November 12: Red

This morning, on the steps to the veranda leading to my classroom, there was a dead bird. At first I saw tufts of feathers -- too many feathers -- and then as I continued to climb the steps and the landing came into view, the bird's body was there, lying on its back. It was the size of a mockingbird and most of the feathers were white and gray with a bit of buff color under the base of the tail. The tail itself looked like it might be forked, and the outstretched wings were pointed, so I guessed it was a swallow. But beyond that I couldn't tell anything because most of the bird had been eaten. Not eaten up -- there was still a lot of pinkish red flesh there, exposed, torn. As dead birds go, it was fairly grisly.

I didn't find it upsetting, but I know some people would. I just wondered about the story. There aren't many cats around campus, and this wasn't the type of bird that cats are commonly able to catch. My guess was predation by another bird, maybe a crow, maybe a hawk, both of which I have seen actively hunting in that area. In fact, one of the most interesting things I've ever seen on campus was a crow doing aerial acrobatics in pursuit of a sparrow, which it finally caught in its claws and carried up to the branch of one of the giant oak trees, where it began plucking the sparrow and eating it; tiny feathers were floating down on the students who were walking to class.

To end this post with a gentler red... the crepe myrtles started turning this week. They bloomed consistently, white and fuschia, from June through October, and now the leaves have gone a gorgeous orange-red. It's not quite brilliant like a maple, but when the sun catches it from the right angle, it's really gorgeous, and you see it everywhere.