A Glimpse of a Migration

These guys flew right over my head, from one end of our property to the other. They were all honking at once in an excited frenzy and the noise was unmistakeable but i was too busy trying to locate them through the trees and neglected to pull out and unlock my phone until they were basically gone. They were flying in a check mark formation. My heart filled with joy as i knew these guys had left early enough to beat hunting season. I watched as these huge dark feathered geese that had flown right over my head became fuzzy lines in the distance and then faded from view altogether, their honking barely audible. I remembered how the city of Denver Colorado had taken a vote one night and decided they were sick of the goose poop in the park and shot them all. I used to visit them when i went to see my aunt and uncle. I was fascinated by the presence of these huge hissing birds who would run around with wings outstretched and poop green slime everywhere. So too was my little cousin, like me in so many ways. He would chase the birds with glee while my Uncle shook his head and stood by ready to grab him when the bird grew tired of this game and decided to charge. My little cousin got it. There was something magical about a bird as big as he was that went “HONK” every few minutes. And then one morning they were just gone. That is the danger for all things wild in the city. They might massacre you if you don’t fit into the neatly manicured scene. You see, in the city there are no dung beetles to roll turds away with impressive speed and thoroughness. The sidewalks show green goo in a way that fields and swamps don’t. This small group of geese would be safe. Perhaps they would make it to their destination. Hunting season began in early November and they were flying over country where nobody cared if they pooped. I whispered “good luck” and they were gone.

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: