The Antics of April
The Return of the Migratory Birds and their Wisdom
If March showers bring May flowers, what do April showers bring? At temperatures barely above freezing, raindrops have been pelting down from a leaden sky for days. Then, a sudden respite from the rain appears. The respite is filled with falling flakes of snow. And wind. Winter is unyielding, unwilling to give up its supreme reign over the land. But I know that spring will prevail because I have already spotted its harbinger. The little, lithe white wagtail landed on my roof on April 8th, timely as ever.
While winter is tugging at us, trying to pull us back under its wings, I breathe and I heave, placing one foot in front of the other on the wet gravel road. Droplets of muddy water splash over my ancles and sheets of sleet fall from the sky and whip at my cheeks. Some land in the back of my neck where they mix with sweat and create a cold, damp layer.
While running, my thoughts revolve around other recent events that have been tugging at me and trying to pull me back in time. A fear rooted in my past has reared its ugly head. The fear of not being heard creates a feeling of desperation that is out of proportion. I know this, even as I am being sucked into the hole of anxiety. I also know that the fear has its roots in a childhood of having my voice silenced. A lonely skylark braves the weather and leads the way, high in the sky, ahead of me. It lets nothing silence its voice. Undeterred, it continues to create beautiful music that reverberates throughout the cold, damp, gray landscape.
By the open field, I stop for a breather. A pair of swans are grazing, likely refueling after a long flight before continuing to a suitable lake for breeding. Rustling in the underbrush reveals a foraging blackbird, and a flock of chaffinches take off from a naked tree and flutter across the field, seeking refuge on the opposite side. These birds have just finished a grueling trek, returning from far-away southern lands, but they display nothing but ease, grace and freedom.
Birds, it turns out, have been revered throughout the ages. Their ability to fly imbues them with a mysterious air. As such, they have been considered messengers of the gods, serving as a link between the earth and the heavens. In some traditions they have symbolized the human soul, able to depart the body upon death and soar into the sky. As for migratory birds, their sudden disappearance in the fall and equally sudden reappearance in the spring has had our forefathers scratching their heads, wondering where they went. We now know where they go, but how they go there presents many questions still unanswered.
The migration of birds is one of the greatest spectacles on earth. Following the seasonal cycles, birds on all continents migrate to and from their breeding grounds, following specific routes and migratory corridors. To navigate these long distances, the birds utilize the position of the sun and the skylight polarization pattern. Stars guide them at night. As if this is not impressive enough, they also use the earth’s magnetic field, although we still do not know exactly how. A recent theory involves quantum mechanics and a molecule called cryptochrome. All birds have cryptochrome in their eyes, and when light strikes this molecule, unpaired electrons are created. Unpaired electrons are in turn sensitive to the magnetic field. A signal is then generated, and the bird is somehow able to interpret this signal to find its way back to the exact same tree where it nested the year prior.
I pick up my run again. But with more vigor now, somehow inspired by the birds. I run through the woods and along meadows on untrod terrain. I find trails I have never ran on before and soar as I traverse roots, rocks and logs. A water-filled gully appears, and I leap. I land on the opposite side, and I continue running. A wood pigeon cooes. I will not let my voice be silenced anymore. I will no longer let fear steer.
I run and I run, and I imagine myself running away from the constraints of my past and towards the soaring heights of an unfettered future.
References
Roque, Maria-Àngels., “Birds: Metaphor of the Soul”. European Institute of the Mediterranean.
Wiltschko R, Nießner C and Wiltschko W., (2021) “The Magnetic Compass of Birds: The Role of Cryptochrome”. Frontiers in Physiology 12:667000.
Åkesson, S. and Helm B., (2020) “Endogenous Programs and Flexibility in Bird Migration”. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8:78.
