I'm not sure if its my recent 40th birthday, or the upcoming 4th anniversary of this blog, or what, but I seem to be succumbing to some serious navel-gazing!
And what do I see, besides some extra flab? Why, a great big bird in the middle of my bellybutton!
To most people, having a bird in your belly would probably be cause for a visit to the hospital emergency room.
For me, it just leaves me puzzled.
Are birds too big a part of my life? Have they crowded out other things to the point where they are sometimes an irritant, like a flicker in your navel?
Once, I asked a friend if he ever thought birds had ruined his life. He scoffed at the notion. But I wonder. Do I ever, personally, take it too far?
After more than six months of getting my Bird RDA every day, I've fallen off the wagon. I can't tell right now if I am itching to chase birds in some exotic far away land, or if I just want a nap.
Am I in trouble, or what? Has my case progressed beyond Bird Induced Attention Deficit Disorder (BIADD) to develop into a dangerous Acute Birding Induced Malaise (ABIM)?
What happens when birds burrow so deeply into your soul, that you have a hard time functioning without them, yet they seem to be eating away at the rest of your life? When you feel all hollowed out, like a flicker snag, heavy and over-sodden in a rainstorm?
We love to speak of the joy of birding. But what of the burden? The dangers of peering too deeply into the heart of something so alien, that it numbs the mind?
I suspect more birding isn't the remedy for that. I need bird rehab. Not the kind where you take injured birds. More of a Betty Ford Center for birders who have gone too far!
But in lieu of that, perhaps its best to just settle in for a nice long nap! A couple days of rest is apt to be a tonic for the bird blinkered soul!
Birding Shanghai in October 2024
3 hours ago