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"It is truly wonderful how the small voices of birds reach into one anothers' hearts, and into ours."
- John Muir
by Meg McPhaden
Freedom. Endless clear sky. The birds sing as they soar, as they migrate across continents. The desire and necessity for travel causes caged birds to beat themselves to death during the time of migration. The pull is so strong that these birds will orient themselves in the direction of their migration.
We are migrating south for the winter. We have the freedom to travel along the grey ribbons of this country. We were made to move. With the most advanced respiratory system in the animal kingdom, birds are the closest present animals to dinosaurs. We should listen to the songs of the birds before they are gone. These creatures are experts at adaptation, and remind us of our primeval desire for movement across the land.
Although society pushes us to stay, create a community, watch the world change from the windows of our homes, the great pull to journey is still within us. As we watch birds fly by, soaring with the wind, we believe in freedom and long to be there with them. This human desire for migration manifests itself in our fascination, concern, and respect for birds.
The symbol of our country is a bald eagle; a large, flying predator. The United States was founded through flight. Pilgrims fled their countries for this free land. The Western cowboy dream especially reflects the desire for journey, for the Wild West has no boundaries. Every day offers a new horizon, and every evening rests on different soil. It is difficult for Americans to sit still. Occupying the same house for an entire life is extremely rare. Second homes are highly valued, because confinement to a single location is undesireable. Travel is romanticized. We long for vacations. By settling, we have domesticated ourselves, and have stunted our migratory desires.
Human settlement has caused huge environmental problems. Water diversion and irrigation for agriculture, grazing of domestic livestock, logging for stationary houses, urban sprawl, unwillingness to change, and the creation of unnecessary things to keep us amused in our sedentary lifestyles are a few of these problems. Excess air conditioning and energy for heat are used to compensate for the fact that we no longer live in, or move to, environments where we could naturally survive. Water is used excessively in urban areas, 60% of which is used for landscaping. If we are not satisfied with how our front lawn looks, why don't we move to a place where we enjoy the natural surroundings?
Desire for greener grass has embedded tourism into our cultural desires. Go see America! Yellowstone awaits you! We want to "see" things; to snap a photo then leave. Tourism is destruction. The desire to experience rather than participate has driven out those who genuinely want to participate. Is it really better to travel than stay in one place? Perhaps the method we have chosen is detrimental. But we cannot erase the desire to move from our DNA. Movement calms babies.
When we cannot travel, perhaps we are sustained vicariously through the liberating flight of winged species. When a bird is injured or dies, a little part of us dies as well. Concern for birds launched the environmental movement in the United States when Rachel Carson revealed birds might stop singing and die from pesticide use in Silent Spring. Concern over threatened bird populations led the Audubon Society to commence water restoration in Mono Lake. The Audubon Society is the largest environmental organization in the United States, and the Audubon Christmas bird count is the largest amateur scientific effort in the world. Photos of birds on the Owens Valley Committee brochure help to inspire water restoration in California. The Bulgarian environmental movement was launched when concerned individuals laid rodenticide-killed bird corpses along the steps of the capital building. When a species that can fly far away to escape from tribulation can no longer survive, something is terribly wrong. Birds carry the messages of environmental problems.
The emotional appeal of birds can be used to effectively increase awareness and concern for the environment. Mike Prather of the Owens Valley Committee reveals that the Eastern Sierra Birding Trail "has brought green votes side by side with the Chambers." A group of ranchers in the borderlands of Mexico and New Mexico lead ranchers and environmentalists alike on bird walks through a landscape they both care deeply about. The common love of birds should be used for collaboration in environmental change.
When the environment is experiencing horrific destruction, we too, want to escape from this world. Fly away like birds. Find solace in open sky, clean air and flight. Flying dreams. Hope is the thing with feathers. White doves released into the air symbolize peace, something that often does not occur on land. Birdsongs fill the air. "I want to get away, I want to fly away." "I'm as free as a bird now." "Blackbird…learn to fly...all your life you were only waiting for this moment to arrive."
Everyone can relate to birds, because they are everywhere. Their songs permeate our culture. Pigeons nest in the deepest, darkest cracks of intercity buildings, albatross haunt ships over endless seas, and the Arctic Tern annually migrates 30,000 kilometers, from the top to the bottom of the world and back again. The stork delivers babies, angels have feathered wings, cunning Raven stole the sun, Big Bird brings joy, paper cranes beg for peace, and nightingales sing us songs of love. Abundant bird imagery left on pottery and red canyon walls reveal the deep reverence the Anasazi people of the Southwest held for birds and waterfowl. No one wants to harm these feathered creatures.
We have taken birds under our wings, for we long to preserve the freedom of flight and migration. We need to preserve this wildness and freedom, for we no longer possess it ourselves. We have forgotten how to fly. But winged silhouettes at sunset still inspire. Our sympathies are with the birds. Environmental movement and change relies on compassion for and increased awareness of these creatures. Spread the song! Clean, open air awaits us. The future rests on these wings.