What Is Real?
I saw a King Vulture, a Rhinoceros Hornbill, and an Andean Condor in Dallas yesterday.
Don't write me off as a quack; I was at the zoo. I joined a party of friends in the metroplex for part of the weekend, and a last-minute whim brought us all to the zoo around noon. I had not been to a zoo in more than ten years, and I was mildly excited to go. These critters couldn't get away before I identified them.
Alas, my non-birder friends were far more energetic to 'do the zoo' than was comfortable for my birding habits of slow movement, long, lingering observation and reading available information. I was constantly dragged from a place at which I wished to stay but did not desire to be left or resented. Though there were two aviaries with fascinating inhabitants, I probably spent a total of three minutes combined in them.
My companions were successful in the mission; we canvassed the entire place in two hours flat. I am not certain whether a more leisurely birding pace would have saved my feet, which were shod inappropriately for such activity, but I had not packed with any expectation of such a need and shoes are bulky and inconvenient cargo. I must admit I was extremely grateful when we left.
And not just because my feet hurt. After a broader experience with the fascinations of animals in the wild, it seemed so silly to stick them in cages. How can we possibly appreciate or admire who these creatures are when soaring birds are kept in ten-foot cages and antelopes in half-acre tracts? Seeing these animals 'for real' was not any more real than watching nature programs in which the animals at least have the capacity to behave normally. To my birder's eye, the one flitting glimpse of a Carolina Wren on my friend's back porch was more pleasing than the macaws and hawk-owls of captivity.
I saw a Victoria Crowned-Pigeon and had the same thought any ignorant city-dweller might have: that's a pigeon? This morning I find that the guru himself has posted a fantastic picture in his June 12 post. If I were more clever, I could link directly to that one, too. But I trust that you are more clever, and so I will let you find it.
I did see a Green Jay and could not contain my ebullience: "I saw one of those a couple weeks ago!" Though my audience was both incredulous and indifferent, I was satisfied to find that they (the jays) do look better when they pick their own trees.
As experience goes, I'm glad I 'did the zoo.' But I wish I could do some of it for real.
Don't write me off as a quack; I was at the zoo. I joined a party of friends in the metroplex for part of the weekend, and a last-minute whim brought us all to the zoo around noon. I had not been to a zoo in more than ten years, and I was mildly excited to go. These critters couldn't get away before I identified them.
Alas, my non-birder friends were far more energetic to 'do the zoo' than was comfortable for my birding habits of slow movement, long, lingering observation and reading available information. I was constantly dragged from a place at which I wished to stay but did not desire to be left or resented. Though there were two aviaries with fascinating inhabitants, I probably spent a total of three minutes combined in them.
My companions were successful in the mission; we canvassed the entire place in two hours flat. I am not certain whether a more leisurely birding pace would have saved my feet, which were shod inappropriately for such activity, but I had not packed with any expectation of such a need and shoes are bulky and inconvenient cargo. I must admit I was extremely grateful when we left.
And not just because my feet hurt. After a broader experience with the fascinations of animals in the wild, it seemed so silly to stick them in cages. How can we possibly appreciate or admire who these creatures are when soaring birds are kept in ten-foot cages and antelopes in half-acre tracts? Seeing these animals 'for real' was not any more real than watching nature programs in which the animals at least have the capacity to behave normally. To my birder's eye, the one flitting glimpse of a Carolina Wren on my friend's back porch was more pleasing than the macaws and hawk-owls of captivity.
I saw a Victoria Crowned-Pigeon and had the same thought any ignorant city-dweller might have: that's a pigeon? This morning I find that the guru himself has posted a fantastic picture in his June 12 post. If I were more clever, I could link directly to that one, too. But I trust that you are more clever, and so I will let you find it.
I did see a Green Jay and could not contain my ebullience: "I saw one of those a couple weeks ago!" Though my audience was both incredulous and indifferent, I was satisfied to find that they (the jays) do look better when they pick their own trees.
As experience goes, I'm glad I 'did the zoo.' But I wish I could do some of it for real.
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