One of my current mentors referred me to this quote from Sinclair Lewis an American novelist (among other things)
He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something;
he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little;
and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all.
And here we are One Year into Saturday Evening Posts, the humble scrawling and image sharing attempts by Birds as Poetry to add to the web chatter/clatter. 🙂
53 weekly editions that has been a bit of a diversion from the usual birds only, and has looked at a lot of my philosophy for photography and birds in general.
So perhaps there should be streamers and bubbly and party favours all round, but I guess I’m just happy to have achieved the goal I set out with back in October last year.
I was going to do a year in review sort of thing, but decided you as my loyal reader had probably endured enough.
It is interesting to me that the more EE and I go to one location and follow the lives of the birds there, the more we come away with new insights into the activities of the birds in that area. Sinclair may well have been right.
Heathdale Glen Orden Wetlands is about 10 minutes from home, but its an area that I only visit but rarely. It is surrounded on almost all sides by housing development and the small wetlands is really a water retaining basin for the runoff water. But it has one great advantage. Once the ponds become full, the water flows out over the surrounding flat land and creates, at least for a short time, a wonderful rich, muddy, food source for many wading birds and ducks.
And
A visiting clan of Latham’s Snipe.
Each time I visit I learn a little something.
My goal is to find the birds either feeding or sitting, but given their proclivity to explode out of the grasses, I think I have a lot to learn.
None the less, I managed the other day to get a few that were coming into land in the grasses. Unhelpfully they were landing against the light, but as that is one of my favourite lighting sets for “Drama and Excitement”, I wasn’t all that disappointed.
Thanks for your support the past 12 months, or 53 editions. Hopefully I can make it happen for the next year.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 
Fabulous images, David! Hopefully soon you will get a shot of one or more on the ground. As I hope to! I had a great opportunity recently and totally blew it! Down the the fenced area east of the ponds!
Great quote from Lewis too, sums up why I keep heading to Sneydes!
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Hello David, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment appreciate the visit.
The water has receded well now, and lots of good open areas, but the problem for photography is the masses of lignum and the larger trees, once the birds get around them, focus is lost until they get high and away. Still its good fun to try.
Suppose the Snipe don’t think so.
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Those are wise words indeed with much truth there. Your image is awesome. And fifty three is quite an achievement. We live in such an instant gratification time. Hardly anyone find time to listen to a “work of art” from beginning to end; instead just skipping from “hit single” to… it’s the same story, repeated daily. We flick over pics on instagram “liking” and forgetting immediately. So fake. But birding, or even simply taking a walk, somehow takes us away from the crazy world and back to the real one. Where birds fight for life just like they always have. Thanks for sharing and sorry if I agreed so much I added my own thoughts here!
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‘Lo Derek, thanks for sharing, there is no one right way to approach either photography or birds and we each get a buzz from the activities. Guess that difference is why we are able to perserver at our craft.
You’ve been with me a couple of times and know that EE is almost a part of the environment she is working in. Its more than soaking up the moment, its being the moment.
Agree with you on the”likes” mentality, I almost wrote about that this blog. However I think I’ll save it for another time. 🙂
Its that wonderful ‘walk’ that gives us the chance to really express our vision.
Keep takin’ pictures, We do!
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G’day David, this quote is as meaningful as it is truthful and applies to many aspects of our life.
Your photo also confirms it. Thanks for sharing and many more happy anniversaries!
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Hi Adam, and happy anniversaires to you too, you blog follower. 🙂
Yes, as Derek says, the quote is not just about seeing, or cathedrals but about being in the moment, where ever we are.
Too much fun.
DJ
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Congratulations David for your achievement! It is a great sense of delight having met one’s goal. Great shot of Snipe in flight, a bird I am yet to encounter. Have a wonderful week!
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A lovely image as always, and great thoughts too.
Sorry not to respond sooner, as we have been away on Lord Howe Island for a week and I’m now back home and catching up! Photographic evidence will appear on Flickr in due course.
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