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Sunday, June 19, 2011

One Swallow does not a Summer Make!



One Swallow does not a Summer make, But…….

Two Swallows who, several years ago built a little house for themselves under my terrace roof, and return to it each year to augment their family, makes for a fascinating study. In my native Bermuda it’s the Longtail, the national beautiful bird that occupies so much of the time and attention of the population, but here in the mountains of Spain our annual visitor is the Swallow.

Firstly, we as humans say that we are the superior of God’s creatures, but just because we say so doesn’t actually make it so. When we sit and study some of the other creatures around us we should start to feel our own limitations.

We have two of everything essential, (two eyes, hands, legs, etc) plus we have managed to emulate birds by flying, sort of, but still these miniature, wonderful flying world inhabitants possess such incredible capabilities that they are true models for a number of things. Take communications, as an example: I sat and watched the parents of chicks in the nest take turns in feeding them. One parent would leave the nest just as the other arrived with split nano-second timing, and off they went dipping and diving, catching insects in flight that were far too small for the human eye to see. Somehow they communicate the fact, with a mouth full, that they are coming in and again, with split precise timing one leaves as the other lands.

Then there is the amazing spectacle of flocks of birds in flight in perfect sync, twisting and turning like some well-rehearsed ballet. How do they do that? What very advanced system of communication is involved whereby not even one makes a mistake by turning the wrong way? Fighter pilots spend hours studying birds fighting one another while the birds are in flight to learn something new.

I spend hours just watching them perform delicate balancing manoeuvres and simply going through their paces. They make it all seem so easy by using their tail feathers for support when necessary. And to top off their performance, if I’m lucky I may even get a song. I am tempted to say that it is amazing what joy we can get from the simple things in life, but these birds are more complex that I can imagine.

My only complaint is that their favourite perch is directly over my hammock, so with them above and me below, that could be a problem. I guess I will just have to consider any fall-out a blessing.

Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael