![Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by [Noah K. Strycker, Kenn Kaufman]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+DbAB8VYL.jpg)
This year for Christmas I was given a book called, “Birding without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest and the Biggest Year in the World.” Intrigued, I immediately flipped it open to read the first sentence. “On New Year’s Day, superstitious birdwatchers like to say, the very first bird you see is an omen for the future.”
Ooooooh.
As someone who tries to say “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” each month and wishes on stars and pie corners and loves birds, I loved this idea. However, I was slightly wary. The future has been unrolling some mighty unpleasant things these days. I’ve also never dared go to a fortune teller or palm reader. The idea of doing so sends shivers down my spine. I’m not sure exactly what I think will happen, but I’m pretty convinced I’ll walk in, they’ll look into the ball, or into my hand, and either scream, faint, or back away in terror. So, did I really want a sneak peek? Even through a bird intermediary?
New Year’s Day 2022 dawned.
I had an odd start to the day–first I woke at 1:30 am (at which time I whispered “Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit” and nudged my husband to tell him to do the same, since you can never have too much luck), then I fell back asleep only to wake up fully at 3 am. I got up, putzed around til about 5:30, fell asleep on the couch for another hour, then woke again. Later, I was settled in, writing, when I suddenly realized I hadn’t noticed the daylight steadily increasing outside. No doubt the birds were already in full swing at the feeders. I couldn’t really avoid seeing birds all day long, so I guess my decision was made. I was going to look.
What kind of bird would I see when I looked? What kind of year would I have?
Our typical feathered visitors are chickadees, goldfinch, tufted titmice, nuthatches, blue jays, cardinals and a variety of woodpeckers. Most of those seemed like they’d have a positive interpretation, so I felt like the odds must be in my favor.
Deliberately, I raised my eyes from my notebook. The first thing I noticed were three mourning doves perched in the birch tree. Not one. Not two. But three of them. (I guess that was in case I didn’t notice the first one. Or the second one.) So, we do have mourning doves around sometimes, but they definitely aren’t daily visitors. The symbolism felt obvious even without a google search and even though I knew this wasn’t a real omen, more of a fun game, I felt my spirits sink. 2021 had plenty of mourning in it and the thought of a year marked by more of it was discouraging, to say the least.
I half-heartedly googled “mourning dove symbolism” and found that a mourning dove is “a symbol of sorrow and mourning”. No surprise there. Then I read further: “The mourning dove is, above all other symbolism, a spiritual messenger of peace, love, and faith.” Peace. Love. Faith. A year marked with those would surely be a positive one, right?
Here’s hoping.
Nix the comfort zone 
I didn’t know about that superstition. I’ve been seeing a fluffy male cardinal lately. He’s striking. Here’s hoping you have more peace, love, and faith this year.
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This was new to me as well, Margaret. Here’s hoping we all find more peace, love and faith this coming year!
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Fascinating! I hadn’t heard about that superstition.
I am a fan of mourning doves. Here’s to peace, love, and faith in the new year.
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I love the subtlety of their coloring and those blue-ringed eyes. Hope your new year is off to a great start, Tabatha!
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Mourning doves are one of my favorite birds! I love seeing them and love hearing their owl-like call. And a year of peace, love, and faith sounds wonderful!
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They are lovely birds, aren’t they? Thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting!
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Wow. I know it’s YOUR premonition for the new year, but by sharing it, I hope it becomes everyone’s. (Plus, I love the craft of your writing. Those short-short paragraphs are masterful. Especially that ending. Kudos.)
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Wouldn’t it be nice if only the positive things were contagious? I would love to catch a good case of optimism. In the meantime, I will do my best to shed and share some of my viral load of peace, love and faith. (not sure about that imagery! lol)
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I have never gone to a psychic or a fortune teller. I’m too susceptible to their predictions. The good thing is that over time I forgot a lot. It’s usually a blessing. And how in the world do you get so many birds! The birds in York County treat us like we are Motel 6. One, mind you one cardinal in the last six weeks! Gardeners can have magic thumbs. You as a feeder of birds have your only special magic. Send some south, please!
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I had to laugh at your comment about birds because everyone in my household has heard my envious grumbles about the wealth of fabulous bird sightings in York County (posted in Maine Birds on Facebook)!
Over the years I’ve added a variety of feeders and foods, but the two biggest game changers for us were switching to black oil sunflower seed and buying some platform feeders (which we stock with ridiculously expensive fruit and nut bird seed mixtures).
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How do you keep the squirrels and chipmunks off the platform feeders? Or do the varmints just get their share?
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The squirrels and chipmunks do help themselves, but honestly they tend to go more to the traditional seed feeders than the platforms. (Of course, I don’t have any squirrel-proof feeders, so maybe they’re content with easy pickings.)
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Everyone’s gotta eat!
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