I know the birds are back every year because of my two cats, Nutmeg, and Jinxy. The moment a bird lets out a chirp, one of them is in the window, crying, or making a strange clicking noise. The clicking noise, I was relieved to discover, is a completely normal sound cats make.
I’ve seen all sorts of birds in my neighborhood, everything from robins, to larger birds.
My favorite fowls, have to be the turkey gang that visits almost every year. There’s usually about 30 of them. A big Tom always leads them. To me, Turkeys are truly the dodo birds of our time. I was sitting outside, and one of them trying to come up to me, just strutting along. It didn’t have a care in the world.
I do enjoy seeing them, as long as they stay far away from me. I confess, I’m afraid of most birds. Growing up, My Mother, of Romanian descent, filled my head with superstitions of birds. She was terrified of, accidentally, killing a bird. I recall a cat of ours accidentally, let a bird in the house, once, my Mother was in a tizzy trying to get the thing out of the house. My mother felt killing a bird, allowing one in your home, and a bird hitting your window and dying meant death.
I find the chirps of Cardinals and Blue Jays to me the most pleasant sounding birds.
Hummingbirds are also wonderful birds.
When I see birds, it makes me happy, but, I’m also a little worried, my other’s old superstitions filling my head. To me, birds are a sign of our short spring, but they can also be a warning.