Mucho Aves

Leaving the cold and dark of the Northeast winter we spend a day travelling, getting settled in. The morning brings a warm sun, and the music of the birds. Each morning I revel in the chorus of so many different songs. Outside our trailer I place halved oranges. I am fascinated at how the birds share. The bright orange Baja Orioles, the Gila woodpeckers the common red finch, several others that I don't recognize and even the white winged doves all take turns pecking away at the fruit. Hummingbirds of all colors and sizes flit about sucking nectar from the many bright bougainvillea flowers.

A block away by the sea is another world, full of birds. Pelicans, so awkward on the ground, glide gracefully inches above the water. A squadron of Blue Footed Boobies circles, and on the signal of the squadron leader, fold their wings and strafe the water like darts. Moments later they all pop to the surface, and re-group. some successful, some not. Terns and Gulls wait to steal anything they can from the others. Cormorants dive and surface, Egrets and Sandpipers stalk the shallows. Regal Frigates soar, then skim the water precisely, stabbing an unsuspecting sardina.

The arroyos and canyons bring us to yet another world, Roadrunners dart, Cactus Wrens chirp, Ravens and vultures soar together in the rising thermals. Long legged meadowlarks prance through the shallow streams. Red Tail Hawks and Golden Eagles scour the hillsides for prey.

At some point we all wish we could be a bird, to soar so effortlessly, to ride the wind, to be so free.

In Baja, you almost can....