Of a Feather: Snow with wings | Lifestyles

It is only natural to begin to reminisce more as one gets older. There is more to look back on. And especially, there are more birds to look back on. Recently, I was asked what my most memorable bird sighting of the year was. For a change, it was an easy thing to name: seeing condors in Colorado. I never expected to see so rare a bird. Never mind 500 miles from where they were “supposed to be.”

Once upon a time migrating geese could be counted on to be flying north in the spring and south in the fall. With the explosion of a resident Canada goose population that is no longer the case. Perhaps because these geese seem to adore landscapes I dislike — golf courses and shopping malls. I don’t really look at them the same way anymore. Of course, it isn’t their fault that they were raised as living decoys for generations and then released without ceremony, their migration impulse destroyed.