was on our black and white TV, and I was home alone, and crows were attacking the front door, breaking it down to get to the people inside. I jumped off the couch and turned it off, shaking with fear. The movie came back to haunt me when years later I was walking in Seattle. It was spring and the crows had babies. They yelled at me as I walked and then suddenly one swooped down and hit me on my head!  I ran as fast as I could to home.  (I found out later that they do that when their babies are learning to fly and sometimes fall out of the nest).

Over time, the birds have meant more positive things to me. During the pandemic, I walked a lot. I lived next to a large park, and I could hear birds as I walked. It was also a hard time for me. Many relationships in my life were not as I wanted them to be. I would walk and walk and walk, trying to be present to the sounds I hear in the hopes that I would find peace. One day I watched as a huge bald eagle flew over my head and land in a very tall Douglas fir. I was very close to the tree so I could look straight up and see the bird. I felt in awe and somehow, I knew that I was being taken care of, that I was being watched over. I saw the bird many times during the pandemic and each time I was struck by the knowledge that I was not alone. The eagle has become an image of my Higher Power. I still worried about my family, about those who were sick, the world and how it could possibly be alright.

A few years later I found myself moving to Arizonia. I live across the street from an old golf course. The cart paths are still there as it is now a county park. Most days, I walk there, often in the early morning when the day will not be so hot as later. I now have an app call the Merlin app. It was developed by Cornell University, and it lets me identify the birds I hear by sound since I often don’t see them.

These are worrisome days again for me. My family is facing many health issues, and the country as well as the world seems crazy.  It’s been hard to find peace and trust my higher power.

Some mornings my app picks up 20 plus birds singing, especially when I walk as the sun rises. Later in the day as the sun goes down, I often hear at least as many birds. I hear cardinals, finches, sparrows, and quails – so many birds. Birds sing at daybreak and dusk to communicate with each other – to sort of say good morning and good evening.

It made me think of a Bible verse and a Hymn:

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet God feeds them (adapted).”

I also was reminded of the hymn refrain –

Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I feed birds now and give them water here in the hot desert and as I take care of them, I remember that with the help of my Higher Power, I am taken care of.

Libbie S