Bike Birding
Combining outdoor hobbies
Random thoughts bounce around my brain as I
bicycle away from my
house in Jamestown, New
York. Federal deficit,
bank bonuses, global
warming—where is the
good news?
I have to stop at several intersections before
leaving the city. After the
second stop (well, “rolling
stop,” anyway), a wonderful, burbling, musical song interrupts the
bad-news discussion in
my mind. My first house
wren of the year has just
sung. Then, in quick succession, the cheeping of
house sparrows, the clicking of European starlings,
and the cheer-o-lee of an
American robin drown
out any further rumina-tion and bring me into
the present beautiful
spring day.
JOHANN SCHUMACHER
Willow flycatcher.
thoMas
siMMons
