The Birds and The Fox

It's that time of year in southern Illinois where great flocks of birds are seen migrating to warmer climates. Lisa and I saw a migrating flock last week that was between 100 and 200 birds wide, and perhaps 10 miles long! And then I was driving on Saturday, going north out of town and saw up ahead a flock of birds on the ground, covering both sides of the four-lane divided road. There were no other cars around, so I slowed to a crawl and advanced towards the birds. They seemed to be calm, and as I approached, they began to fly in a swirling pattern, allowing me to pass through, and landing again behind me. It was amazing because there were so many of them, in front of me and behind me, all in motion It was sort of like being in a whiteout snowstorm, where your visibility is limited to just a few feet. I know this sounds sappy, but for a moment I was just thrilled being there and experiencing being among so many creatures. And I have to admit, Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" ran through my mind also... . I wonder just exactly how migrations work? How do they all decide that on a given day, they will meet up somewhere and begin a journey of hundreds of miles? Who is the leader? Who decides each morning that it's time to go? At the end of each day, who decides this is where they will rest for the evening? And especially I wonder how they all know to turn at the same time? Doesn't it just seem like they would be bumping into each other all the time? And lastly, which one of those birds is responsible for performing the calculation to know that a given power or communications line can support the weight of the whole flock at the same time without breaking? I have to know!

In addition to the fascinating synchronicity of migrating birds, I witnessed another demonstration of incredible precision at the Fabulous Fox yesterday. Lisa, Sarah and I went to a Mannheim Steamroller concert. I have long loved M-S's music, and particularly their Christmas music. The thing I like the very best is the percussion, much of which is performed by Chip Davis himself on their CD's. I've just never experienced a band or even orchestra with better timing and precision than what Davis is able to accomplish with his large variety of modern and historical instruments and electrical gear. The concert was terrific, although I have to admit I was disappointed that Davis wasn't present--he's recovering from neck surgery. A brief video was shown at the start, in which he explained his absence, and I was sorry to see he has a very noticeable tremor in his left hand. I wish him well in his recovery and rehabilitation and hope he will be performing again soon. The concert definitely left us feeling more of the Christmas season spirit!