Facing The Wind

There have been no birds in my blog since October. I looked through my files and opened one with a note saying “for revision”, a long forgotten walk along the estuary in Tramore, Co Waterford. This place is known for its great diversity of waterfowl, gull and wader species, especially in winter months, but there is a number of songbirds residing there throughout the year. I selected some photographs and was not surprised to find that all the birds were facing the same direction. They are facing the wind. They will fly into the wind using its energy and the currents.

The same like the airplanes, these Lapwings take off and land into the wind.

All young birds must learn it.

Goldfinches,

Stonechats,

Pipits,

Dunnocks,

Linnets.

I spent hours there that day, till the golden sunset, and even after.

What I want to say is that facing the wind is an advantage. Wind is not an obstacle. Flying into the wind gives birds the lift they need, and control of flight. Birds knew this from the beginning of the World. When we face something that resists the forward motion, this might as well be the right time to fly.

February is my Blogoversary month. Thank you for your friendship and support. I love you all.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

94 comments

  2. I love the image of the group of birds on the fence, all facing the same way. So lovely. Your bird photos are always beautiful, Inese, as are those photos of the land cast in golden light. “When we face something that resists the forward motion, this might as well be the right time to fly.” Such wisdom in that from the birds. Beautiful post.

    1. Thank you so much, Diana. It was a very interesting experience. The birds were facing from right to left, which is a confronting orientation in photography, not really good for a portrait:) I didn’t think about that while shooting, just delighted I could get close to the birds. All the thinking came later:)

    1. Thank you so much! That’s true, no big bird is a good singer. I just imagined a singing ostrich… Oh my, it would be something of a nightmare… and probably very loud… 😉

  5. A beautiful collection of bird photos! Thanks for sharing. I guess the engineers learned from the birds. As a pilot, I wanted to take off into the wind, to drastically shorten the distance for takeoff! Happy Valentine’s Day!

    1. Thank you so much! Hope your Valentine’s Day was wonderful.
      I am sure the first airplane constructors learned a lot from birds – the wing structure, aerodynamics etc. Glad my birds brought back some memories:)

  6. Love and enjoy pics of flora and fauna. Love the bird photos. It is interesting from one country to the next the difference in birds. They seem more interesting in your country but the cardinal in ours is awesome. Then we don’t have the colorful finch as you do. Always beautiful post you share. Happy Blogiversary. Hope we will see you posting for a long time. Happy Valentine’s day and I hope all is well with you. Have an excellent day. ❤

    1. Thank you so much, Joseph! Hope you had a happy and fun Valentine’s day ❤
      I remember a number of colorful birds from our travels in the US – Cardinal, Blue jay, Yellow warbler, Red-winged blackbird, Hummingbirds and many spectacular species of Woodpeckers (to compare with only one species in Ireland). Winter is the best time for bird photography. It is when they sport their full breeding plumage.
      I wish we could travel again. Have a great weekend, and hope the weather is good for a walk:)

  9. That is an abiding life lesson I have gathered from your blog today. Those bird photographs are as lively as the subjects they have captured. Here is wishing countless returns of the Blogoversary, my friend!

    1. Thank you so much, Uma! Hope all is well. These last months seem like a waste of precious time of our life, but there must be a sense and reason…

  11. What a great treat to see the songbirds of Ireland, Inese. Your photos here are a real joy. I espec. liked seeing your goldfinch, wow, what a beauty. I gasped when I saw it. And the other beauties were so wonderful, too. I liked the composition of the eight birds on top of the wire fence a lot. I also appreciated your sentiment about the wind and forward motion and flying. Cheers to you, Inese, on your blogoversary — how lovely we could meet!

    1. Thank you so much, Jet! I glad we could meet too! Your blog is such a wonderful place. I admire your knowledge of wildlife and your humanity.
      These eight birds are young starlings, a part of a huge flock. They are foraging around the town all day, and come to this strip of land to sleep.
      Goldfinch is our most colorful bird. Because of the loss of habitat they started to settle closer to the people.

  14. Not only lovely images beautifully captured BUT as you say, what a variety.I could hardly get over that. Thank you so much for this. And not just this post, all your posts. Happy Blogoversary to you x

  15. Inese, your photographs are simply lovely. And the lesson you’ve drawn from nature about facing the wind is something to remind ourselves of in this time.

    Your photography brings a whole new dimension to the term “golden hour.”

    Congratulations on your blogaversery. I’ve had one for three years and have yet to figure out how to use it.

    Thanks for your photos and thoughts.

      1. I don’t know how to make it active. Actually… these days I don’t know how to make myself active…

    1. Thank you so much, Bruce. 7 years of fun 😉
      Yes, the wind works in a strange way. The same with the air crafts, it is why they have to circle after takeoff and before the landing, which I hate most. Tailwind is only good when taxiing. Well, I think of flying too much because I miss my family.

  18. I wish I’d been capable of even walking into the easterly gale we’ve had all week over here. So cold, and biting + all the snow. Maybe I should be a bird, Inese? ~ George

    1. Thank you, George! We got some of your gale too, sans the snow. Staying indoors all the time is so depressing. I can see how people are losing the will to live.

  19. Great photographs – brightened up this awful day with rain teeming down in Enniscorthy since early on this morning – thanks!

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