Feather Song

Summary

The text describes the author's daily experience of witnessing the majestic flight of pelicans along a coastal bluff, reflecting on the beauty and impact of nature.

Abstract

The author recounts the awe-inspiring spectacle of pelicans flying close to the edge of a high bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, detailing their daily walks and the proximity to the birds that leaves them speechless and entranced by the natural world. The pelicans, flying in groups of twenty or thirty, are described as ungraceful on takeoff and landing but majestic in flight, skimming the air with royal grace. The author feels a deep connection to this daily display of nature's glory, which is so profound it makes them forget language and the act of walking, reducing them to silent appreciation.

Opinions

The author is deeply moved by the pelicans' flight, considering it a majestic and unruly display of nature's beauty.
The pelicans' proximity to the author during their flight is a source of delight and wonder, making the experience feel intimate and personal.
Despite the pelicans' lack of elegance during takeoff and landing, the author admires their flight, comparing it to royalty skating on air.
The author believes that the sight they witness daily is something people travel great distances to see, highlighting the unique and valuable nature of their backyard experience.
The author expresses a profound connection to the natural world, feeling as though they are part of an "orgy of feather and wind" during these encounters with the pelicans.
The author, struck by the beauty of the scene, considers themselves fortunate to have such a display of nature's glory in their backyard, to the point of pinching themselves to confirm its reality.

The Pelicans’ Flight

These pelicans fly so near — I can hear feathers sing

I have the soaring glory of nature in my back yard.

The wonder of this road that I walk every morning and most afternoons is that it hugs the very edge of the high bluff that plummets down to the sand below and the Pacific Ocean just beyond. At low tide there’s a wide span of compact sand between the bluff and the water, but at high tide the ocean licks bluffy feet and if there’s a strong wind to boot, frothy ankles and calves as well.

My daily path overlooks that big, big, unruly water out there.

Birds that fly or glide (as in seagulls) about the sand below, will still fly at (or below) my road-bound eye level, ear level, and often very closely.

Just like these pelicans that keep coming in batches of twenty or thirty right now, almost within arm’s reach.

Do they have any idea, I wonder, of the effect they create within this dumbfounded human who almost shivers with delight in seeing them? No, I don’t think so, and if they do, well, they keep the straightest faces of all god’s creatures.

They are not the most graceful risers, nor the most skilled landers, but once in the air, and with a little head- (or tail-) wind, they skate the air like royalty.

And still they keep coming, twenty more, and after that twenty more.

I have forgotten how to walk. I have forgotten language, both English and Swedish. Struck dumb I dwell in an ongoing (oncoming) orgy of feather and wind.

People drive half a continent to see this. Here’s the soaring glory of nature in my back yard.

And, again, I pinch myself just to make sure.

Feather Song

The Pelicans’ Flight

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