The Glacier Bird

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Fri, 23 Oct 2020
  • 1197 reads
8 comments
 
The Diuca finch builds its nest
inside glaciers with trepidation.
The bird has found it is best
to raise the chicks in isolation
because like this they keep at bay
unwanted, aggressive, intruders
like hot-blooded birds of prey
or ill-intentioned sharpshooters.
Two eggs are laid in April or May,
the young leave the nest in July.
Before fledging they will stay
secluded until they can fly.
But rearing a family is no fun;
if the slow-moving mass of ice
starts to melt under the sun
it may be a fool's paradise.
What they need is a frozen clime
to enable them to survive.
They have to race against time
otherwise they will nosedive
towards imminent extinction.
Yet ecologists hold on
to the absolute conviction
that the breed will live on.
 
 
 
© Luigi Pagano 2020
 
Certificate U
Poem
Cherry ripe
Nature

Comments

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

I really hope this beautiful little bird does go on to thrive and the ice doesn't continue to melt. 

I'd never heard of the glacier bird before Luigi, so thank you for sharing this piece.

Jenny. xx

 

 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

All who care about nature share your sentiments, Jenny, and so do I.
I didn't know much about this bird either until recently.

 

Luigi xx

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Liked this Luigi, I worry about all creatures who rely on snow and ice. Sweet little birds. x 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

You have amply demonstrated your love and concern for nature through your fine poetry, Rachel.
With climate change, the situation is becoming more precarious for all animals but especially for those living on snow and ice, like the polar bears.

Ligi x

P.S. Thanks for the cherries. yes

 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Gosh, how do such tiny things stay warm, in glaciers? You and Onemorething, bards of birds :0)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

One can only wonder, Di. Like penguins, these small birds endure brutal nesting conditions for weeks on end — low oxygen, bitter cold, heavy snow and high winds.

I too enjoy Onemorething's poetic chronicles of avian behaviour and its parallel with human life and emotions.

I like 'bards of birds'. Was it an intentional alliteration?

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Just amazing! I wonder if this is the little snowbird Elvis sang of? Are there others?

See you Luigi! Tom Brown

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

No Tom, it isn't the same snowbird. The Diuca finch, or glacier bird, nests in freezing conditions at high altitudes in the peaks of Peru and Bolivia.

Thanks for looking in.

Cheers, Luigi