Dreambirding - Another Realm of Avian Encounters

Pop Music Meets Avian Metaphor (Redux)

2011-07-31T23:15:00.001-06:00

And I think they like each other...

Thinking of this blog, a friend sent me a link to this song earlier today. Thanks Caissa! I love it, and it fits most excellently here. Enjoy!

AIR

"Air! In my bones where the marrow should be
But what I lack for guts and blood
I make up for in dreams.

Love! And you're wondering how it works
The heart in the natural world
It's a wonder that science can hurt

I am made to fly
You are made for flight
From the structure of our cells
To the chambers we share inside
So let's become like birds
We will become like birds

Hope! It's the one thing that science will prove
What you don't have hope for you lose
Evolution is what you choose

I am made to fly
You are made for flight
From the structure of our cells
To the chambers we share inside
So let's become like birds
We will become like birds

Air! In my bones where the marrow should be
But what I lack for guts and blood

I make up for in dreams"

Copyright 2005 - Erin McKeown

Guess Who's Back (back)... Back again ('gain)...

2011-07-25T14:22:00.000-06:00

No, I didn't stop dreaming about birds - far from it. To be honest, though, I had gotten to the point where the thought of putting in the time and effort into each post that I normally did made me cringe a little (there may even have been an eye tic involved). Then the sisyphytic inertia of procrastination set in, and one day I woke up and more than six months had gone by since my last post. Zoinks! Ever the optimist, I like to think hiatuses can be revitalizing. So, let me ease back into form by sharing what little I remember from a dream I had yesterday morning:

... I was at a party, or at least visiting a friend's home. Several other people were also there conviviating. Imagine my surprise when suddenly a few pheasants quickly parted the social waters as they charged on through.

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

The rest of what I remember was simply an earnest chase scene involving a male Bulwer's Pheasant (blue wattles fully engorged), a male Indian Peafowl ("peacock"), and a male Red Junglefowl ("rooster").

Bulwer's (Wattled) Pheasant (Lophura bulweri)

Predictably, some of the party people got involved in the chasing too. They failed miserably, but meant well. The antics amused me for the few seconds remaining until I awakened - and that's all that counts.

Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus)

A Nightmare Saved Is a Dreambird Earned

2010-11-05T18:32:00.000-06:00

...early this morning...

I was contacted by an old friend, and asked if I wanted to go to a party with them. I said "sure". We then met a their place and I followed them in my car. I was unfamiliar with the city, which proved important later. I found the soiree dull for a variety of reasons, but stayed for my friend's sake. She brought to my attention at one point, many of the people there were former classmates at, and graduates from, the University of Chicago. The host was an architect. I'm not sure what these kinds of details mean, if anything, but they never cease to fascinate me.

The only creative commons image, I could find, on the internet

that even remotely resembled the exterior of the apartment.

Unfortunately, the Tudor styling was not in the dream.

The scene jumped, and I have awakened in my friend's apartment. They were already at work, so I started my day looking for keys and checking on my car. Shortly along my ultimately fruitless car search around their apartment building, I heard a harsh croaking sound above me. Eyes and attention shifted skyward. A dark bird, sporting a large bill, landed on the pitched roof of the building (a three story, brick, multiplex). After landing, it hopped along the ridge towards the closest tree limbs that bowed over a section of roof. At first, I just marveled at how colorful and handsome it was. After a few seconds, though, it hit me; that's a toucan! A Chestnut-mandibled Toucan to be exact. I'm sure you can imagine the disorientation I was then under. To complete this tableau, a second croak emanated from deep within the branches nearest the roof. A few seconds later the second toucan appeared, and remained partially obscured by leaves and branchlets. They chattered to each other for a few seconds and then flew off together, high and fast, quickly out of view.

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Rhamphastos swainsonii)

Fascinating as that exchange was, I still needed answers. I called my friend... nothing. I attempted to write down all detail I could remember from the night before. I didn't come up with much. I called my friend again, and got through. They told me the name of the street and the party host's name; as a phone number did not come to them at the moment. I called information in the hopes of a landline phone number. After trying various permutations, I was politely informed by the man on the other end no such street existed... (((aarrggh)))

The dream fast forwarded to when my friend was home. They then drove me again to the location of the previous night's party. Turned out she had misremembered the name of the building as the street's name. So, upon arriving I discovered both keys and car were still there. Perhaps the moral here is to carpool, even in a dream. Or maybe it's a variation on every cloud having a silver lining: every nightmare has it's Chestnut-mandibled Toucan.

Why I Dream About Birds

2010-10-31T12:21:00.000-06:00

Recently a birding friend, Rob Fergus, shared a post entitled "Birding and Being" on his blog. Rob and I met in Austin, TX about ten years ago, sharing untold hours birding, and talking about birds. Even without that personal history, though - I get it. I grok what Rob is writing about. In the weeks since, I've reflected and meditated on how I would articulate what "birding and being" is like for me...

It is akin to that loss-of-self joy while fully engaged in community (especially spirtual) and family (especially with children). I'm not sure life gets any better when all three are combined. When birding, often I'm struck speechless with witnessing. Miracles giving birth to miracles, moment after moment. Any self-consciousness, and social graces all but collapse, forgotten. I "ooo" and "ahh" and point and run and hop up and down, because my soul has been shaken and stirred. While birding, I am finger-in-the-socket A...L...I...V...E, ALIVE! In the presence of other birders experience this, my joy is magnified tenfold. All this may sound exhausting: it isn't. The prospect of a lifebird, or even the bird you've seen thousands of times (but not doing that, or in that light), sustains to the point that 8, 15, even 24 continuous hours of birding is appealing. And, I would get up the next morning hungering to do it all over again.

Swifts and swallows eating on the wing, hunting raptors carving the air, the penguins' paradox of masterful flight - underwater, owls' silent evening reign, the feathered tidal waves that are migration, shores lined with heron statues, the confounding of camouflage, the impossibility of hummingbirds, nuptial diplays of males and females, vocalizations that can haunt for their otherworldly beauty or otherworldly terror, the beyond-the-beyond splendor of all plumages, a "peep" from inside an egg before it has hatched... I could go on, and on, and on... and, undoubtedly, I will.

Scariest. Field Work. Ever.

2010-09-09T18:44:00.000-06:00

"Every bird is common somewhere" is a bon mot I heard early in my birding career. Not this next one; not in long, long time. I recently dreamed about a species that slipped into extinction literally eons ago; the most famous "terror bird" - Gastornis gigantae. You may be more familiar with the previous genus name: Diatryma. Wikipedia is a good beginning reference for these fascinating creatures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis

Gastornis gigantae - one of many "terror birds"

If you were wondering why they're called "terror birds"
(... Is that guy wearing a suit?)

Sadly, the dream was fairly short. The setting was straight out of Jurassic Park; a towering, impenetrable and foreboding tropical forest. I was part of a team, with at least two other people present. We were surveying what appeared to be Gastornis nests. They were two foot-high pedestals of hardened mud (with a lip) about two or so feet in diameter. Each was fairly stuffed with several very large white eggs; I'd estimate Ostrich-sized. Needless to say, I was pretty intensely anxious the entire time. The terse conversation between team members and I was mostly regarding keeping vigilant. The dream came to a brisk ending when I spotted a putative parent bird appear a few hundred feet away. With few words we all made a break for safety.

Anatomy of a Dream

2010-05-20T04:28:00.002-06:00

"Dream Birds in Moonlight"

Art quilt made for charity by Linda Frost - author of 13 Street Studio blog.

Check it out.

On a lark, I recently pondered what, if any, new trends could be found in my bird dreams. All of the more than a hundred from the past six plus years fell into the following four categories. I've attempted to assign them self-explanatory titles. They are fleshed out a bit below for further clarification.

INCIDENTAL - In some dreams, despite a storyline with no direct relation to birds or birding, they still make cameos. They function merely as background filler and are largely indistinct. It can even be just a wing flutter, seen or heard, or a concatenating flightpath in the distance. Silhouetted flocks are the most common; sometimes identifiable to Eurasian Starling, Rock Pigeon or mixed blackbirds, etc.. So far, such appearances haven't been more interesting than that. As far as I know this is the first time I've mentioned these kinds of dreams ...and it may be the last. I'm just not that interested in every bird-shaped thing I notice zipping through the dreamscape; and I hope it's safe to assume no one else is either. I could be persuaded to change with enough hue and cry. Occurance Rate - ~5%.
VAGUE - For lack of a better word, this is when it's impossile to remember little more than a list of species; at best a static image. Most unfortunate is that they are nearly always creepily washed out, heavily shadowed and at least partially out of focus. Yuck! While I love any dreambird's presence, salivating at the opportunity to add to the lifelist, dreams of this ilk are ultimately not satisfying. Despite the discontent over such "duds", I will probably include them from here on; if only in hopes that it helps improve dream recall. Occurrence Rate - 5-10%
VIGNETTES - "Shorts" if you will. These are full-on dreams replete with characters and plot; a big jump from the "Vague" category on all levels. Often I recall them as a series, each with at least fairly distinct story lines. Due to their short duration, and tendancy for coming in bunches, I am challenged with the recall process. I'm not sure why, but these are by far the most common: Occurrence Rate - 75-80%.
EPIC - I've scoured thesauri for a better modifier, but am at a loss. There's no rhapsodic extolling of heroic deeds here. They are over-the-top, though; in scale, length, vividness, complexity and grandeur. Consistently "magical". Evincing profound spellbound and awe - both during and after. With these dreams, it is about the "essence and beingness" of birds. For example, the phenomenon of migration isn't represented as it would be in real life, or in the other dreams. It is an immense river filling the dream sky - birds are sometimes oddly-colored, or even emanating a ethereal aura. Fans of Jungian analysis, especially, might find enjoyment in them. "Epics" also include those where the boundary between bird and I blur. And who doesn't want to know what it's like to be a bird? Wish I had these far more often than I do. . Occurance rate - <5%

A New Way of Engaging Our Dreams

2010-03-26T22:48:00.001-06:00

I heard most of this interview today while running errands. I don't have much of an opinion on the efficacy of dramatizing one's dreams. Everything he says about it makes intuitive sense to me, though. However, I do concur whole heartedly with Mr. Lipsky's criticism of status quo dream analysis. The entire dreaming process has always seemed to me personal and unique for each of us.

I also couldn't help but imagine what acting out my bird dreams would possibly look like. Oiy! Just when I thought my dreams couldn't get any stranger. I'm sure for the next several months, every time I'm posting about one, this interview will cross my mind.

WAMC: Alan Chartock...In Conversation with Jon Lipsky 2010-03-26

A Mysterious Visitation

2010-03-13T20:53:00.000-06:00

A good friend and I were in a cafe, located in the bottom floor of an old multi-story home. It was quaint; one of those places where everything that could be made of wood was. A hallway led from the main eating area back to a rear entrance. Outside the darkly-stained wooden screen door, my friend's black Shi-poo was tethered to a bike rack. He was whiny, scratched often at the door, and all around not happy with this arrangement.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) - male

Image online here

Early in the dream, I kept the pup "Ollie" company. Play time was ultimately an effort to quiet and calm him down. In a moment of poor judgement, I defied the rules of the establishment and let him in. He made a beeline for his "mommy"; jumped upon her lap and showered her with kisses.

Before I could even take a step toward them, I was distracted by movement and a familiar sound outside. It was the blur of a very small bird and a high-pitched trill. I knew immediately the source: a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird! He twittered from window, to screen, back to window frantically. I believed he was trying to get my attention and wanted to tell me something important.

Just then an Austinite friend, and an earth science professor from many years ago, appeared next to me. The Austin friend agreed the bird was attempting to communicate, while the biologist was not so sure.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) - a more typical view

Image online here

The noises the hummingbird made clearly sounded like some form of communication; replete with cadences, pauses, inflections and emphases. I pointed this out to my ex-professor Tim. Listening for himself, he was speechless at first; but soon agreed we should attempt contact.

I opened the back door wide for the bird. Sadly, I was not able to discover what all the commotion was for. At first the hummer continued zipping to and fro. It then hovered within a few feet of my face whereupon it gradually, and steadily, grew. By the time the dream faded fully, he was larger than my friend's lap dog!

Southern Vermont Surprise

2010-03-09T18:35:00.001-06:00

Though not an image of a Vermont forest, I'm confident many there look like this.

Image online here

I found myself on the back of a motorcycle, with my real-world photographer friend, Eric, driving. We traveled from western Massachusetts to an old-growth forest near Bennington, in southwestern Vermont. After much trail riding, and walking, we found our destination: a fairly impressive series of waterfalls.

A good reference for the dreamscape: the famous Bash Bish Falls in Mt. Washington, MA.

It was early winter, or nearly so. Brown crunchy leaves blanketed the ground, branches were bare, with no snow to be seen. Since it was winter, water barely flowed down the cliffs of the falls. At their base, the streambed widened significantly for several hundred feet downstream. Nests, most very large, perched among and atop the rocks; even in crevices in the face of the cliff. They numbered in the dozens at least.

Most nests looked similar to this.

Image online here

Eric informed me this was a rookery, though obviously not currently in use. He brought me there, however, because it was a special one. This was the oldest known to be in continuous use. According to him, the first European settlers to the area made note of it more than three hundred years ago; although it was probably much older.

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) on cliffside nest; a common locale.

He said several species used the rookery: Blue Jay, American Crow, Northern Raven and even Broad-winged Hawk and other forest hawks. Clearly this kind of arrangement wouldn't happen in real-life. Upon learning the amazing history of this location I was struck with awe, nearing reverence. I took in the scene again, slowly scanning the nursery and its abundance of nests. I unsuccessfully attempted to take it all in; that ineffable something-much-bigger-than-myself feeling of the place.

Wanton environmental degradation - Yay!... NOT!

Just then a couple of younger folk roared up the trail on four-wheel ATVs. For the record, I'm not a fan. I flagged the first rider down, signaling for him to stop. I emphatically recounted the story Eric had just told me, and asked him to respect this place by giving it a wide berth. I also asked him to pass this information along to his friends and anyone else he knew who rode through there. To my surprise he listened to my rant, and agreed to do as asked.

The dream ended with Eric and I hiking back to the bike and riding south back to the Berkshires.

A Trip to the Guads

2010-03-03T22:38:00.000-06:00

Going north from Van Horn, TX, this is the view of the Chihuahuan desert.

Image online here

When the dream began, I was in an RV. Out the window I watched the landscape change as we wove our way up from the desert floor, through Guadalupe Pass, and into Guadalupe Mountain National Park. Unfortunately, I never got to see or interact with the people I'm with on this trip.

View from a rest stop below the Guadalupe Mountains National Park headquarters. El Capitan peak is in the foreground.

Image online here

As soon as we arrived, we found a trail, and began to explore. Immediately we were rewarded with birds; most not expected there. The first two we encountered were a male Northern Cardinal and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Northern Cardinal (Cardualis cardualis) - male in pines

Image online here

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)

Image online here

After a few turns up the trail I encountered a Bluethroat of all things. And, finally a male Indigo Bunting among the high country pines of west Texas.

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Image online here

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Image online here

The farther I went the more things got... weird. After exiting a particularly shaded grove, the trees gave way to a large open space of grass covered with sea creatures. Yep, you read that right. Anemonies, sea slugs, jellyfish, groupers, flounders and those freakish deep-sea things practically carpeted the small meadow. This was a potently vivid dream, and it continued repulsively into this last scene. On the bright side, at least the rest of the dream was breathtakingly beautiful.

Does it Get Much Better Than This?

2010-02-28T00:10:00.003-06:00

I was standing on the back deck of a dark, split-level, shingle-style house. It overlooked a small clearing in a forest, I'll call the backyard. The yard sloped noticeably giving the impression I was in mountainous, or at least very hilly, country.

The forest appeared a northern type; a good mixture of tall hardwoods and conifers. Leafless branches told me it was probably winter, but I could not see any snow. An anonymous group of passerines noisily made their way through the bare canopy in the distance. Suddenly, the still was broken by an adult Cooper's Hawk that wove through the trees and settled on a branch not fifty feet away.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Image online here

After feeling I'd had enough time with the hawk, I headed to the front yard. Upon arriving there, I looked up and noticed a Turkey Vulture and Golden Eagle soaring in lazy circles fairly high above.

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Image online here

Golden Eagle (Aquila chryseatos) - sub-adult

Image online here

Continuing, I strolled across the expansive front yard toward a line of tall bushes a hundred feet off. As I arrived, a male House Finch and adult Barn Swallow zipped across my path not far above my head.

House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) - male

Image online here

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Image online here

Beyond the bushes was a short slope that led to an orchard. I investigated. A few seconds later I began "pishing" and was rewarded with three American Robin showing themselves. I turned to move on, when something at the top of a nearby tree caught my eye. The piece-de-resistance: a Varied Thrush. Niiiiiice! I noticed a small group of birders a few dozen yards away and motioned for them to head my way.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Image online here

Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)

Image online here

Just then my youngest son, Miles, popped into the dream. I excitedly pointed out the thrush to him, then attempted to explain the significance of the bird. Poor kid, I was probably over intellectualizing the experience for him. Clearly the dream locale was far from the Pacific northwest, so this really was a big deal. Once this dawned on me, I asked one of the other birders to notify their local rare bird hotline, and to call as many folks they knew. I really enjoy when as many people as possible get to share experiences like this.

Look Who's In the Kitchen

2010-02-23T20:41:00.001-06:00

I walked into a very capacious old country kitchen. The mood cast was quite somber and brooding due to the dark walls, stone hearth and floor. Pots, pans, trivets, and numerous other cooking implements hung from various places; including the oppressively low ceiling. Adding to the cluttered charm were sundry quaint decorations, and gew-gaws, on the mantel and in several shelved alcoves.

The dream environs closely resembled this fine rustic kitchen, except the hearth was fieldstone and all wall surfaces were wood or painted brown.

Ostensibly, this was the kitchen of a restaurant, or inn, where I worked. Dining was over for the night so a co-worker and I were there admiring the aesthetics as we waited for our rides.

As I approached the hearth, something moved on the far end of the mantel. As soon as my eyes settled on that area, a bird flew to the right and into the shadows of a nearest alcove. Luckily, I noticed a second bird hunkering down atop an intricate porcelain teacup. Expecting something pedestrian, like a House/English Sparrow, I was stunned to see a crouching Baird's Sparrow staring back at me. This bird, also wanting no part of being out in the open with us, soon followed the same trajectory as the first.

Baird's Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii)

Image online here

I was about to make my way towards that recess, when my attention was drawn to the mantel once again. Somehow I missed this the first time; right atop an old pitcher sat a pygmy-sized Indian White-rumped Vulture. It couldn't have been much more than a foot tall. But there it was, just hanging out, all creepy vulture-like.

Indian White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)

Image online here

I didn't stay with this guy for very long. Though I do admire them as I do all birds, and the function they serve, I have no desire to be that close to any vulture any longer than necessary - even in a dream. It was now time to investigate the nearby niche.

I didn't relocate the sparrows, but I did find was even more interesting. Upon the middle shelf was an elaborately etched brass serving tray with a two-toned glazed bowl inside. Hopping around the tray, rather impishly, was a Rainbow Bee-eater.

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

Image online here

A necessary aside: this species has appeared twice before in my dreams! Fortunately, I was finally able to remember the species upon awakening. I had not blogged the previous two dreams, because details were just too fuzzy

In addition to this little clown, four tiny toucans sat in the glazed bowl. By all appearances they were fully grown, not nestlings. The numbers were split evenly with a pair of Channel-billed Toucan, and Toco Toucan each. The picture of cuteness, I assure you.

Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus) - ssp. culminatus

Image online here

Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco)

Image online here

I slowly moved my right hand closer to pet them. They responded by gently touching and picking at my fingers with their bills. It didn't hurt, so I assumed they were being playful. Very cool! Sadly, this moment didn't last long, The dream ended with the friend whom I was waiting for, arrived, and came into the kitchen to announce he was there to pick me up.

Birding's Good in Islamabad

2010-02-17T22:30:00.004-06:00

It wasn't anything specific about the initial surroundings, I just intuitively knew I was in Pakistan, in the vicinity of Islamabad...

I started the dream walking toward, then under, a row of tall trees. In doing so, I entered someone's backyard. It was typical suburbia for all I could tell: short green grass, trees and bushes tracing the property line, and two small trees in the middle of the backyard. The creamy-yellow, ranch-style, house even had a wooden porch. The dreamscape said anywhere in America, but my mind said rural southern Asia.

This IS very similar what the row of trees looked like in the dream, but not what northern Pakistan looks like in real life... surprise!

As I approached the dwarf trees in the middle of the yard, I noticed bird activity. The first to catch my attention was drab; brown-and-white. It reminded me of a Sage Thrasher, but a little sleeker with a satiny sheen on the brown upper side. I hadn't been examining it long before a tiny flash in the next tree over caught my eye. Sitting on a branch in the middle of the tree next to me was a neon-green hummingbird (e.g., Brilliant Emerald). Hummingbird?!? I remember thinking that couldn't be right.

Empress Brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix)

Image online here

Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)

Image online here

A woman appeared on the porch and asked if I needed help. Startled and embarrassed, I emphatically apologized for my trespassing. I told her I was just a birdwatcher, that her yard was impressive with bird life. She shared she too was a birdwatcher; that the birds were there because she had several well stocked feeders. What relief! Graciously, she even welcomed me to stay for as long as I wanted.

I then asked her, what bird it was that looked so much like a hummer. She informed me that, indeed, it was a "Citrine Hummingbird" - the only species in the eastern hemisphere. Nothing about that explanation made much sense. I didn't have much time to mull it over as we were then joined by a man who seamlessly joined the conversation; clearly a birder very familiar with the local avifauna.

Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre)

Image online here

He confirmed the hummer's identity. He also said there was a sister species to the one that looked like a Sage Thrasher; though larger, less common, and retiring. No sooner did his words come out then he pointed to a bush at the edge of the yard, next to the house. Speak of the devil, there was one these very birds now, looked much as described! It strongly resembled a Long-billed Thrasher.

We didn't look at it long before he led me around the front of the house, onto the road and toward the city. The scenery changed substantially. We were surrounded by thorn scrub, and near-desert environs. The road was little more than tire tracks in sand. The man made a point of telling me to pay particular attention, as there were many birds to be found along this road, but they were difficult to see. He was quite right on that last point, as I only caught sight of one bird plunging deeper for the rest of the dream.

A good idea of what the road to Islamabad looked like in the dream

What a real road into Islamabad looks like; including a section of the famous Margalla Hills beyond.

The dream ended with our coming upon a bazaar at the edge of civilization. The surroundings were a study in ramshackle and dilapidation; masses of people, clothing, wares and sounds very... well, foreign.

Nearly Had A Heart Attack

2010-02-16T03:42:00.002-06:00

The storyline of the dream was otherwise unsettling, and too personal, to share here. However, I can relate the part where birds made their appearance...

I had just come to a stop at a "T" intersection, in a car, and was about to take a left to exit a neighborhood onto a main thoroughfare. With all of the suddenness only they have, a flock of twelve or so birds all but rained down on the road directly in front of the car. My heart lept into my throat... I was beginning to curse the winged beasts when starkly spangled napes caught my attention. Spotted Doves?!? Dreambirding lifers!

The setting of the dream was Austin, Texas. So, I mused about whether these obvious escapees would have a chance at establishing themselves, what with the Eurasian Collared-Dove having arrived so recently.

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)

Image online here

No sooner had these thoughts crossed my mind when a large, and loud, pickup truck sped by; directly through, and partly over, the dove flock. Several members went "remige over teakettle" in the truck's turbulent wake. All seemed physically unharmed, but many hundred a feather were crazily out of place.

It was then that a single bird, among those whose feathers were woefully ruffled, caught my eye. Not a dove, and harder to explain as an escapee, the new bird was another dreambirding first for me: Eurasian Jay. Huzzah!

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Image online here

The avian section of the dream ended with my eyes following those birds, who'd been so rudely inconvenienced, as they seemingly self-consciously ambled into yards across the intersection. There they began the unglamorous process of making their plumage proper again.

Hummingbird Delight

2010-01-31T16:46:00.000-06:00

I was driving along a small suburban street. A median appeared in the middle of the road, crowded with tall bushes. As I was passing, I decided to slow down to examine for birds. I was not disappointed. Immediately, I espied a small green-backed hummingbird hovering in front of a red-orange tubular flower. I never got any better look than that, as it quickly zipped away, so I'll refrain from speculating on the ID.

A leucistic hummingbird, in all it's pale glory.

The excitement didn't stop there though. While I was straining my eyes, and craning my neck out the driver's side window for the first hummer, along came another. I was startled by a leucistic (mostly white, but not fully albino) hummer zooming towards me. As quickly as it came, it stopped and hovered just a couple of feet away from my face. I stared at it, awestruck. It hung there, like a Christmas ornament. Thankfully, I wasn't on a busy street. Eventually I was able to notice faint bluish purple on the the top side of it's head, along with some gray patches on the back. As far as I could tell this was a Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Neeeeto!

Violet-crowned Hummingbird (Amazilia violiceps)
Image online here

I then pulled my head into the car, ready to move on. I was still parked in the middle of the road after all. The ghostly hummer advanced, and grew as it sidled up to my window! The dream faded with the scene of this hummingbird, now the size of a crow, attempting to squeeze into the window as it was closing. A trifle unnerving.

Vulture-led Field Trip

2010-01-15T12:42:00.014-06:00

A dead gull, species indeterminant. Now imagine your backyard full of these - yeesh!

This is a dream my brother Jon had a few days ago... It began with him observing a friend, who's in a band, get in to an argument with a member of a different band. The row was regarding who's band is better. The scene then skipped to him overlooking the backyard, from the bathroom (from the second floor of our parents' house). Surprise! Jon then witnessed scads of gulls in the backyard, grounded, on their backs - "taxidermy dead". Upon going downstairs, he noticed the wall to the outside wasn't there. Newspapers were strewn around the yard burning quickly. They all vanished by the time he arrived at ground level.

Upon reaching the stair landing a gigantic, "linebacker-sized", grayish-white vulture swooped down and landed in the backyard. (The closest real-world species, is the Cape Vulture.) It began to peck at the remains of the dead gulls. After scavenging, the vulture stood up and flew away. It flew left, up the gentle slope of the hill they live on, around the neighborhood water tower a few hundred yards away, then to the south out of sight. While the vulture was still visible it appeared to attack more gulls that appeare in the air, alive. After the vulture departed the gulls drifted to circle over the backyard.

Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres)
Image online here

The friend, from the argument, reappeared - with binoculars and ready for birding. Others people are there now too; binos-at-the-ready. My bro' joined them as they walked through the backyard toward the forest beyond. The vulture flew back, and landed close to the birders. The vulture wore khakis - looking more like a person in a vulture suit. He was holding binoculars with human hands. Then he began to lead the field trip, spotting and pointing out birds. "Vulture-man" explained the reason he was eating the gulls was because he, in fact, is a vulture. (pay no attention to vocal ability, hands, and chinos?!?)

The last part of the dream my brother found a tiny bird on the ground. It appeared a nestling, all white and downy. He could not tell if it was alive because it sat so still.

A Study In Awkardness

2009-12-17T13:53:00.020-06:00

One of my stranger bird dreams...

I was strolling along in the neighborhood of a close friend. I was soon accosted by a young woman out walking with her very young daughter (three-ish). We made small talk while continuing down the street. We then crossed paths with a couple of middle-aged women also out walking. They asked me where I lived. I explained that I didn't live there, but that I was visiting a friend who lived a few blocks away. I remember feeling really awkward, as I didn't want to appear a creep - my friend wasn't with me after all.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Image online here

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Image online here

The young woman, her daughter, and I continued our walk. Along the way I pointed out a few birds that were working trees. I remember White-breasted Nuthatch and Tufted Titmouse. These would have been fantastic finds, as the neighborhood is in northwest Austin, TX. [The nuthatches are found generally in large pecan groves many miles east, and north of the city (in very low densities). While pure Tufteds (e.g. non hybrids with Black-crested) only become reliable twenty or so miles east of town.]

We soon ended up at the woman's apartment where I met her two, male, roommates. They were also around her age (early 20's). All of us squeezed onto a large sofa, where we chit-chatted for a while. I remember the young woman having a dominating the talk and enjoying being the center of attention. I was distinctly uncomfortable by this point, and I began looking for an opening in the conversation to politely exit the situation altogether.

This train of thought was interrupted by teenage hooligan neighbors driving up over the curb and onto the lawn of the house. It was immediately obvious they had packed way too many in the car. Upon their exiting and walking to the house next door, I counted no less than nineteen gangly, very rough around the edges, youths! Our couch-bound audience found this quite amusing.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - female
Image online here

The dream wound down with a stroll in neighborhood park with this woman. I was still feeling very uncomfortable, and I remember wondering why I was still hanging out with her. To make matters significantly more awkward, we kept passing couples who were obviously romantically fixated on each other. The dream ended with her asking me what bird was feeding on the grass next to a small pond. It was a female Mallard.

Dreambirding With The Next Generation

2009-12-17T13:18:00.000-06:00

Small groves of trees in a prairie - a peaceful dreamscape...

This dream started with my exiting the end classroom in a wing of a single story school. It appeared to be elementary/primary from the size of building. Not far from the school, I was joined by another birder. We strolled through a fairly large expanse of grass, possibly a prairie, dotted with small groves of trees. There was no mention of where this was geographically, but the suite of birds suggests south Texas.

Meadowlark (Sturnella sp.) in familiar surroundings
Image online here

This other birder, a woman, shared we should keep our eyes open for an unspecified rarity that could be lurking in this kind of habitat. Early in our trek, a single Meadowlark (sp.) flushed and flew away from us. (It's challenging enough to ID them to species, in real life, without vocalizations... but in a dream? Please forgive me, just this one time.) As we walked on, unidentified sparrows flushed, flew a few dozen feet, and dropped down as abruptly as they popped up. Very Ammodramus-like don't you think?

Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) - Image online here

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - Male
Image online here

In the next scene we were in one of the grove of trees, birding with a group of children. The place was alive with birds. Waves of excitement shot through crowd each time flock members flew across the grove, or wheeled around anywhere. You can't beat that kind of electricity. What an awesome feeling. Field Sparrow was identified, as was a finch species (the specific ID didn't survive the transition; however I believe it was a species native to Africa). Present, also, were at least three male Northern Cardinal.

"Attwater's" Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanychus cupido attwateri)
Image online here

My guide brought my attention away from having fun with the kids in order to point out that she had spotted a individual of the rarity she'd spoken of earlier. Getting satisfying looks at the bird proved difficult. I only got glimpses as it occasionally hopped up in to partial view above the grass, in apparent pursuit of making a butterfly it's next meal. It was clearly a Prairie Chicken! (This dream appearance was probably triggered by my recent reading of an article about their reintroduction onto private lands in Goliad Co., TX. Read more about this effort here.) Unfortunately, those brief looks were all I was going to get.

The disappointment was not long lasting, however. Upon turning around to focus back on the grove, a new species caught my eye. On a low branch, on the far side of a far tree, sat a very handsome Green Jay.

Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas)
Image online here

The typical dream integrity began breaking down as I started to wake up. The last moments saw the head, and bill, of the Green Jay steadily transforming into that of a Groove-billed Ani. Sometimes, such as in a dream like this one, the experience seems so real that when something like this happens it is initially unsettling.

Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris)

Image online here

"Dreambirding" Turns One

2009-12-03T20:34:00.006-06:00

Has it been an entire year already?!? Wow...what a ride! "Blessing" comes to mind when describing this experience. Honestly, I never expected this site would garner even the attention it has, let alone followers. Thanks everyone. More than most experiences in my life, maintaining this blog has edged me "out of my shell" and kept me there. Who in their right mind publishes their dreams on the internet - even if they're just about birds?

I'm not all that on board with believing dreams, or at least these dreams, as veiled windows into my innermost machinations, motivations or unmet desires (as I've had them when I was birding a ton too). Rather, they are, in part, a celebration of the fascination and wonderment birds evoke in this ol' aviphile. Very little else so thoroughly sets my mind on fire like our befeathered sister taxa. And if you're still reading, this may be your truth too.

Recent rereadings of older posts have revealed a tendancy for understating the effect these dreams have on my internal experience. Until a year ago, most local field birding had become become beige and droll. It was hit-and-miss when it came to feeling that heart-palpitating, lightning-about-to-strike, thrill I remember from novice birder days. The Zen masters were right: beginners mind = downright magic. This process of remembering, writing down, editing and broadcasting these dreams to the virtual universe has stuck my finger back in that birding-rocks-my-world socket. Yeah, this blogging adventure will never replace real-world birding. But, it has proved a fabulous compliment to the field. I can confidently say that today I have a much more rich appreciation for even the mundane chickadee and, dare I say, European Starling than probably ever before. I never saw that coming... did you?

Finally, I love the english language, and greatly admire those who can turn a phrase in ways that trancend, elevate and inspire - especially when they make me crack-up laughing at the same time. O, that I could some day do the same. This blog offers the chance to steadily plug away at demystifying the storytelling process. In this year, I feel these dreams have become less and less "my" dreams; that I'm just a steward of a story - a shared story. I will ever strive to hone my wordsmithing so the enjoyment factor is greater for all.

What will next year will bring? Hopefully more bird dreams, more stories to be told, and more celebrating.

What Might Have Been

2009-12-01T09:35:00.009-06:00

For the first time I can remember, I was awakened by the alarm right in the middle of a bird dream. This was doubly disappointing as dreams of the past several weeks have only seen bird cameos, or snippets of stories that were just too murky to remember any detail worth passing on. So it goes...

(Northern/Southern) Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicus/nubicoides)
Image found online here

... I am in a car with two birders I know from Austin. Only one, the driver I can remember for sure - Stu Wilson. Great guy, great birder. We are driving down a small, two-laned, highway. It appears to be spring migration, as there's a lot of vibrant green. Soon after the dream began, a HUGE flock of birds flushed from both sides of the road, whirling and wheeling around only a hundred or so feet to our left. We oohed and ahhed for a few seconds, then collected ourselves in order to estimate three to five THOUSAND Carmine Bee-eater [which species was not determined]. (Large flocks appear in many of my dreams; probably because they never cease to inspire awe in real life.)

Not far down the road from them, we flushed a second, much smaller, flock of a few dozen medium-sized birds. They appeared to be approximately dove-sized, predominately slate blue with long white tails and rumps. Some richer blue, even purplish, was mixed into their upper body plumage as well. (There probably isn't a corresponding real world species. If anyone can think of one, by all means let me know.) Regardless, the third person of our trio declared it to be kind of "long-necked" something-or-other. Neither Stu nor I agreed with him.

At this point, I declared that both the bee-eaters and this species reminded me of two other "rarities", I'd seen before in this location. I think what I really meant by "this location" was "in dreams". Indeed, this WAS in reference to another dream I had with species vaguely similar in color and structure as these two. Although, I think one of the other dreambirds was a hummingbird, and the other a passerine. This original dream, was only a fragment I didn't bother to write down, as it was just too difficult to remember at the time. I will journal further on this to see if anything else crops up. Stay tuned.

We then turned left onto a new road, soon stopping to survey a small wooded pond flanking the right side of the road. I was still scanning, when simultaneously someone in the car called out a duck of some kind and the alarm annoyingly brought all this to a screeching halt. So it goes...

Bird Dream Drama

2009-10-19T16:20:00.048-06:00

In scene one I found myself in a hospital room, waiting for the results of a checkup. I was eventually informed by non-medical staff that one prescription I was receiving was for a potentially fatal condition. Without this drug I would surely die young. This was the first I was hearing of such a diagnosis (the dream environs did not make this less troubling news). Anxious and distraught, I insisted on further information from medical personnel.

A nurse appeared and counseled me about this disease, using a brochure as a visual aid. One thing I do remember about the malady was it was named for a person; beyond that nothing else. She also told me about a form I could fill out on paper, or online. It would allow my doctor(s) to monitor my symptoms, directly and immediately, between office visits. This did help calm me down.

In scene two I was looking up a friend's name in a search engine. I believe this was with the intention of finding her most recent email address so I could update her on my hospital visit results.

(From here on the dream jumped forward a bit choppily...)

I then drove to her house. Not finding anyone there, I left to track her down (for some reason I felt concerned for her safety). I then spontaneously transformed in to a songbird - which species I don't remember. I immediately flew high above her house, and neighborhood attempting, to find her distinctive car.

"Georgian Style" flower garden, closely resembling the dreamscape.
Image found online here

I then went into a steep dive, flying and weaving through neighbors' yards. I lingered in one that was beautifully arrayed with islands of blooming flowers. Two other birds, and some butterfly's were also availing themselves of this oasis. I recognize the two other birds as long-time friends. One a Mountain Bluebird the other an American Kestrel.

Mountain Bluebird (Sialia curricoides) - Male
Image found online here

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) - Male
Image found online here

A conflict suddenly arose! An attack by other birds apparently, including one other small hawk. One of the last images was my bluebird friend on the ground, ostensibly unconscious, in the grass at the base of some flowers. As the dream was fading, I was about to land on the grass next to my bluebird comrade toward to see if I could help.

Just the kind of scenario I was hoping to avoid when the dream ended... ouch!
Image found online here

Megascops Coture

2009-09-19T15:26:00.005-06:00

Koussevitzky Music Shed (viewed from "the Lawn"), Tanglewood - Lenox, MA

I was on the lawn of Tanglewood (a fine music venue in Lenox, MA) presumably for a performance. I remember little if anything about that. It was nighttime. Floodlights revealed pools of richly green grass at the edge of the dark sea of night. A White Pine with low sweeping branches loomed nearby. On the closest branch sat a red-phase Eastern Screech Owl. It seemed to beckon me with a few calls, so I obliged and sat next to it. I ventured a hand, and to my pleseant surprise I was allowed to pet. So soft, so cute.

Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) Red-phase
Image Online Here

I then got up and returned to where I was originally sitting, closer to the music "shed" (open-air concert hall). He followed, perching on the ground next to me. The rest of the dream was my sitting there enjoying the music (can't remember which piece) coming from the shed, whilst the little screech-owl let me pet and scratch it like a puppy. He even playfully rolled around like one for a few moments. Quite a sweet little vignette.

(Southern) California Dreamin'

2009-08-10T12:25:00.056-06:00

[From a few weeks ago]... I was with two other guys in the coastal chaparral of southern California (a place I have only been birding once in real-life). We were hiking along, several hundred feet from shore, primarily for wildlife/nature photography. Our elusive quarry at the time? A dove. (Can anyone tell me what dove sp. could possibly be worth the effort in this habitat? Ruddy Ground Dove?)

Heading back down towards dune and shore, we encountered birds worthy of our cameras' attention. I, on the other hand, encountered camera troubles - mostly slow/flakey autofocus. The first scene we shot was a male Calliope and Anna's Hummingbird sharing a perch.

Calliope Hummingbird (Selaphorus calliope)

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

I was able to get a few shots off before they both departed, but did not feel confident they would be keepers.

Moving on, I noticed a something taking place near the water's edge below - two mixed-species shorebird flocks going at it after a fashion. Their movements and interactions looked like two rival gangs feel each other out, replete with posturing and machismo. Those defending their "home turf" (I'll call the "Sharks") consisted of a female Red Phalarope, a Semipalmated Plover and some Least Sandpiper. The "Jets" comprised a Willet, a Greater Yellowlegs and few Sanderling. "The Jets are gonna have their day... toniiiiight. The Sharks are gonna have their way... toniiiiight." Though entertaining, the conflict was brief, and the two groups quickly went about their separate ways.

The "Sharks"

Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

The "Jets"

Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)

Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

By this point in the dream, daylight was waning, and had achieved that very desirable "magical glow" this photographer loves to shoot.

The next scene took place next to a gate in a chain link fence, which gave access to the back dunes. Nestled together, at the foot of a bush growing against the fence, was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and another female Red Phalarope. Not only were they ostensibly sleeping, but they were bathed in golden light. (It was as beautiful as it sounds). I was able to snap off what felt like a few good shots, as the scene screamed "photography me NOW!". But, as I was just about to pull the trigger on a frame-filling close-up, the Buff-breasted awakened. It wasn't slow about it either. Before I could react, both it and the phalarope were filing out of frame, and out the gate.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis)

Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

The last scene was of the Buff-breasted, Red Phalarope with a healthy helping of Least Sandpiper and Sanderling, all congregating about some tidal pools along a rocky shoreline.

The lens on my camera was not that big, and was fairly "slow" at that. All this meaning I had to get close any hope of a good image - and fast, as the "magical" light was fading. I scrambled as quick, and carefully, as I could toward them. At one point, the phalarope settled down on the rock, next to a pool; with the ocean and a full moon in the distance. ( Another very memorable tableau). Luckily, I was able to get a few shots of this, before the light faded and the dream ended...

A Dreambirding Experiment

2009-08-06T16:15:00.008-06:00

Over the past couple of days, I've been brushing up on dream induction, and recollection techniques {more on that at a later date}. The reason? Simple - the bird dreams seem to be drying up.

As best I can tell, one thing that affects my dreambirding frequency is intense new bird-oriented experiences. For example, I recently spent time in the St. Louis area. While there, I studied a few books about birds found around the world. I also made four visits to the world class St. Louis Zoo. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend several hours studying their scores of exotic bird species. Exquisite! Perhaps as a result, I had some of the most interesting bird dreams I've had to date during that time of rich real-world experiences.

Before bed tonight, I'm going to give some time to Rosair & Cottridge's "Photographic Guide to the Shorebirds of the World". On Saturday, I'm going to checkout Austin Avian Rescue at J & M Aviaries. Sunday will find me paying visits to a few pet stores specializing in birds.

Austin Avian Rescue & Rehabilitation

Will any or all of these novel experiences trigger dreambirding? ...place your bets now.

From Dreambirding to... Birds Dreaming

2009-08-05T17:39:00.004-06:00

Birds' brains do not have cerebral cortexes, like mammals. They do have something called the hyperstriatum however. New evidence suggests that, despite this structural difference, birds have evolved the capacity to dream - at least the Zebra Finch has. How... cool... is... THAT!?!

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Humans sometimes dream of flying. Do birds dream of playing the piano? Eating a taco? (Grackles, gulls, and corvids do just fine at that already, eh?) Driving? Capturing humans and putting them in cages? Take a gander at the links below, talk amongst yourselves, and let me know what you think.

http://fatfinch.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/passeriformia-dreaming/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/science/01obslee.html?_r=1&ref=science

Dreambirds of Fancy

2009-08-03T15:24:00.014-06:00

My middle brother, Jarrod, teases me about being the obsessed birder I am. Typically, he asks if a certain species is on my lifelist - inevitably an absurd name he makes up. What he comes up with is hilarious, so I share the laugh. How downright goofy official bird names can seem reminds of a recent dreambirding first. All species I dreamed of were fantastical, made up... loosely based in reality. A bit ironic that only now are these dreams drifting away from reality, eh? Regarding these new "species", I'm going to let it all hang out and make up some names for them... where's Jarrod when I need him?

Slice of the Texas "Hill Country" - a common sight west of Fredericksburg

I was birding in the "Hill Country" of central TX with my long-time, real-life, friend Shawn Ashbaugh. The landscape was Live Oak savannah; a sight most prevalent west of Fredericksburg. I was in the open when Shawn called to me with a find. In the dream, this bird was a vagrant from northern Mexico. Nice going Shawn! Beautifully colored was this songbird, and like most others, very active - so not the best look. Head was probably green, though not brightly so. Back/scapulars were a cobalt blue, edging of the secondaries grass green and the rump an electric violet-purple. Tail feathers were also edged with green. Que linda! I'll call this one the - "Violet-rumped Leafbird". Of real-world species, it most resembled a mashup of...

Emerald Tanager (Tangara florida)

immature passerine from american tropics, yet to be re-identified

= "Violet-rumped Leafbird"

Time with this exquisite little one was all too brief, as it soon disappeared into the canopy for good. Immediately upon turning around, I spotted a second fantasy bird - perched nearby on a low branch. Resembling a European Robin, it looked much more like a Catharus thrush (e.g. Swainson's) with the robin's unmistakable auburn frontside. "Orange-breasted Confusing-Thrush" sounds about right to me.

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)

= "Orange-breasted Confusing-Thrush"

The last bird caught my eye as it flushed from branches to my right. It wasn't "ugly", per se, but it definitely looked like evolution gone a little wrong. As with the other birds, the view was exceedingly brief. This guy gave the added challenge of being on the wing. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. This gem looked like the visual hybrid of a Worm-eating Warbler and a Short-eared Owl. I like the way "Short-eared Worm-eating Owl" sounds so I'll stick with that moniker.

Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

= "Short-eared Worm-eating Owl"

I dig the novelty of these dreamcreatures, if only because they're birds. Truth be known, though, the more bizarre a dream is the more unsettled it makes me. Feedback always welcome...

Muse On Sabbatical?

2009-07-29T11:50:00.015-06:00

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)

Image online here

In the dreambirding realm, things have been a bit frustrating as of late. The source - dream recollection has waned significantly. I still scribble down everything I can remember upon awakening (an act of physical comedy most mornings, just so you know). The past three or four times I've blurrily put pen to paper only a few sentences, regarding vague and uninteresting highlights, come out. Mostly, I can just remember the birds, little else.

Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)

Image online here

One dream had a male Western Tanager among some foliage. Another, a Wood Thrush. Last night I dreamed I was walking in an open area (a park?) with different species of pheseant walking around. Male Superb Lyrebird, Golden Phaesant, and Indian Peafowl (peacock) are all I can remember. I believe at one point I, and whomever I was with, were attempting to catch one of these beauties. The result - more physical comedy.

Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)

Image online here

Golden Phaesant (Chrysolophus pictus)

Image online here

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) - cock

Image online here

I'm hoping with this post to send a flare into wherever these nightly visitations come from - just to remind such powers I'm still here. To that end, I'm also officially requesting vibes to be sent this way for the Muse to return. Many thanks, in advance, for your efforts and energy.

Aviarist Encounter (Part II) - Through A Glass Darkly

2009-06-16T10:15:00.008-06:00

(NOTE: The first part of this dream can be enjoyed here.)

... That many exotics clustered in such a small area was too much for me to resist investigating. Asking a neighbor revealed to which house the birds belonged. A maid answered the door, and when I asked about the birds, she let me in. It's a very nice place inside - well appointed. I was immediately introduced to the couple responsible for the birds. Apparently they: ran a "world-famous" exotic bird rehab center/aviary, had authored books on the subject and even had an "exotic" sounding last name; Zormun, I believe. I was then introduced to their three teenage children, and we all sat and chatted for a bit. Dad was a character; a fabulous fabulist as it were.

I was then informed things had to move along as they needed to catch a plane, for an out-of-the-country conference, later that evening. Toward that end, they gave me an autographed copy of their latest book. It was a hefty compendium of all known escaped-bird populations in the continental U.S. - replete with VERY detailed maps. I'm floored, humbled, and honored all at the same time.

I'm then taken on a tour of the grounds. French doors lead to a porch and fairly spacious backyard - at least an acre I'd guess. In the very back appeared to be a very large, seemingly iron/mesh wire, structure - the formal aviary I presume. Sadly, the tour never got that far.

(the flight-cage in the dream closely resembled the "1904 free-flight aviary" found at the St. Louis Zoo, pictured here.)

Why we never make it that far never surfaces, but it may have something to do with the following. Between the porch and the aviary was a tennis court and a large, empty, in-ground pool. Dozens upon dozens of people were huddled in small groups or milling about both features, and the yard in general. Mrs. Zumon, "Ursula" I believe, was proudly droning on about the place. I missed it all as I became more and more intrigued by these people. Looking more closely, it became obvious they (including children) were not in good shape. The arrangement looked to me either like a refugee, or detention, camp. I was revolted. Why was she just going on as if they didn't exist, why were they here, and who were they? I couldn't stomach questioning, so no answer ever came. Again for reasons never explained, the tour then wrapped up abruptly and awkwardly (at least for me). I soon walked out the front door, in the direction of my car. Some delivery digression, eh? The last thing I remember is looking up and seeing another pair of "tyrant" flycatcher, Sulphur-bellied, hanging out at the top of a tree bordering the street.

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (Myiodynastes luteiventris)
Image Found Online Here

Aviarist Encounter (Part I) - Meeting The Menagerie

2009-06-15T14:39:00.016-06:00

It started with my being a delivery driver out on a call. Things began to get interesting as I was slowly rolling down a neighborhood street, scanning house numbers for the correct address. Eventually I began spotting a very eclectic series of birds along a three property-wide stretch. Several Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) were waddling in the middle of the street.

Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)

Image Online Here

A pair of Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) were poking around a front yard.

Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)
Image Online Here

On a large rock, next to a mailbox, a Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) sat in the sun.

Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus)
Image Online Here

At the tip-top of a small tree sat a Piratic Flycatcher pair.

Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus Leucophaius)

Image Online Here

To top it all off, a Short-eared Owl swooped across the otherwise sleepy neighborhood street several times.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Image Online Here

And, it got curiouser and curiouser indeed. Stay tuned 'til tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

Indiana Jones - And The Carnival of Doom

2009-06-10T08:03:00.018-06:00

[I just awakened from this one, the freshest dream blogged here to date.]

I was hiking in a very rural, very green, setting: low hills, some forest and a lot of wide open meadows. Early on I passed a small marsh; scaup and Bufflehead were visible. I didn't bother IDing the scaup, though my real-life experience favors Lesser rather than Greater.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeolus) - male & female
Image online here

Next came negotiating unvegetated canyons. Gratefully they were fairly shallow. Besides beautiful rock strata, I came across two houses clearly built generations ago. Both were so dilapidated that entire outer wall sections were missing. On the positive side; no need to use a door.

The first I investigated cautiously, praying the thing wouldn't collapse on my head. Mundane artifacts of bygone eras dustily lined wall, shelf and table. Immediately after exiting I looked for the trail. I noticed someone up ahead. They were dressed like Indiana Jones - bullwhip and all. Normally I'd think this was cool and would make my acquaintance. However, in this dream I was wary of him, avoiding his attention. So, I continued through the canyons, keeping my distance.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) - male & female
Image online here

By the time I exited the skeleton of the next house, atop a hill, he was less than a hundred feet away. What I saw in the wide valley below made me forget all about him though. Storm clouds. Huge, violently dark, storm clouds. My first look found a tornado roping out it's last moments of life. Yikes! Suddenly, a loud flash of lightning startled me blind. All interest in Indiana, or hiking, were shocked away. I frantically searched for shelter. There was the rickety house behind me. I might stay dry and electrocution-free there... might.

Eventually, I discovered a small shed at the edge of nearby woods. Appearing solid, I figured I'd give it a try. Turns out this was not an original idea. Inside were two other people, both friends of mine from real-life. Shortly after I was inside, someone else showed up... you guessed it - Indiana.

We weren't in there long before he told us his car was not that far away and it would be safer there. In my dreams, I do whatever Indiana Jones tells me to do. In no time we were all piled into his silver BMW. Curiously, real-life friend Klondike was at the wheel. We proceeded to drive into the valley, where the storm seemed to be fiercest. Why? I guess since Indiana Jones was in my dream gratuitous, life-threatening, drama was required.

We soon drove into a village that looked right out of a wild west set. On the outskirts of town a carnival was still in operation, despite the ominous skies. While driving slowly through the midway gaming area, someone informed me that for prizes they gave out feathers from various bird species. The "grand prize" was the bird itself; alive or dead he did not say. His tone seemed intending to impress me. I mostly feigning interest, but was ultimately disgusted.

... and we have a winnaah! Step right up and take your pick...

Image online here

Then things got really "dramatic" (read: scary). The storm roiled above more potent than ever. Two rope-like tornadoes dropped down just a few hundred feet ahead. We were on a narrow, dirt-pack street. and they were coming directly at us! We had but seconds. When the one on the right was just feet away it hit something electrical. A huge shower of sparks and flames burst up. It instantly became a monstrous whirling mass of electric arcs, yellow-orange flame, and debris! At the last moment, both twisters parted giving us just enough room to pass between unscathed. Really! Freakin'! Scary!

Relief was brief, as we didn't and couldn't drive much farther. The road we were on ended in a cul-de-sac. Tall trees, and a hill, lay beyond the last houses. All I could see beyond them was a massive cloud of dust blowing sideways with unnatural speed. I screamed. Apparently, I'd seen the twister first. Klondike suggested parking in between buildings. I said he was crazy; that our best bet was to out run it with the beemer. On our way out of town, I leaned my head out the window and looked up. Cloud rotation was severe in several places. I knew these were all potential tornadoes. Oiy!

As if that weren't enough, the last scene saw us driving by the carnival one last time. The gigantic twister had out paced us, but had shifted and was about to engulf the carnival. Horrified, I watched all the people, still on the rides, still testing their accuracy at silly games, disappear behind the black-gray-brown curtain of certain death. I couldn't look any more; the sound of the howling winds was more than enough.

The dream ended with our heading back up the hill where we'd started with the car. I saw at least one more tornado touch down in the valley as we started ascending to safety.

A Giant, Robotic, Albino House Finch - need I say more

2009-06-05T09:38:00.012-06:00

Fellow bird dreamer and blog contributer, Delia Guzman, has some fantastically entertaining bird dreams. I admit to being a bit jealous. Here's another winner she sent to me the other day... enjoy!

"The other night, I was birding with a bunch of older ladies, none of whom I knew. We were wandering along a path with some nest boxes on it when one of the ladies opened a nest box and found a leucistic male HOUSE FINCH [Carpodacus mexicanus]. His crown was pinkish with white feathers interspersed in little splotches, and his body also had the white splotchy patches. He was beautiful -- that's all I could think."

House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) - leucistic male
Note: image is altered for demonstrative purposes - original found online here

"Suddenly, I noticed that the woman's (and the bird's, which she was holding) shadow cast on the nest box, as the sun had peeked out from behind a cloud. She was still holding the bird when it began to flutter -- and GROW. I immediately said, 'put it back in the box! The sun is making it grow!' but she panicked and just let it go. The bird continued to grow until it was about 200 feet tall -- only it wasn't a bird anymore. It was a giant Transformer-like robot! It crushed the nest box with its foot, and we all scrambled for cover. I thought that if the sun would only go behind the cloud again, it would shrink back to bird size and maybe we could catch it and put it back in the box. Suddenly, I was on a bus, though -- with the same ladies, apparently after we'd gotten away from the giant robot/bird. I had the feeling, and almost the memory, of the bird having shrunk back to normal size, and that I'd caught it and put it back into the box. Then I woke up."

A Lucid Moment

2009-06-02T15:55:00.013-06:00

The setting was Pond 1 W at Hornsby Bend, in Austin (Del Valle) TX. I was scanning the pond on the north side while real-world birding buddies, Shawn Ashbaugh and Scott Young, were scanning shorebirds from the SW corner (see link above). As has happened many times when birding in real life, Shawn started excitedly waving his arms to get my attention. Clearly they'd found something good. Just about anything would have been more interesting than the Pectoral Sandpipers (Calidris melanotos), Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) and Solitary Sandpiper (Tringes solitaria) I'd been perusing. [All three species are beautiful and amazing, as all birds are, it's just that they are common as dirt at Hornsby Bend. With amazing views of thousands of all three, I welcome every opportunity to study a rarity.]

Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) - Background

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) - Foreground

Image online here

Solitary Sandpiper (Tringes solitaria)
Image online here

After snagging my scope/tripod and jogging toward Shawn/Scott, a very cool thing happened. A dark blur flew across my path, a dozen or so meters ahead. My intuition screamed "immature Peregrine Falcon!", but I couldn't rule out a Cooper's Hawk. As my eyes followed the raptor's glide into Pond 1 W, the bird morphed into a thin, rectangular piece of card board. It then flipped and wobbled back and forth a bit before landing in the muck. Weird, eh? That's what I thought too. The phrase "that kind of stuff only happens in dreams" also went through my mind. Then a brief, intense, rush of excitement hit me - like intense anticipation. Sadly, this feeling passed as quickly as it came. I became aware Shawn was beckoning me to hurry up (this too is common in real life). What just happened was I had teetered on the brink of becoming fully aware that I was dreaming - while I was dreaming! This falcon/accipiter incident marked the first "Lucid" moment I remember experiencing while dreambirding. Too bad I never did positively ID the raptor... sigh.

With true dreamspeed we soon joined Scott in the SW corner. In that few seconds journey Shawn told me they thouth they had found a Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta). Whoooa! Now that's a quality bird! From that revelatory moment up until I was looking at it, I wracked my brain's for field marks. Something about plumage bounced around (breeding plumage is a bit brighter, turns out). My mind honed in looking for a pronounced whitish eye-line and maybe even a split supercilium (a field mark of the Little Stint - Calidris minuta, turns out). After some inspection, sure enough, we all agreed it was indeed a Long-toed Stint. Huzzah!

Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
Image found online here

The quality birds, for Hornsby that is, didn't stop there. Near the L-t Stint, an immature Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) was busily feeding. Better yet, almost directly in front of us a few juvenile Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) were just toodling around - the way only phalaropes do. These guys were all in non-breeding plumage, which along with the other two shorebirds strongly suggests this dream was taking place in the late summer/early fall. Upon seeing these cute little buggers so close, I couldn't resist leaning down and attempting to get ahold of one - they were that close! And as simple as that, I did. It's hard to explaing how giddly excited I felt. Another bout of morphing saw this inland rarity turn into a Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) of similar coloring. Probably startled by the transformation I let go of the pigeon and it flew away. Truly one of my cooler dreams.

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Image Copyright - 2009 Karen Gallagher

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) - juvenile
Image found online here

"Dreambird" - Inspiration & Visitation

2009-06-01T10:19:00.002-06:00

Below is an image of the beautiful painting "Dreambird", along with the full blog entry, from Susan Cornelis' "Susan's Art and Sketchbook Blog". Hopefully, this will inspire similar creatures, bursting with color and magic, to visit all our dreams...

"The birds got the tops of the plums in the top branches of the tree in my studio garden this year. I harvested enough plums for eating and canning and giving away, so I certainly didn’t begrudge them their meals. So when this bird like creature appeared in my demonstration painting for the workshop, i wasn’t surprised, and the plums appeared quite naturally as well. A pretty nature piece, and that was that."

"Then last night after the workshop I had a dream that I was visiting some people and this bird with unusual shimmering feathers appeared. It actually walked right up to me, so I bent down and put out my cupped hands, a wee bit frightened that it might bite, since it looked like a bird of prey at first. But it climbed into my palms and was the softest thing I’d ever held. Then it started to vibrate and shake, sending such electrifying sensations through my whole body that I gasped. Sparks of some invisible substance were spraying off it and covering me. It felt like that giggle that perches just on the edge of bearable when you’re tickled. You’re afraid you won’t be able to stand it, but you can’t bear to have it stop either. It did stop of course when I woke up and could almost still feel the softness in my hand. So which do you suppose came first? the plum, the bird, or the dream bird?" - July 8th, 2008

Revenge of the Birds?!?

2009-05-27T11:05:00.009-06:00

As far as big red barns go, it doesn't get bigger, redder, or barnier.

Image online here

I exited a rural store, or diner, set in the ground floor of a renovated classic red barn. Yep, a barn red hanger with white trim. Immediately I noticed a Great Horned Owl fly from a tree nearby into a small grove to the left, adjacent to the establishment's dirt parking lot. This was one humongous bird! Like, moms grab your kids huge. It then dropped from it's perch atop a thick dead tree trunk in the forest, to the leaf litter below; clearly in hunting mode. Somehow it missed it's target; a Rock Squirrel that scurried away, eventually burying itself in the leaves. The owl then flew back up to its perch upon the tall stump.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Image online here

A man and his daughter came walking from the parking lot and went right to the base of the owl's tree. This is the point, as the detached observer, where you feel confident in predicting what's going to happen next; when you're aware of your profound powerlessness to do anything about it. Sure enough, this gargantuan 8-9' tall owl dropped down toward the man. It didn't attempt an attack from above, as expected. Instead, it settled on the ground, drew itself to full height, and faced him. They both proceed to grapple, "mano a ala (Spanish for wing)", as it were.

I hope you find this imagery as funny as I did in the dream itself. It looked ridiculous. It reminded me of a match between Godzilla and one of his many foes - minus the lasers and fire breathing. After those first few moments of hilarity, I actually began to feel concern for the guy. What if he were horribly maimed or eviscerated? It'd be my first bummer bird dream. In the end, the father held his own. The denouement saw a pause in the skirmish. The owl took advantage the opportunity to avoid further risk, or to save face, and flew deeper into the forest. The man, apparently not worse for the wear, found his daughter quickly, and both fled out of sight.

Dreambird Photo Session

2009-05-23T16:54:00.061-06:00

My most recent dream began with my chasing a Ruddy Daggerwing (butterfly) in a futile attempt to get a photograph. It finally ended up in a large opening where large dead trees lay in a labyrinthine mess about forty feet across. After a few moments of walking around it, I flushed a thrush. It was a Veery, but there were moments when the bill appeared a orange. I really wanted this to be an Orange-billed Nightengale-Thrush - but no such luck. For the next several moments, it tormented me, by flying right before I could get a picture, then landing so close to the butterfly that it would take off too. Too much reality in this dream for my tastes.

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)
Image online here

At one point the thrush landed on a thick angular branch about twenty feet away. Since it was well out in the open, I thought it a perfect opportunity for snapping a picture.

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) - hen

Image online here

White-cheeked Turaco (Tuaraco leucotis)

Image online here

Through the viewfinder, I noticed several more birds had joined the perch. The assembly turned out to be one of the most diverse I've ever dreamed: Indian Peafowl (hen), White-cheeked Turaco, Hyacinth Macaw, Blue-naped Mousebird, and a Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. Wow!

Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)

Image online here

Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus)
Photo Copyright 2009 - Doug Janson

Excited, I seized the opportunity and got many dream-photos of them all. When the enthusiasm subsided I noticed they were taking turns diving off the branch out of sight - presumably onto the ground. When I moved the camera, I discovered they were all devouring a medium-sized, unidentifiable, carcass. Yeah, a little unnerving to say the least.

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus)
Image online here

The background then began to quickly morph into a cafeteria-like setting. With this change of scenery the birds scattered quickly. As the dream was ending, I saw a new species walking along a counter top; a green-phase Budgerigar.

Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) - green-phase

Image online here

Where the dreams are...

2009-04-11T16:15:00.005-06:00

I have been on the road for the past three weeks - a week in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas, the rest near St. Louis. In real life I've picked up two lifebirds: Trumpeter Swan and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Very Cool! I've also been reintroduced to a more easterly mix of species, reminding me of my New England origins. Hairy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Thrasher, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Herring Gull, Lesser Canada Goose and even White-throated Sparrow are generally unreliable, unpredictable, or require hours of driving to find in the Austin, TX area. On this trip they've all been at least fairly common and very reliable. It's also a relief to see rain again, as central Texas is suffering from a lingering intense drought.

Speaking of droughts - a three week lull in bird dreams frustrated the heck out of me! Lucky for the blog regular bird dreams have returned. I have journaled them all, and will get busy regaling you again hopefully as soon as this Monday or Tuesday. I should be back in Austin by next weekend, so the stories will start appearing regularly from then on.

For the past month or so, I have been focusing more than ever on learning about birds from all over the world - vs. just the ABA area (U.S & Canada). This amounts to ~9100 additional species! I imagine this could take a while. Unexpectedly, this trip has offered several opportunities to learn more about global avifauna. Most enjoyable was a visit to the St. Louis Zoo - specifically the remarkable "Bird House and Garden". It boasts the greatest diversity of any public aviary in the US! Regardless, I loved seeing the effort put into approximating habitats suitable for each bird species, and how easy it is to get great looks at all of them. I could spend three full days at that zoo; with the birds alone. If I do get the chance to go back, I'll definitely post about it here. What was my favorite bird? Can't beat a Blue-crowned Motmot! Honestly though, they were all fascinating beyond words...

"Dreambird" - A Poem by Mark Zimmerman

2009-03-17T08:33:00.002-06:00

The makings of a mind
are threads of thought
That weave a web -
coherent consciousness -
to conjure and control
the fire of soul.
By day the bonds are stout,
the spirit pale;
sure spells confine the flame
within her cage
of reason, logic,
memory, and fact.

Until soft darkness comes
to cut the cords
That bind the bright beast tight.
See how she turns,
Unfolds and spreads her wings,
and grows, and glows!
She leaps to flight
and joins the shining flock:
dark dreams that dance the sky
and sing the songs
of creativity
and life and love.

Copyright 2001 - Mark Zimmerman

"Dreambird" X Search Engine = Weirdness + Fun!

2009-03-11T02:54:00.009-06:00

So for a bit of fun and fancy I decided to do a search, vaguely germane to this blog, on the everyone's favorite search engine to see what came up. Comedians, and/or writers, will recognize this post for the "filler" material it is - until stuff worth publishing comes along... but I digress.

Here's several of the first unique results from "dreambird" in Google:

1) Someone with "Dreambird"' for a profile in "Stumbleupon". This may be related to the next entry.

2) The "MySpace" page of a young woman with the handle of "dreambird" (this pseudonym of her's appears several times after this. I won't list them all here. She's already gotten enough free pub here.)

3) A "Google Book" entitled "Dreambirds". It's a childrens picture book about a young Pacific Northwest Coastal tribe boy's spirit quest. Very impressive! You can bet you'll be reading a quote from that book in a post here soon. You can read the whole thing here (you might have to have a Gmail account, sorry).

4) "Dreambird designs" - a blog; about what I'm not exactly sure. It appears inscrutably artsy for my level of obtuseness.

5) A hand made "Dreambird" journal being sold on www.etsy.com - Interesting.

6) Not quite sure what this is about. But, I have to admit the two one liners are great!

7) "Dreambird camp" - in Gambia... cool! Link is broken... UNcool!

8) A 55 metre yacht "Your 'Dream Bird' in the oceans". And for a cool $8.5 million it can be. I'll take two please. FYI: Everyone reading this is invited for one hell of a pleasure cruise... put it all on AIG's tab.

9) "Dream bird" productions. On IMDB no less. Sweet.

10) A hybrid Primrose named "Dreambird"... from India. Pretty, in a understated kind of way. Check it out here.

And Then There Were Two - Dreambirders...

2009-03-10T15:32:00.005-06:00

Looks like I haven't cornered the market on dreambirding afterall. Some searching, a few weeks back, paid off big time when I discovered a post by Delia Guzman about a bird dream she had. I rather like it, even wish I'd dreamed it myself. Delia has given me permission to reproduce that post - below. She will continue to enrich and entertain us with her bird dreams here in the future. I very much look forward to what is in store. Huzzah! FYI: Delia's blog is called "Beginning to Bird" and can be found here.

Crazy bird dreams!

Well, I may not have gone birding lately, but the birds are still with me. Last night, I had a crazy dream in which birds were a big player:

I dreamed I was in Manhattan, and I was sitting in a little cafe. I looked up and saw, on the outer wall of the cafe, a big white cockatoo. I walked outside and somehow managed to get the cockatoo to perch on my arm. Once I did that, I suddenly realized that the bird belonged to Judy Garland, and I had to get it back to her!

Somehow I knew the general whereabouts of Judy Garland's apartment building, so I walked over there. On the way, I recruited someone to help me--a woman, someone I don't know. She was tall and blonde, though, so maybe it was just a weird version of Kat. Anyway, we went into the building and discovered we were in the lobby of a huge old-time theatre, complete with concession stands, girls in Moulin-Rouge-type outfits swinging on giant swings suspended from the ceiling, and huge staircases. We negotiated our way through this hubbub and went upstairs.

We wandered all over the place for the next few minutes of my dream, which seemed like hours in the dream. We were inside hallways, outside in parking lots, looking through hotel rooms--you name it. FINALLY, someone helped us: a huge Mafia-type guy who was getting a massage in a big room with a pool in it. He told us where to go, and we found Judy Garland!

Only when we found Judy, the bird turned into a bald eagle! Somehow it didn't claw the flesh off my arm, and I was able to hand her - the raptor. After just a little prodding, she sang the chorus of "Swannee" for us right there in her doorway, and then we were off. Then I woke up.

You Always Remember Your First

2009-03-09T17:27:00.068-06:00

I actually do remember the first time I dreamt about birds. It was probably in Fall 2002; no later than early 2003. The next morning, I remember thinking how psyched I felt to have gone birding in a dream. It is a 6+ year-old dream, so some of the latter details might prove to fuzzy, but I don't think so.

I was with a small group of birders, perhaps leading. We were birding our way along an overgrown tire-track road. Thickly settled bushes, interspersed with small trees, flanked either side. It was mostly cloudy, and well lit, at first. This progressed to ominously lead grey skies during and the latter half of the dream.

Scanning with binoculars, I picked up a medium-sized heron cruising in overhead from behind. It settled down out of view a few hundred feet to our right. I start bushwhacking towards where the heron seemed to be. Quickly the vegetation opened a clearing of low bushes and grasses on the edge of a pond about a half-acre in size.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius)

Image online here

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Image online here

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

Image online here

Several herons were present in various places around the pond. Species included Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, and Snowy Egret. The highlight was a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched high in tree branches across the pond. It was with this Night-Heron, in this very first dream, that I experienced the ability to zoom and focus, sans binoculars.

The dream ended shortly after our attention was immediately turned to a large group of American White Pelican migrating, in their mesmerizingly laconic way, fairly low overhead.

Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) - adult

Image online here

Pelicans, soaring and swirling their way through migration. They prefer to soar via rising warm thermals of air. Because of their large size, the ponderous process evokes a comparison to ballet in its grace. Image online here

Caught Between Bukhara and Samarkand...

2009-03-03T18:53:00.193-06:00

A Bactrian Camel in the Kyzyl Kum desert, Uzbekistan. I'm sure you're booking flights right now. Image online here

There I was in the Kyzyl Kum Desert, in Uzbekistan, leading a well-behaved Bactrian Camel... anywhere. It was pure desolation, essentially featureless in every direction; a beige version of Mars. Some dream; just me, a camel, untolled rocks, some sand and a cloudless sky.

What motivated me to make lemonade from this lemon tree of a situation was thinking of all the birds I would be adding to my lifelist. Unfortunately, since I have no familiarity with this region, my fantasies ran a bit afield: coursers, bustards, stone-chats, sandgrouse, rollers, stone-curlews and even Ostrich crossed my mind. But, that's why they call them dreams.

Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)

Image online here

Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) - male

Image online here

Early on a small flock of doves flew by. Sadly, they were too distant for any hope of an ID. Soon after a small oasis appeared on the horizon, and we made it there with dream-speed. There the bird life was excessively cosmopolitan. A Shoebill waded along the opposite side of the spring-fed pond. A handsome male Purple Sunbird busily worked a date palm to our left. Neither belonged in this part of the world, but the latter is at least found on this continent. One bird I did get right was a Eurasian Roller atop another palm.

Eurasian Roller (Coracius garrulus)

Image online here

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)

Image online here

Soon after departing the oasis, I spotted a few birds I was anticipating. A handful of Black-bellied Sandgrouse crouched amidst rocks and grass tufts within yards of our path. A very active Eurasian Stone-curlew picked at the ground some way further on. A sparrow that initially reminded me of a Savannah, flushed from a rock outcrop and settled low in a small bush. In this part of the world, this would be a Rock Sparrow/Petronia. Aptly named.

Eurasian Stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Image online here

Rock Petronia (Petronia petronia)

Image online here

I then happened upon a small caravan of men and their camels. They ask where I'm going, and I tell them the Caspian Sea. This amuses them, as they inform me I'm heading very much in the wrong direction. They offer to help accompany me to a place where I can catch a different road that will take me towards my destination. They continued to rib me saying that if I don't go with them I'll surly get lost and die in this wasteland. So, even here everybody does want to be a comedian.

Common/Ring-necked Pheseant (Phasianus colchicus) - male

Image online here

We rode our camels together for some time, until we eventually came upon a small village adjacent to a much larger oasis. As we rode through town, I saw women in black or white burqas, many unidentifiable fowl scurrying about, and a small market. In the market a live Common Pheasant was for sale. At the very end of the market someone had a cage with a Common Nightingale in it, melodically singing away. The dream ended as I was looking over at the larger oasis with much anticipation. Unfortunately, I awakened before I could check it out.

Common/Rufous Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Image online here

Cloud Forest Ambitions

2009-02-28T17:20:00.010-06:00

This brief dream involved birding with a long-time, non-birding, friend - Brian. We were in a tropical setting replete with beautiful towering canopy trees. It was sunny for the duration, but it may have just rained, as water was dripping all around. Wherever this place was, curiously, it had cement paved trails - how convenient.

Giant Antpitta (Grallaria gigantea)

Image online here

Brian noticed something in the undergrowth, just off the path. I never saw the bird, but I quickly and eagerly announced that it might be a Giant Antpitta. He only saw the bird, briefly, and by the time we got into the underbrush for a better look it was gone. His description of what he saw did sound right for some kind of antpitta. For the record, and to my dismay, I had binoculars in this one... *sigh*. Reminder: in the vast majority of my bird dreams I do not have binos and am able to examine birds as closely as I wish at will. No fuss no muss!

Cosmopolitan birders will have deduced by now that in order to see this bird in the wild, I would have to be on the western slopes of the mountains of northern Ecuador, most likely. There are additional small populations in similar cloud forest environs of extreme southern Colombia.

"Window of Words" - A Poem by J. "Kyron" Hanson

2009-02-27T16:35:00.014-06:00

From what horizon do
these dreambirds wing?
Thoughts of possibility
and hope they bring.
Their presence always breeds
cheer and wonder.
They need no star's glint for
blazing color.

Through maze of angst and drear
they sing and sing.
What do time's worries mean
to them? Nothing.
Their stories and travels
no page can hold.
Bringing light to darkness,
turning fear bold.

They defy mere legends,
bring Truth to lore.
Whether Finch or Raven
quoth - "Nevermore!"
Imagination turn'd
Phoenix in sleep;
It is they who reveal us
our Souls to keep.

All mysteries enshroud
their to and fro.
"Wing'd Blessings" - angels
deem apropos.
Print nor speech increase
their mien a whit.
Quiet reverie's best -
receive and sit.

Whether fortune or luck
which bring them here;
Whether 'tis chance or Fate -
we do not care.
Yea, a dreambird's feathers
heal trouble's blight.
I thank God for you, one
and all, each night.

Don't Ya Hate It When This Happens?

2009-02-24T21:53:00.019-06:00

I was birding in the riparian forest at Hornsby Bend (see previous post here). I was there to create a daylist for the GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count) - which actually did just take place this Feb. 13-16th.

Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Image online here

Zounds! There were sounds in this dream! Yet another first for my entire dreambirding "career". I heard two or three different call notes from warblers high up in the Pecan trees. One call was clearly an Orange-crowned Warbler. Another remained unidentified, while the last turned out to be a male Black-throated Green Warbler.

Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens) - adult male

Image online here

Just then, Rob Fergus showed up - "The Birdchaser" himself! He and I were active in the Austin birding community when he and his family lived here... but I digress. We chatted for a bit as we were always wont to do. We then walked back to our cars. Except, mine was not there any more!?!

Rob, being the generous guy he is, gave me a ride home; and stuck around for a while in case I needed further help. Thanks Rob! Almost immediately after arriving, I got a phone call on the landline. It was the couple who stole my car! They were in great spirits - even sounding amused. They very casually asked a $25,000 ransom for my car. This is exquisitely hilarious if you've seen my trusty little ruby-red '93 Geo Prizm - only 150k miles.

In the dream, I was not in good humor about any of this and I verbally unloaded on these miscreants. Sorry you had to witness that side of me Rob. Next thing I know my car is in the driveway. Whatever works sometimes, eh?

Alex Jones Was There

2009-02-18T19:13:00.018-06:00

Bull Creek - a typical creekside in a preserve; Austin, TX.

Image online here

The setting was a preserve, encompassing a creek, in the Austin, TX area. This was easy to determine as there was a canopy of deciduous trees replete with dense understory. Throughout most of Austin, if you are out for a hike, Ashe-Juniper and Live Oak dominate the forests. Very little grows under junipers.

Hiking in the much of the Hill Country, in and about Austin, TX looks a lot like this if you're not near running water.

What passed for footpaths were overgrown from the waist down. Dozens of birders peppered the area, all seemingly obsessed with what time it was. We were all primarily in search of female Black-throated Blue Warblers. Curious, because in Austin the species is only found in migration; and rare then. The mood was focused, and no-nonsense. This is probably no surprise as tend to I adopt this attitude during most bird outings. A greater purpose for our being there, other than for the rarity, never surfaced.

The inimitable Alex Jones.

Curiously, Alex Jones was among those present. This is the first "famous" person to grace any of my bird dreams. Mr. Jones does live in Austin. He's best known for a very outspoken brand of political expression, often earning him a "conspiracy theorist" label. I have no earthly clue as to whether he's interested in birdwatching. Curious indeed.

The general discussion among folks was the fact that this species had recently been seen in various places in the Lower Rio Grande Valley - the greater McAllen and Brownsville areas. Given the looks of the vegetation, the time frame was Spring. That's odd, as the few records central Texas has of Black-throated Blue Warbler greatly favor Autumn.

Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata) - male

Image online here

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) - male

Image online here

I found a new path through the undergrowth and forged ahead. Eureka!... I'd been transported behind the backyards of my neighbors where I grew up in western Mass. The quality and diversity of birds became rich. In just a few trees I spotted the following: a male Ringed Kingfisher, a male Yellow Warbler, "western" Palm Warbler and an adult Fork-tailed Flycatcher. I've made a note to take that trail again in future dreams.

"Western" Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum palmarum)

Image online here

Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) - adult

Image online here

It didn't take but a turn of the corner before I spotted the quarry: a female Black-throated Blue Warbler! She darted about in a small copse of short trees just twenty or so feet away. Immediately I went into my "hey-the-bird-we're-all-looking-for-is-over-here" dance. The group then magically appeared and joined the festivities. Many people got satisfying looks, albeit brief ones. Unfortunately, not everyone did. The dream ended with short scene where I to came back the next day to assist in the relocation for those who didn't get an opportunity to see it the first time.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens) - female

Image online here

Dream Influences #1 - Kava Kava, et. al.

2009-02-16T16:27:00.008-06:00

"If one is having a more restful sleep, then it only makes sense that one will not only have more dreams, but would retain more dreams as well... We have also read many articles about plants such as Valerian Root, Calea Zacatechichi, Wild Lettuce, Sea Bean, and a few others have often been utilized for increasing the frequency and the recollection of dreams." - Makaira

This blogger puts forth a modicum of effort investigating (incl. posts regarding) the nature of dreams and dreaming - concomitant actually posting about bird dreams. I make a concerted effort to focus on sources which justifiy their reliability with data that is repeatable, and ideally even provable - to the degree that dream work can be either. Regarding the popular sentiment of the quotation above; I'll forego ad hominems, or straw men. The facts, as best I can sort them out, will hopefully put to rest this ignoratio elenchi.

A long time sufferer of some form of insomnia or another, I've availed myself of most all health food stores' shelves that deal with sleep aids. Valerian and Kava Kava among these. Nearly all left me either groggy the next morning, or just didn't work sufficiently. Caveat emptor, indeed.

Sleeping for well-restedness, and for "frequency and recollection of dreams" are two distinct things - profoundly I've learned. I have found Valerian to be good for neither, and Kava Kava to be adequate for only the former. Wild Lettuce is thrown into many natural sleep aid cocktails, but I don't have any experience with it by itself.

Entada rheedii/ei, Calea zacatechichi, Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort), Silene capensis (syn. undulata), Datura spp. and others fall into an entirely different category. They are classified as "dream inducers" (oneirogens) and also "happen" to be at least mildly hallucinogenic. *Sigh*... my waking mind is weird enough... thank you very much. Currently, I have no intentions of testing these guys out; especially those Datura which can put you in a coma - or worse.

I'll put together another post or two about my intentions and goals regarding the subject of external dream induction.

Birding Vietnam... The Easy Way? (not)

2009-02-13T12:05:00.008-06:00

I imagine birding Vietnam would be one hell of an adventure, in real life. In this dream, my subconscious decided to pull out a lot of the stops. This will make sense soon, I assure...

I rent a bike near a dock, and pedal a short distance to a cafe. Intuition tells me I'm in Saigon/HCMC. It is hazy, mid-morning and already mercilessly sunny. I am stopping at the local hash house to inquire about a birding guide. A young woman there (waitress?) understands me just well enough to explain to me, just well enough, how this is accomplished. Almost immediately I find a young man who claims to be up to the task. [NOTE: even by this point in the dream I have an "uneasy" feeling, like danger is imminent.] He informs me that before we go we must practice some martial arts. He wants to be sure I am able to defend myself - just in case. Oiy! Next is a brief scene, right out of "The Matrix", where I prove my mettle.

We head off on the bike again. Yes, one bike two people. I believe I'm standing up pedaling while he sits (how very magnanimous of my subconscious). Our first target is to be a preserve very close by (Reunification Palace garden?). After this it is on to some shorebirding (Cat Tien National Park?). Before we arrive at our first destination, I notice a middle-aged caucasian couple following us. Not only did they stick out for obvious reasons, but they also dressed like lawyers or executives. Veerrry subtle.

We soon leave the bike, continuing on foot. Thinking quickly, I buy some overripe, deep red, fruit at a sidewalk bazaar. I give several of these to what appears to be a homeless woman begging. In her jubilance at receiving such a windfall, she cries out. One of the fruits is squeezed hard enough to burst scarlet all down her front. Ignored before her paroxism, a growing number of people misread the scene and react as if she's been assaulted and hurt. The effect of this pandemonium is a sidewalk well blocked. My companion and I take this opportunity to promptly decamp en-masse.

After a few quick blocks we notice another bistro and enter. I know you saw this coming, but sure enough already there (but clearly not expecting US) is the spy couple. I immediately walk over to their booth and very publically greet them. Though my actions draw attention to all of us (especially them), my words only draw attention to the fact that I'm on to them. In their faces I read a strained mixture of frustration and unmistakable shock. Priceless!

End scene... and dream.

One Night Three Dreams

2009-02-03T13:35:00.027-06:00

1) I was in northwestern WA state, at the coast - on a beach. It was either nighttime or predawn. Giant rocks loomed a hundred feet to either side, silhouetted by a star-filled sky. There was a light source (I never saw it); focused, strong, like a spot light coming from behind as I faced the water. It shone mainly on dirt-colored sand in a thirty or so foot swath. The water: calm, some ripples but no waves. A kayak (and paddle) appeared, I climbed in and began to move slowly out to sea. A few hundred feet out I made a starboard (right) turn, paralleling the beach. Cormorants and gulls flew by distantly; none close enough for specific ID. The prevalent emotion throughout this part was wariness, bordering on fear. [I am irrationally "uncomfortable" in open water anyway, and without light it becomes more pronounced.] I couldn't have gone far because the next thing I know I'm in a suburban neighborhood. I can see the water and shore through silhouetted trees (pines I think). I'm too distracted by concerns about whether or not I was trespassing, or would be perceived as such. Owls and passerines were in the trees, but I made no IDs. I then came to an opening in the trees. They perfectly framed the beach, stars, rocks and faintly moonlit water. In the distance large, dramatically beautiful, thunderstorm clouds were heading this way...

2) [If you are a birder and live in Austin, or have birded here, you are probably familiar with "Hornsby Bend Biolsolids Management Plant" - known colloquially as simply "Hornsby". Adding "Bend" is optional. As you drive in, to your right there is a fairly sprawling administration building among a grove of pecan trees. In this admin. building is Austin's "Center for Environmental Research" - the C.E.R. For a few years in the early noughts, this was a common hangout, for several birders, especially after a Hornsby property survey or hawkwatch. Thus is this dream's setting...]

I was hanging out in the C.E.R. at Hornsby, talking with some folks/birders - dunno who. I didn't actually go birding in this dream, but a lot of birders were coming and going, both into the C.E.R and to the pond road circuit. So much fluttering usually means the birdin's good; whether it be spring migration, or some phenomenal rarity's been found and is easy to spot (something Hornsby's pretty famous for). What the helter-skelter was about here never played out...

3) [Note: one of the more difficult-to-remember of all my recent bird dreams. If you can figure why please share with the group.

I was talking to a local, Austin, birder about my bird dreams. FWIW: this is the first time I've had a dream about dreambirding. I was also intermittantly journaling about said bird dreams - on loose leaf paper. In a moment of irony, I thought how I was missing an opportunity to bird while I was writing about something that happened when I normally wouldn't be birding. We've all been here right?... Anyone?...

Dream Influence #2 - Exhaustion.

2009-01-31T22:32:00.007-06:00

Hypnagogia. Odd word - neat phenomenon. The first time I encountered this term was in A. Huxley's "Brave New World: Revisited". In short, it's that state of mind when you're right on the verge of sleep, but retain conscious thought. Mr. Huxley (and many a powermonger in his time) posited incorrectly that minds in this state were more prone to maniputation and propaganda - or "receptive to suggestability" if you like such euphemisms... *creepy*.

One of the more common experiences during this all too brief period is dreamlike images, usually only when eyes are closed - although all sorts of sensory hallucinations, including synaesthesia can be experienced. For most, including me, the visualizations are quite odd - "trippy" covers it. And, they rarely string together in anything close to a coherent story or plot. In this sense they are more like proto-dreams.

In my brief research, I was comforted to find that many monumentally creative figures in history have referenced this state-of-mind; specifically for it's fertility of innovation and genius. Another reason to have the journal and pen at the ready at all times.

I mention all that because I had bird-oriented visualizations during hypnogogia just before a nap the other day. Can't remember the last time this has happened, but it must have. Last weekend I made my first birding trip to the lower Rio Grande Valley. It is one of the most accessible places in the U.S. to see birds more easily found in Mexico. It was late afternoon and I was in Hidalgo, Texas. I'd only gotten some 5 hours sleep (for the third night in a row) and had been birding since about 8:30 that morning. What tipped the scales from my being just "really tired" to "shear exhausted" was a 6 mile hike thrown in during the early afternoon. I am embarrassed at how unfit I am... but I digress.

It started with an image like an archery target - 5-6 wide, concentric, rings (all with same colors). Conforming to the curvature of each ring was a tiling (actually tessellations - a la M.C. Escher) comprised of light and dark birds. The birds appeared to be grackles - probably Boat or Great-tailed (Quiscalus major and " mexicanus respectively). Wicked awesome for sure; but on top of this each ring rotated opposite those adjacent to it.

From here things got down right bizarre, but no less creative. Cinematic scenes and static images went by dizzingly fast. After what seemed like minutes of this barrage, I began to feel frustrated. Much of what appeared was fascinating to my conscious mind. However, I don't yet have the skill to either remember or record these experiences in real time. A few things I do remember: two or three moving scenes of single, small birds perched and/or feeding (in near real-life detail!), one more tesselation (in free space, not confined to a geometric shape), and a few slideshow-esque close up images of birds.

It wouldn't be a product of my mind if there wasn't some irony in this. Throughout this day I had seen no fewer than eight lifebirds, a very exotic escapee, and several more species I have only seen one or two times before. And yet, all the hypnogogic images I can remember were of the commonest birds in the entire South and Southwest region (i.e. Grackles, Titmice, White-eyed Vireo, etc.). ???...

... Till the Robins Come.

2009-01-30T19:39:00.002-06:00

"I had a dream...

... In the dream, there was our world and the world was dark; because there weren't any robins.
And the robins represented Love.
And, for the longest time there was just this Darkness.

And, all of the sudden thousands of robins were set free,
and they flew down and brought this blinding light of Love.
And it seemed like that Love would be the only thing
that would make any difference... and it did.

... So I guess it means:
there is trouble till the robins come."

- Laura Dern as Sandy Williams ("Blue Velvet") -

Hooray for Hummingbirds!

2009-01-13T00:01:00.009-06:00

A frequent question from non-birders is "What's your favorite bird?". For a while, I found it challenging to answer. The true, but very boring, answer is: "I don't have just one. I'm fascinated with them all". I do have affinities for certain groups: shorebirds, hawks, gulls, parrots, bowerbirds, birds-of-paradise, and others. The "other" I harbor the most fondness for is hummingbirds. Yes, the fact that I actually enjoy identifying gulls certifies my insanity. And now for the dream...

A small family reunion in my parents' backyard, was visited upon by a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. He was quite animated and made several passes by the patio. Everybody was amused with his antics. I continued to exploit and appreciate my paranormal dream-ability to zoom as close up to birds as I want. I actually studied this guy's individual gorget feathers. Sweeeeeet!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
Photo Copyright - drash (click to visit other galleries)

The plot thickened when another hummingbird became jealous of the attention the ruby-throated was getting. Cue dramatic music. The hummer cartoonishly feigned dying - atop the patio roof no less. Another of its species, not aware of the ruse, quickly flew to the rascal. It appeared to attempt to revive, rouse and comfort. How cool was it that I understood the motivations of the birds? I'll give myself an anthropomorphizing mulligan on this one.

This second species is not a real-world one, as best I can figure. Head and throat were charcoal gray (perhaps due to angle). Body and belly - a brilliant turquoise; with dark teal tail feathers. Velvet-purple Coronet most closely fits the bill. Gorgeous none-the-less!

Velvet-purple Coronet (Boissonneaua jardini)
Photo Copyright 2008 - David and Leah (click for other galleries)

2008 - In Retrospect and Reflection

2009-01-11T13:01:00.003-06:00

True, it's only been a little over a month. But I'll do a recap anyway. Having these many bird-dreams was a complete surprise. And I never foresaw such internal momentum pushing all these words out (I edit this stuff, I swear!). I also had no idea I'd enjoy this process as much as I do. It's quite fulfilling, even fun.

In my first post, I posited a direct correlation between frequency of real-world birding and dreambirding. The weeks since have clearly decimated that hypothesis. I've birded in earnest twice since starting this blog! Part of me would like to feel "impressive" reporting that I've learned some esoteric techniques that guarantee I'll dreambird each night (e.g. visualizations, yoga, purple Skittles before bed, etc.). Confession: I have meditated with intention on dreaming about birding/birds over a dozen times in the past forty days. How many times did it pan out? Once... maybe.

This month also saw two major dreambirding trends bucked and several firsts. Historically, my dreams have been populated with species I could expect to find locally (Austin, TX). These six weeks alone have seen: Tinamous, Macaws, a tropical hummingbird, asian shorebirds, Australasian parrots and several species from the western U.S. 2008 also saw a dramatic increase in non-passerine encounters (adding doves, ducks, owls, a Cockatoo, multiple parrots and others to the list). I'm confident there's been more diversity in these dreams over the past six weeks than the six years preceding. Keep it coming, I say. Bring... it... on!

Lastly, thanks to all who've visited. I'm eager to see where 2009 brings us.

A Truely Great Migration

2009-01-09T00:05:00.004-06:00

The "Birding Boot Camp" post reminds me of a dream I had over a year ago. I was in my parent's backyard, deep in the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts. Over the duration of the dream I wandered, mesmerized, for several hundred yards in a general southwest direction.

My attention was captivated by an incredible phenomenon turned fantastical in the dreamworld. The majority of the dream was simply witnessing an enormous migration taking place high overhead. The magnitude was easily in the hundreds of thousands, maybe more. The progression was continuous, spanning horizon to horizon, rather than in distinct groupings. Hawkwatchers call this a "river" of migrants.

All those little specks?... Yep, migrating hawks. Magical stuff to witness. I miss hawkwatching.

Image online here

It would have been amazing enough had it just been birds. This migration was truly epic; how varied and disparate the species were. It even included fish, cetaceans (porpoises, whales) and jellyfish! As if that weren't enough, the color experience was psychadelic. All the animals glowed with an opalescent aura. Far. Out. The mileu was cinematic. The surreality and impossibility awe-inspiring. It generated a positive feeling that carried long into the real world.

When things get a bit too weird in a dream, I usually awaken feeling uneasy. However, despite this being the most bizarre dream I've had with birds, I loved it. I'm thrilled to share this departure from the pedestrian dreambirding experiences. And, blogging it allows me to really savor what a gift this was. Hope there's more where that came from.

Birding Boot Camp

2009-01-08T13:00:00.014-06:00

Thin plot in this dream. The birds were the real focus. The setting was a nondescript suburban park that seamlessly evolved into my parents' semi-rural, New England, backyard.

I was leading a field trip for other birders wanting to lead field trips. Actually, it was more like a birding "boot camp". Sorry... no fatigues, shaved heads, screaming while spitting on people, or KP duty. There was fast-paced, high-intensity, "extreme" birding though.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Image online here

Most species were seen right after the other. A wonky, somewhat yellowish female Northern Cardinal was hopping around in a tree near where we started. A small flock of Rock Pigeon shooshed low overhead, in their usual hurry.

Rock Pigeon (Colomba livia)

Image online here

Just thirty or so feet away, a Blue Jay sat perched scoping out the landscape. In between was a very small reedy pool; a Great Blue Heron stood sentinel.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Image online here

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Image online here

The group made its way towards the jay, hanging a hard left just before its tree. We were then headed around the back of my parents' garage. A row of tall shrubbery behind it, that doesn't exist in reality, formed an alley. Noticing movement in the greenery prompted our attention. Here we found a few each of Tufted Titmouse and Cedar Waxwing.

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bilcolor)

Image online here

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Image online here

Green Parakeet (Aratinga holochlora)

Image online here

We filed through to the other side of the alleyway. Immediately to our left, hanging over and knawing on the edge of the roof, was a pair of Green Parakeet. Everybody got a kick out of this impishness. We weren't entertained long before we heard the tell-tale call of a Summer Tanager above and behind us. Sure enough when we turned an immature male was calling high in one of the trees in the neighbor's yard.

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) - immature male

Image online here

We then followed the tree line between the two properties back toward the neighborhood road. When we arrived at the last tree, a tall Norway Spruce, we encountered an aggressive male Broad-tailed Hummingbird - replete with high-pitched wing twitter. His swooping flight pattern told me he was acting territorially. Very cool!

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)

The very end was really cool, reminding me of probably the most fantastical bird dream I've ever experienced. That dream will receive a post soon. In this "grande finale", we witnessed tens of thousands of myriad birds soar overhead as a contiguous group. They then descended in long lazy spirals, before continuing low to the south. Most were unidentifiable, but it was clear they were of all shapes, sizes and species. One memorable oddity: all were grass green in color. Generic family groups I could ID were true owls (Strigidae), true parrots (Psittacidae), buteo hawks (Acciptridae) and some larger sandpipers (Scolopacidae). Family names are linked to their respective Wikipedia entries.

Like Peanut Butter and Sardines

2008-12-30T14:57:00.019-06:00

The dream I had just before awakening this morning might have received a PG-13 rating had it been on a screen. Amidst the backdrop of a tawdry, soap-opera-esque, melodrama was a scene or two devoted to birds.

"Mongolian"/Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus)
Photo Copyright - KK Hui

Greater Sand-Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
Photo Copyright 2004 - Graham Catley

This dream contained photos of birds - yet another first for me. Somehow, I had aquired four or five polaroids featuring two species between them. Unfortunately, they were wanting for quality - so the IDs were up in the air. One appeared to be either a "Mongolian"/Lesser Sand-Plover, or a Greater Sand-Plover. Again, it was a fairly poor photo. The second species was also a plover, hunkered down in sand or mud. It appeared to be one of the smaller species sporting a single complete band around the upper breast. Wilson's Plover, Collared Plover and Long-billed Plover are the most likely candidates. To be honest, I only have field experience with Wilson's and incidental book knowledge of Collared. Never heard of Long-billed before writing this post.

Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia)
Photo Copyright 2007 - Pascal Aleixandre

Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris)
Photo Copyright - Christian Artuso

Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus)
Photo Copyright 2002 - Dick Newell

Just before the dream ended, we passed a stock tank. Spotting a Killdeer, I attempted to point out some similarities and differences between it and the birds in the photos. Might as well have been with goats by the reaction - or lack of it. Did I mention most of the drama took place on a bus, or RV? Travelling this way is probably great in the real world, but I don't recommend it for dreambirding - especially when you're stuck with a group that could've been the rejects from the "Bad Girls Club", or "Rock of Love"... like peanut butter and sardines... *shudder*.

International Man of... Eccentricity!

2008-12-29T14:09:00.003-06:00

As part of a much longer, bizarrely convoluted, plot involving cult members, gigantic bioluminescent goo-like aliens, terrorism, appearing in court (not related to terrorism) and pathetically stereotypical fratboys with a penchant for assaulting people with throw pillows... I went birding.

Gadwall (Anas strepera)

Image online here

The dream began with younger folks and I slogging through the perimeter of a marsh adjacent to a pond. A few Gadwall floated in the distant open water.

The scene then jumped to a road near the marsh/pond complex. A young brown-haired man, wearing a royal blue polo shirt and khakis, stepped out of the forest. He walked up to me and asked if I wanted to go birding. No, he never did ask if I was interested in extended warrantees. Indeed, I did want to go birding, and I just happened to be equipped with my binoculars (you know by now how I feel about these in dreams). The only other birds I remember are several inspecific passerines flitting about 30 or so feet up in the trees along the edge of the forest. This same forest ultimately led downhill to the marsh and pond.

Le fin.

Brushing the Cobwebs Off This One

2008-12-25T19:24:00.002-06:00

Upon awakening the morning after the dream mentioned in my last post, I mistakenly presumed that was the first time I'd dreamt about hummingbirds. It wasn't until I finished writing today that I remembered a fantastic hummingbird dream from several months ago.

I was walking along a dirt road through a Central Texas forest; lots of juniper, and other small trees. A couple of friends were with me, but I was keeping my eyes out for birds. Movement in a tree to my right drew my attention. It was a hummingbird! Holy Cow, a dream first! Like a real hummer this one zoomed away after only a few seconds. Also much like in the real world, I didn't move but a skoche or two from that spot; anticipating an eventual return.

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufous) - male

Image online here

The little guy did not disappoint. It did, however, play coy a bit by nervously hovering from leaf-cluster to leaf-cluster for a while. We birders have it rough, don't we? It eventually moved into the open. It was essentially a Rufous Hummingbird but it had a magenta gorget and two splendidly long streamer-like tail feathers - also orange. Very cool, indeed!

Here is where my memory gets a bit sketchy after 7+ months. I came across other hummingbirds, in the middle act of the dream, but no specifics are coming.

I continued to walk down a path that intersected Shoal Creek at the north end of Pease Park. This is a popular park, containing over a mile of Shoal Creek, bordering the west side of downtown Austin. Feeling easy n' breezy, I lay down on the far bank. Shoal Creek is a rocky, bone dry, stream bed 95%+ of the year. Spring flowers to my left, dry creek and park to my right, and a perfectly lazy sky above. Could it get any better? You bet.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) - male

Image online here

I wasn't long into my cumulous reverie when another flying gem graced my presence. A hummingbird buzzed up to a flower, right next to me. In fact, he hovered directly over my face! At that moment the neatest thing happened! Everything stopped moving. Like a scene out of "The Matrix", my point-of-view became external of my body. I was free to move this "camera" to anywhere, any angle, I wanted. Of course, I used this opportunity to check out the hummer in amazing detail. This was when it became obvious the visitor was a male Anna's Hummingbird. These are the kind of moments where words are inadequate. It was awesome! Truly, one of my favorite dream experiences.

Looked Out A Window And What Did I See?

2008-12-24T10:35:00.002-06:00

A hummingbird staring back at me! And quite a handsome one at that. I don't know hummers south of the border well enough to out which species, so I'll just describe it as best I can.

The dream sighting was one of my briefest. I was inside a house, sitting and talking with a unknown woman. A movement just outside the bay window to my right caught my attention. I have no recollection of what I or the woman was talking about. In the zone, I quickly spot a hummingbird doing the methodical feeding manouvers only they can do.

Zooming in on it revealed an exotic, south of the border species. It looked like a cross between a Green Violet-ear, and a White-eared Hummingbird. In addition the bird had a buffy breast band, just below the gorget. If this actually is a real-world species, feel free to let me know.

A Nightmare... of Sorts

2008-12-24T03:15:00.003-06:00

Think "Soylent Green", "A Scanner Darkly", or a similarly dark last-second plot twist. Thus I call this dream a nightmare "... of sorts". A lesser reason: I had binoculars. Being able to zoom in on birds without binoculars, as I usually do in these dreams, rocks! Let this not become a trend.

The dream found me walking out the backdoor of a strip-mall store. Presumably this was my place of employment. There I find a small field about an acre in size, dotted with various shrubs. The sun shone brightly, at an early morning angle.

Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)

Image online here

There was passerine activity in nearby shrubs. I couldn't resist investigating. What work?!?! The first bird I find is a winner; a female Mountain Bluebird. The second, a Blue Jay. The third, a female Yellow Warbler.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Image online here

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)

Image online here

The last bird I was flitting about in an adjacent small tree. It turned out to be an Oak Titmouse. Within seconds, the bird stopped moving within the middle branches. Not really noteworthy, at first. A few more seconds later it was still a birdcicle. I took a closer look, and moved my hand to touch it - nothing. I look closer. The scene looked like a museum diorama; in a word - creepy.

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)

Image online here

To my shock, the bird had transmogrified into a larger-than-life-sized stuffed animal; similar to those cute "Audubon" critters. I pick up the plush bird and brought it back into the building to show my coworkers. Inside, I see the back room has several bins filled with stuffed toys of various bird species. One contains scores of... Oak Titmouse.

...Noooooooooooooooooo!

Am I a Man Dreaming I Was a Bird...

2008-12-20T19:27:00.007-06:00

or am I really a bird dreaming I am a man? I paraphrase the metaphysical lesson of Taoist patriarch Chuang Tsu (Chou). Here's several translations: http://www.chineseboxing.ca/bfly.html

On the evening of December 18th, 2008, I dreamt I was a bird for the first time in my life. It was among the more vivid and lucid dream-experiences I've had. And it was awesome!

The dream started near the crest of a long-sloped hill. An enchanting palette of Autumn carpeted the view to the horizon in all directions. I burst out of a tree, into flight, accompanied by a smattering of White-winged Doves.

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

Image online here

Fluttering nearly straight up, we attained a cruising altitude of a few hundred feet quickly. With powerful swiftness, we made our way downslope. Others soon joined the flock.

Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)

Image online here

A noisesome little character took the lead. It stayed there long enough for me to identify it as a Budgerigar. It was a yellow variant. I couldn't see its cere so I never found out the gender. Of some note: I don't remember being able to see colors flouresce on the budgie, from UV spectra, as birds would. A few moments later, he hung a hard left and I followed. The "piteousness" of doves disappeared. I glanced down; and perhaps in moment of humaness, get queasy with vertigo.

We continued to wing much higher; at least to several hundred feet. With much concentration and willpower I overcame the unbirdly spell of vertigo. I began my descent. Not halfway down I spot a new flock heading my way. Huzzah! It is a "company" of macaws, and a few other indeterminable passerines. After a few moments flying together, we began a counterclockwise circuit toward a roost in the forest below.

During these moments of relative calm, I took stock of my new compatriots in detail. The macaws were preternaturally, colored; a feathered rainbow. Most have a base of bright scarlet, a few blue or purple. There was a single green one, but none of any other colors.

Crimson-collared Grosbeak (Rhodothraupis celaeno)

Image online here

More and more macaws join the vortex as the treetops rise up to meet us. Two passerines are identifiable: a male Crimson-collared Grosbeak and a male Lawrence's Goldfinch.

Lawrence's Goldfinch (Carduelis lawrencei)

Image online here

The roost below straddled a part of the forest recently drowned. Several acres are defoliated, though the bark is intact. Moments before I alighted among the upper branches, I heard a human wordlessly gasp in delight. The woman then excitedly told someone else she had just seen a very rare bird. Looking around I saw the two passerines, mentioned above, nearby.

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri)

Image online here

Turning again, I saw two Cockatoos perched on the lowest limbs some fifty or so feet away to my left. The pair was breathtaking beautiful. I glided down to within six or so feet of the 'toos and the senior couple. In rapt fascination they slowly reached out to make contact with the birds. I was surprised when the 'toos obliged, allowing them to gently stroke the feathers of their crest, head and neck. The Cockatoos are an intense indigo from bill to retrices, with sheening highlights of purple along their backs and scapulars. Tail feathers are long and teal. Their crests display a soft-marbling interplay between indigo, lavender, purple and white. The closest resembling real world species is the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo.

Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens)

Image online here

I run through the possible identities of this species. Erroneously, "Magnificent Macaw" came to mind first. I then settled on "Emperor Macaw". Ooops! The "magnificent" perhaps came from a superficial similarity with the Magnificent Hummingbird. "Emperor" I can only imagine was my attempt at equating the birds' aesthetics with regal presence.

I then noticed myself reaching out toward the birds. Ironically, instead of feathers, I see my very human left hand move slowly into view toward one of the 'toos' heads. Before I could make contact, the dream faded to black. What a wild ride!