The White Birds Return

Throughout the seasons, throughout each day, the birds in the yard announce their presence with songs, both distinctive and cohesive. The whistles of the cardinal, the squeaks and clicks of the starling, the high- pitched song of the sparrow, the peep of the junco, and the insistent cry of the blue jay form a joyful chorus. The hooting owl provides the bass. The woodpecker’s search for food completes the ensemble with its addition of percussion. The members of the chorus change with the seasons but continue to celebrate each day.

In January, when many of the birds have left for the winter, two new choruses arrive in the form of snow geese and tundra swans. Nature drives the white birds to begin their long flight to the arctic regions. The snow geese and tundra swans are born knowing they will be making this trip. They are ready.

The snow geese, white except for black tips on their wings, proclaim their presence with a loud, brash call as they fly overhead.

The call of the tundra swans, so beautiful as they fly with their long, delicate necks stretched out in front of them and their long legs held level with their tails, is deep and haunting.

Every year in the beginning of February, the white birds collect at Middle Creek, a wildlife management area developed to provide places that would meet the needs of water fowls. It is a place to feed and rest before beginning the rest of their long flight north.

During the warmer months, Middle Creek welcomes blue birds and swallows, shore birds and ducks. A few Canada geese no longer bother to migrate and have made it their home. At least one great horned owl builds a nest in the trees to raise its offspring.

Now, the white birds own the lake at Middle Creek. Thousands of snow geese have turned the island on the lake white. Geese cover large parts of the lake. So many snow geese! So much white! So much noise! More than two hundred thousand geese have arrived at the lake.

The snow geese are no longer individuals or small groups. They are one large collective entity finding safety, strength and enery in their number as they prepare for the next part of their journey.

Suddenly, the snow geese raise their voices in unison. The geese are about to fly! At first, it is only a few geese but very soon they have all taken off in a cloud of white. The blue sky is now more white than blue. The beating of their wings adds to the effect.

This is not the beginning of their major journey but only a short flight to find more food and exercise their wings in preparation. They will return to the lake by nightfall.

The tundra swans are much fewer in number and stay together in the water behind me. They do not swim tightly together like the geese. Instead they drift close to each other but still separate. Unlike the geese, their voices are deep and serene.

In a few weeks, all the white birds will be gone. The snow geese and tundra swans know their journey. They will leave with nature’s promise that they will return next year.

Soon the spring and summer birds will return and the rhythm of nature will assure us once again with its consistency