you're the bird of my life

This week-end, after I've had had bad news, I decided to take action and blow the cobwebs away by listing the birds I saw all around the world.

I've always been a bird lover, thanks to my parents who opened my eyes to those beauties and incredible facts about them. I learned about birdwatching as soon as I started to walk and talk; and whenever I travel somewhere new, a birdwatching guide is the first thing I buy and put in my luggage. The four guides I used around the world so far are my favourite books ever.

Till today I was lucky enough to count no less that 378 different species of birds that I could watch all around the world, fro the Andes cordillera to the shores of the Bengale sea, from Shakotan to Durness and the Magellan detroit.

So here are my three best memories of birds.

When I traveled to Japan, we managed to book a trip to Kushiro and, in spite of the cold (25°C below zero), we went to see the awakening of the red crowned cranes by the hot spring river. As the sun rose, we were suddenly surrounded by steams of gold; the hot water rising from the ground and freezing with the bite of the cold. The cranes would wake up and their cries would crack in the frost, like breaking ice under our feet. Slowly they would rise and fly away, reaching the fields all across the neighbourhood, and at last they would dance. Like arrows pointing at the sky and spreading their wings, welcoming life, then graciously falling back to the ground. A dream shaped like a wave, rising up and coming down, and up again. Goddesses of the snow.

Then there was this bird sanctuary in India. We also wanted to see the awakening of the birds so we left our Tamil Nadu village at 3 in the night and took a trip with our motorbike for more than two hours across the dark indian countryside. This trip alone was worth the journey, as I can still see the incredible images that were parading in front of my eyes; firecamps with faces illuminated, herd of goats lying by the road, cries of unknown animals ringing at our ears, traffic lights from left and right, coming and disappearing into the night, yellow dust by the beam of the motorbike...

And then the awakening of thousands of giant birds. The most deafening sound you can imagine. Pelicans and spoonbills and ibis and storks screaming all around. And as the golden sun was rising from the ground, their cries would gradually rise too, like a continuous wave of sound reaching its limit when the sun would completely be out. And you also had to be careful to avoid monkeys trying to steal your breakfast while you were coming up and down the trail with your binoculars.

And there was this summer. My husband and I took a road trip across Scotland. The most important destination for me was Lunga Island, a small uninhabited island at the far west of Scotland that we reached with a small boat from Staffa tour.

What an amazing day we had. We could see thousands of puffins at a time, flying all around us or walking at less than three meters from us, with their cunning and curious stare, floating by the scottish wind close to our face, nesting, fishing, feeding their chicks, enjoying a moment looking around... and they are the most beautiful creatures my eyes have ever seen (except maybe for my cat).

I fell in love with these very small and coloured birds, with sweet eyes and gentle walk, and I thank all the Gods of nature for these amazing moments of grace.

I love you birdies.