Featuring Chickens, a Great Horned Owl, American Kestrel, and an undisclosed number of Snow Geese!

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the first annual Edison Bird Festival in Washington State.

I’m already looking forward to next year!

or is he my boss?

Something different this week. The following three minute recording was made outside our front door. In the trees the crows were going insane. This was not the normal shouting we hear, something was clearly upsetting them. The recording starts almost ten minutes after the commotion began. If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of a second bird, possibly an owl, hawk or eagle? Any suggestions would be very welcome! Click the link below to hear the recording.

What are the crows attacking?

Bus, ferry, bus, Skytrain, plane… And so my day started. At the crack of sparrow’s chirp. If everything went according to plan, I would be on a flight to Toronto before I’ve normally finished my first cup of coffee.

Leaving the house, I was greeted by a massive crowd. Imagine waking up and finding yourself in the middle of a big city at the busiest time of the day:

Commuters commuting, tourists touring, children being children.
Buses thrumming, trucks hissing, horns sounding.

Or, rounding a street corner and finding yourself amidst the excitement and joyous celebration after a victorious hockey game.

This is the first thing that came into my sleepy mind when I stepped outside my front door this morning. However, I live on a small island, in a forest. Beside a stream. But, the noise level was deafening! The birds were awake!

Robins greeting, warblers singing, crows just being crows.
Calling, tweeting, buzzing, squawking, shouting.

It really sounded like I had walked into a bird metropolis. A community of twitterers tweeting more energetically, more urgently, more frequently than millions of connected humans on a lazy Friday afternoon in the office before a long weekend.

It was simply wonderful.

The second thing that came to mind was my Dad. He loved the mornings. The early mornings. He used to joke it was a lot more peaceful with no-one around! What I realize of course is that was a lie. Be it a white one. There was plenty going on. There were birds, yes; also rabbits, foxes, deer, sheep and cows – to name but a few. Many of those creatures were as busy as any late overpaid executive rushing to a meeting.

Dad would enjoy the ‘silence’ as he drove the country lanes that eventually took him to market in the big city. Today, I too would end up in the big city. But long before that I enjoyed a cacophony of birdsong in the fresh air and twilight as I waited for the first bus.

It was an inspiring moment. It felt good to connect with the world around me. It felt good to connect with Dad.

The Parrots of San Francisco!! Starring cherry-headed conure … Guest Starring blue-crowned conure …Tonights Episode … I had no idea!

Had I known there were wild parrots living in San Francisco I would have made more of an effort to seek them out during a recent visit to the city. As it was they found me! Difficult to pick out in the trees they were not difficult to hear! What a wonderful noise!

First reports suggest a couple of quarantined birds escaped in the late 1980s and took up residence on Telegraph Hill in the city. By the mid 1990s the numbers were approaching 50 and today number over 300. Judging by the noise I can believe it! We overheard a taxi driver telling a fellow tourist that the residents of the adjacent tower block wanted the parrots all shot but I can find no reference to this online.

Judging by the signs under the trees it is clear that people used to feed the parrots (one lady was still attempting to do so). Signs indicated that it is some kind of Federal, City or park misdemeanor to feed the birds. Doubtless if you get caught you will be shipped to Guantanamo Bay or something (where I suspect there may be even more parrots!). Seriously though you can hear what it sounds like in the video below, although spotting an actual parrot is not so easy!

If I ever live in San Francisco I think I will investigate moving to the same condo block! In the meantime there is a Documentary film called The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill which I have added to my watch list.