I couldn’t have asked for better teachers (+ Video)

Watching the work at the Bird Ringing Station in the botanical garden of Quinta de los Molinos has been one of the most delightful and inspiring experiences I’ve had lately.

I feel it as a privilege to learn a little more about my friends the birds, through practice; right beside them, and those who study them. In this case, I couldn’t have asked for better teachers than these young people—so cheerful and yet so responsible—for you only need to see the delicacy with which they hold such fragility.

I can also say they possess a contagious and inspiring freshness that I adore, so you can imagine how impossible it is to turn down an invitation like that, especially when it takes place in a setting where your soul is constantly caressed by the magic of nature.

In a recent session, just two days ago, I came across the North American Bird Identification Guide—a remarkably extensive and detailed book that offers a wealth of useful information for understanding these marvellous creatures. From now on, I might even start calling it Peter Pyle’s “red book”… ;)

Another way I learn there is by listening attentively. I heard the girls mention why the little palm swifts are so restless. How curious it was for me to learn that their legs are so reduced they cannot perch on branches or walk on the ground. I had no idea. They only rest for a certain time when they have chicks, and they do so in their nest… incredible, but true. They are birds designed to fly and fly, with hardly any pause.

I also take advantage, between the pauses and the rounds they make every twenty minutes through the fine nets set up around the area, to photograph whatever catches my attention. This time it was the cannonball tree, whose flowers strike me as rare and at the same time beautiful; a worker at Quinta in his daily tasks; some objects used for observing and handling the birds; and certain moments of that process which I found interesting.

Other things that captivate me deeply are the play of light and shadow among the branches of the trees; the apparent stillness of all the creatures living there in perfect harmony, when the sun is still too weak to pierce the dense foliage; and then, that gradual awakening with songs and flutterings here and there… moments I can sometimes capture also in words.

What a great concert for inspiration and serenity, which every human being needs!

So, I leave you with these photographs and the promise of returning to that paradise which comforts me so much.

May all the magic that accompanied me while writing this post have reached you too, in these brief minutes you spent here with me.

Music from Pixabay.

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