El Lago

8 Replies

Coots and grackles replace the white pelicans
who have circled over in their last goodbye
like other snowbirds heading north.
Sandpipers whistle their reedy pipes,
as if to rein in the small boy
who runs with a rag of kite
streaming out behind him,
creating his own wind.

This is just one stanza of a longer poem. just publishing it here again along with this photo I wanted to show  Annie H. in response to her photos and narration  about choughs sent in reply to a question I had about them. A chough is  a type of crow we don’t have here in Mexico. I, however, love watching their cousin  the Grackle. pictured here strutting along the beach in La Manzanilla.! We have lots of them around Lake Chapala as well.

This entry was posted in bird images, bird poem and tagged , , on by .
Unknown's avatar

About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

8 thoughts on “El Lago”

  1. slmret's avatarslmret

    I love this poem, Judy — especially the concept of snowbirds flying north for the winter! I remember hearing about choughs when I was little (daughter of an English mother), but I always thought they were just crows! Interesting that they are another ‘level’ of that family!

    Like

    Reply ↓
  2. Annie H's avatarAnnie H

    Lovely. We don’t normally get grackles here – I have seen them in Florida and the Carribean, and I know there are several species. But last year one turned up in a village car park, and was visited by many birdwatchers. It even charmed the locals because it was so tame. It almost certainly hitched a ride on one of the oil tankers moored out in the bay. They have a habit of doing that, although this is probably the furthest one has actually travelled by such means.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
      1. Annie H's avatarAnnie H

        Birds can be so infuriating to record – performing at their best when either you don’t have a recording machine (my efforts go back a long way) or there is too much background noise, or their sounds are impossible for humans to articulate or write down. But I do like birds that chunter on and on to themselves or anyone else who will listen!

        Like

        Reply ↓

Leave a comment