WHY I LOVE BIRDS

Most of the photos that I take are of birds. It's been that way for over 40 years.  While I always noticed birds, I never really understood them...  until 1977 when I took up Skydiving. It was at that point that I started to identify with birds. I knew how they felt when flying. I knew that under parachute, I landed the exact same way they did.  That is... FLAIR, right before you land and if all goes right, you tiptoe in for a nice soft landing. Planes do the same thing when they land, but being inside a metal tube is not even close to being out there with nothing around you but blue sky and a canopy of nylon above your head. I leaned that birds are actually HAPPY when they fly, just like me.   I have cage birds myself, but I never keep them in a cage until it's time for sleep.  Anyone who doesn't allow their birds to fly is a cruel person.  It would be like cutting off your legs and expecting you to be as happy as if you had legs. Birds MUST be able to fly in order to keep them happy and healthy.  Again... imagine you didn't move your legs for a couple of years. What would you think might happen when you tried to walk again?   Birds must exercise their muscles to stay in shape just like we do.  More importantly, they are (again) happy to fly.  I know this because when I take my birds outside to their aviary, they take off like a shot, flying back and forth, all the while chirping like mad.  "FREEDOM"...  is what they think, even though it's only 20 feet.

My main point is that unless you've flown like the birds, not inside of a machine, but out in the open, you'll never understand the feeling that the birds have. You'll never understand how folding your arms to your side and pointing your body like a dart, whereby hitting 200 miles per hour like a Falcon, or just flying around at 12000 feet under canopy and traveling 10 miles in the process if you want.... well... you simply will never know.

In closing, here are the reasons that I love birds: They are beautiful. They are one of the best animals for the environment. They give us their wonderful songs.  They taught us to fly.  It was the birds that man looked to in order to attempt to get off the ground.  I have flown with the birds. I have learned to fly like the birds. I know the feeling of excitement and freedom of flight... REAL flight. Not in a tin can.  They always claimed that a motorcycle is the epitome of freedom, but as a rider for 50 years, I can tell you it ain't so. Only skydiving can give you that.

All bird photos taken by Author.

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