Winged Migration is the name of a three-years-in-the-making, French, Nature documentary Nominated for an Oscar in 2001. I've watched it many times, and will again. It has become for me a form of prayer and thanksgiving. I watched it yesterday with my family. They think I'm a little around the bend about the movie. The three children got restless some of the time so I let them wander away; sure enough they came back to see their favorite parts. It's almost an hour and a half long.
I learned that millions of birds, many of them, such as cranes, quite large, fly thousands of miles, twice a year, from cold climates to warm climates, from all six continents. Some cranes stop by an isolated farm in Russia (the Steppes?) where they are tentatively hand fed by a woman farmer. That a totally wild creature would have the smarts to accept food from a human actually makes me cry. The Russian romantic movie The Cranes are Flying (1946) suggests by its title that perhaps Russians especially love their cranes.
What I particularly noticed, and paid attention to more and more was how lavishly the birds love one another. Birds kiss. And not just Love Birds. Big birds, with large, awkward beaks made for spearing fish,not kissing, but nevertheless do kiss. (My son insists that some birds actually hug.) It's a commonplace that birds feed their young, but adult birds sometimes feed each other. Dark grey birds, standing near water shield their eyes with their wings in apparent courting mode. Modesty? A come on? Shyness?
Loveless-seeming humans seem anathema compared to the millions of migrating birds. You'll seethe with revulsion at the hunters shooting birds we have begun to love and admire for their stamina, love for each other, and flying and navigating skills. Great Documentary, indirectly pleading for respect and nurture of Nature's treasures.
Barry
2 comments:
Barry...Me again....This entry will be my favorite, I know. The journal I mentioned I am pouting over because it was lost in "cyberspace"? That was my BIRD JOURNAL.....I have many of the darlings in my home, and yes, they do kiss, and hug, and care for one another, much better than some humans. Reading this entry I am sure will convince me to re-write many of my stories of their romantic adventures. Thank you for this entry....all my love, kristlebleu
Barry, me again? you say.hahaa!! Had to read this again, and I will read it many more times. Wish there was a way I could save it. Did you know that geese flying in formation, will stop and wait, if one of the flock becomes sick, and can not fly? There is so much for humans to learn from these lovely animals.
Thanx, I am honered that YOU visited MY journal. all my love, kristlebleu, from :KRISTLEBLEUANGELS"
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