Circles

The changing of the seasons reminds us that life moves in circles. Birth, growth, maturity, death, rebirth … I know I don’t need to remind you of this.

If you’ve been a longtime reader, you know I’ve written extensively about my patrols with FLAP. I was surprised by how rewarding these experiences were, although my very last patrol of the season resulted in a bit of heartbreak as I became emotionally invested in a little least flycatcher that, in the end, had to be euthanized.

This week, I got the e-mail that some birds are starting to move south again (I imagine that many of these early starts are those that winter in South America). So I arranged to start my patrols early next week.

Today, however, I happened to decide on a different route to go to work, and as I was walking down the street, I saw a little bird sitting on the ground next to an office building, ignored by the many passers-by. As I approached it, I saw it wasn’t just some stupid sparrow but a true migratory songbird, and that it was in relatively good shape except for its laboured breathing. I had a surge of worry and adrenaline, as I didn’t have a net. I stuffed my book in my backpack to free both hands and slowly approached it from its blind spot. And gently caught it in my hands.

The bird felt a bit cold and it didn’t move much at first, but its feathers weren’t as ruffled as some of those I’d caught in the spring, which I took as a good sign. I didn’t have anything to put it in. I gave a mental shrug and wandered around downtown Toronto with a bird in my hands, toward the holding station at the Ernst and Young Tower.

It was only after I dropped the bird off that I realized that this bird was a flycatcher (my adrenaline-addled brain knew I’d seen one like it before, but I couldn’t remember what it was). Later, I found out that it was a slightly different species of flycatcher than the one I’d invested so much emotionally in the spring (this one was a yellow-bellied flycatcher), but this one had been in such good shape that, later today, it was released back into the wild away from Toronto.

Another of nature’s circles to welcome me back into this rewarding work. Almost as though it was specifically crafted by the Universe for me and to heal that bird-sized wound.