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# / Author
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CLI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Hot afternoon —
robins at the bird bath
take turns bathing.
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CLII
Vaughn Seward
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bayou swamp...
all around our boat
it's thick with swans
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CLIII
Dustin Neal
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the cattle egret
stepping in closer —
the neighbor's newborn calf
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CLIV
Dustin Neal
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workers
pause to stare —
the barn swallow looks away
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CLV
Hugh Bygott
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In spring shadows,
Swallows find their own barn loft . . .
for some, only the sea.
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| Experiments with tagged birds have found that some English Swallows return to the same barn each year. However, the long journey to Table Mountain in South Africa where they winter and the return migration journey claim many lives. HB |
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CLVI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Skylark's trills —
a fisherman takes his first ide
off the hook.
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CLVII
Vaughn Seward
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garbage day...
a magpie hops onto the
truck door
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CLVIII
Hugh Bygott
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Safety of the night —
out of rabbit holes they come . . .
the Manx Shearwaters.
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| This might seem a fanciful poem. However, using infrared photography this has been recorded. The BBC has a film which I have watched. It was taken on an island off the coast of Wales where the Normans introduced rabbits to the British Isles. HB |
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CLIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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Woodpecker finch,
with a stick, prying some insects
out of a tree bark.
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| This bird lives in Galapagos. |
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CLX
Hugh Bygott
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The stirrings of Spring —
a Golden Eagle searches
for the fatal movement.
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CLXI
Zhanna P. Rader
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An Egyptian vulture
breaking an ostrich egg
with an egg-shaped stone. . .
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CLXII
Hugh Bygott
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Rain forest noon —
from the tree-tops where the high sun strikes,
a Parakeet screams.
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CLXIII
Vaughn Seward
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A giant amoeba
swirls overhead...wait,
it's a flock of waxwings.
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CLXIV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Street lights turn red —
carrion crows place walnuts
in front of the cars.
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CLXV
Hugh Bygott
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Spring confidence —
a Pied Wagtail weaves between their feet . . .
surprised train passengers!
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| Ely Station, Cambridgeshire, Sunday 26 March 2006. HB |
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CLXVI
Zhanna P. Rader
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A heron's bill
stabs into the water —
the artist's pen freezes.
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CLXVII
Vaughn Seward
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Morning bird songs...
some tunes i haven't heard
for six months.
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CLXVIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Blue jay takes wing,
beak propped open
with a dogwood berry.
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CLXIX
Vaughn Seward
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A waxwing cloud
splits into two halves...
who decides?
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CLXX
Zhanna P. Rader
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The birch half bare —
a new little bird comes
to my window.
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CLXXI
Hugh Bygott
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Ripples spread and fade:
a Reed Crane rises from the lake . . .
spring dusk silence.
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CLXXII
Vaughn Seward
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Unwelcome in the
prairie dog home...
burrowing owl.
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CLXXIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Rough sea —
the cliff swallows quiet
in their nests...
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CLXXIV
Hugh Bygott
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Forlorn spring —
a black-browed albatross
scans the seas: alone.
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| A black-browed albatross has been seen on the uninhabited island of Sula Sgeir 40 miles north of Lewis in the Western Isles. It is building a nest alone. It may be the only albatross in the North Atlantic. The nearest albatross colony is 10,000 miles away in the Falkland Islands. HB |
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CLXXV
Vaughn Seward
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Long day —
a robin tugs on
a stubborn worm.
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CLXXVI
Hugh Bygott
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Blue-neck'd cassowaries,
elegant and intrepid, yet
disturbed by winter storms.
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| Innisfail, in Queensland, Australia is now experiencing visits from cassowaries. These large flightless birds which have very sharp claws are entering gardens seeking food. These dangerous birds have lost some of their rain forest habitat after a tropical cyclone destroyed part of the rain forest in March. They may reach 6 feet in height, and with powerful legs and sharp claws can disembowel a human. HB |
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CLXXVII
Vaughn Seward
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An ovenbird
makes a loud announcement...
dawn break.
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CLXXVIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Hot, humid air —
the robins in the shade
with their beaks ajar...
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CLXXIX
Vaughn Seward
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Rainy afternoon —
two sparrows perch
on an inner branch.
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CLXXX
Hugh Bygott
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Seagulls fly the blue shape,
crying in the summer heat:
long gone the ancient sounds.
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Once sounds of revelry filled the Great Hall. Now the roofless walls
gape into the sky. Chepstow Castle, Saturday 17 June 2006. HB |
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CLXXXI
Vaughn Seward
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A seagull in flight,
freed from earth's tug...
but just for a time.
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CLXXXII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Clinging to my dream —
a house-wren's loud
"too-ree, too-ree, too-ree!"
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CLXXXIII
Vaughn Seward
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Downtown inn...
pigeons decorate the signage
with their poop.
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CLXXXIV
Hugh Bygott
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Retreating waves —
sanderlings, conquerors, fly
into the ebb-tide sky.
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CLXXXV
Zhanna P. Rader
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I spread
some manure in my garden —
a mockingbird adds its share.
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CLXXXVI
Vaughn Seward
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Prairie fire —
a pheasant flees for cover
into a thicket.
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CLXXXVII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Dead branch falls —
all at once a flock of wild geese
is just one goose.
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CLXXXVIII
Vaughn Seward
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Tiny heads
peek above the edge...
robin's nest.
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CLXXXIX
Hugh Bygott
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Dark swirling clouds —
No, not a coming wild storm,
only brave Shearwaters!
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Due to miniaturisation of electronic tags, the migration of Sooty Shearwaters has revealed the extraordinary distances travelled by these birds, and the depthg of their undersea diving. TOPP, Tagging Of Pacific Pelagics, is a marine biology project which has revealed these Shearwaters may fly 40,000 miles in a year and dive to 225 feet underwater as sea predators.
Dark swirling clouds, bird masses off the coast of California, may be a summer kigo in waiting. HB |
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CXC
Zhanna P. Rader
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Two bluejays
fight in the air,
kids catch feathers.
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CXCI
Vaughn Seward
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Weekend sunrise:
sounds of birds between
sips of espresso.
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CXCII
Zhanna P. Rader
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A low-flying swallow
with its image in the lake—
each catches its fly.
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Zhanna, I like this haiku a lot. I like the largeness of the setting that the action implies (I get tired of cramped-feeling haiku, whether set indoors or out), and I like the implication of how we can feel that reflected images have the potential of living an independent life of their own. I'm just glad that the swallow AND its image in the lake both caught their respective flies!
Larry |
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CXCIII
Vaughn Seward
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A robin on the road
stops a pickup truck —
tiny bug.
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CXCIV
Zhanna P. Rader
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A bluebird!
...and now a gnat
in my mouth...
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Ah, I like these. I can almost taste that gnat.
chris e. |
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CXCV
Vaughn Seward
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Eight geese
glide high overhead...
noon-day sun.
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CXCVI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Wren escapes the paw —
the cat's
"I don't care" act.
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CXCVII
Vaughn Seward
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Under the bridge...
a pigeon feather twirls
to the ground.
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CXCVIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Ivy-lined wall —
a black snake slowly
swallows a catbird.
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CXCIX
Vaughn Seward
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Bread crumbs —
a pigeon hops around,
head bobbing.
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CC
Zhanna P. Rader
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Mid-December —
the last dogwood berry
pecked off by a jay.
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