We live amongst tall condominiums, corporate buildings and major thoroughfares. We are those people who live “in the hustle and bustle of the city” {an overused phrase and a true story in our case}. There is constant noise from beeping vehicles, wailing sirens, honking buses, and at night, there is music coming from the entertainment hub a block away from us. We won’t hear any of these if we keep our huge windows closed, but we like to keep them wide open for the breeze to come and keep positive {yes, positive!} energy coming. And I am comfortable with noise. It makes me feel alive and I like how it challenges my meditation time. The view of the mountains of Rizal on one side, where the sunrise can be seen, and the Makati horizon on the other side where we see gorgeous sunsets dipping behind the cityscape every day, help sustain a sense of calm within me. The opportunity to view sunrises and sunsets -- those are the only wealth we can claim, apart from the time that we are able to offer our children being a homeschooling family.
When you live in a place like this you want to have a feel of nature, even if it’s just a teeny-weeny bit of it. I was looking out the window one time and I saw a flock of birds flying over the building across us. At another time, I saw a few of them resting on our neighbor’s window ledge. I thought, maybe they’d want to rest on our ledge, too, and have food to eat and water to drink or bathe in. Excited, I told the kids that we’d put together a bird feeder with a bird bath.
We rummaged through our storage and found an old stoneware plant drainage plate that we’ve used for a lot of different purposes, but never as a drainage plate. Once again, we assigned it a different role, and it’s perfect. We also found a shallow stoneware bowl for the bird bath and an empty olive oil bottle to store water. The latter was mostly for aesthetic purposes. The finding and the putting together took less than ten minutes, and we were very happy with how they all looked together on our ledge.
The waiting is a different story. It took us three weeks of waiting before they finally found the place we created for them. Our new friends, as Attika calls them, never stopped coming since then. It’s pretty how pigeons in different colors would come. On the fifth week, a Maya came, but was too quick for a photo shoot. I said we would only take a few pictures of them and we will leave them be. They come early in the morning and then again at lunch time and late in the afternoon. One of them, I noticed, likes to come in our house once in a while and spend a few seconds with our reclining Buddha.
Why Should Parents Consider Having Bird Feeders at Home?
- It is a great way to bring nature closer, especially at a time like this when children are wired and too connected with the virtual world.
- While we are aware that the kinds of birds that will visit us will be limited because of our area, maybe even just the same ones from a flock, it still opens a general interest on birds.
- Birds serve as an inspiration for the kids’ artwork.
- According to Dr. Theresa Sull, early childhood educator, bird watching helps develop cognitive skills. In her article for Texas Child Care, Sull said, "Children can enhance thinking skills by learning to identify birds by shape and color. They can practice paying attention to detail by learning to identify differences in types of birds and even individual birds.”
- It helps in the development of general interest in the natural world.
- Seeing actual birds at home can be the best learning supplement for science learning.
- Bird-watching is a relaxing activity.
- Experience an overwhelming sense of accomplishment once the birds start coming. This is especially true when you live in a very busy city.
- Birdwatching is one of the activities recognized by Alzheimer’s Australia as beneficial in keeping the mind and body active and healthy. It’s just as beneficial even if you’re just sitting at home watching them.
- Birds are great coffee or tea companions.
- The sight of them is very meditative.
I believe that having birds visit your home is a rare opportunity, and one that should not be missed.
Do you have a bird feeder, too? Tell me about it. My e-mail is cure4mondays@gmail.com. Share the love!
