I get excited when I see a flock of cedar waxwings, usually in large numbers and going after those mountain ash berries. But once not long ago, I was surprised to see a lone cedar waxwing. I can't help thinking, Van, that a small beautiful book about your pet would be a great thing! Such an unusual experience. You say you would do the right thing and take a bird to the wild bird clinic if the same circumstance arose again. But it sounds as though your pet had a wonderful life - I had no idea they could live 14 years!
I have considered writing a book about Bandit. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal at the time and have trouble piecing together enough memories to write more than is contained in those three articles. This is one of the most frustrating effects of many years of undiagnosed depression. My early life is foggy.
The age thing is interesting. It is a biological principle that the life span of animals is generally proportionate to their size. For example, elephants and whales live a long time while mice do not. Songbirds as a group are a rare exception to this. In captivity they often live longer than bandit did. Scientists don't know why.
In the wild, most baby birds do not survive to adulthood. Those that do rarely live longer than 3 or 4 years because they are so susceptible to predators and bad weather. One theory is that, because their mortality is so high, songbirds lack the genetic mechanism which seems to bring about old age in many animals. Of course this is an intriguing subject for research.
What a nice story that is about a very special situation. It is definitely worth writing more publicly about it than just in your LJ. I'd encourage you to rack your brains, use a small amount of journalistic license and try writing and publishing something more extensive.
I assume you mean artistic license. As a journalism student I was taught to stick to the facts. It is a strict principle in the nature writing genre, too. Annie Dillard caused controversy and probably lost some credibility when she admitted to having fabricated some of the observations she described in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. That is a personal essay, though. It's different from a memoir like Rascal or Owls in the Family which obviously required imaginative techniques to weave novels out of childhood memories. As you suggest, it's my story to tell however I wish. But I balk at the line between journalism and literature.
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I can't help thinking, Van, that a small beautiful book about your pet would be a great thing! Such an unusual experience.
You say you would do the right thing and take a bird to the wild bird clinic if the same circumstance arose again. But it sounds as though your pet had a wonderful life - I had no idea they could live 14 years!
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The age thing is interesting. It is a biological principle that the life span of animals is generally proportionate to their size. For example, elephants and whales live a long time while mice do not. Songbirds as a group are a rare exception to this. In captivity they often live longer than bandit did. Scientists don't know why.
In the wild, most baby birds do not survive to adulthood. Those that do rarely live longer than 3 or 4 years because they are so susceptible to predators and bad weather. One theory is that, because their mortality is so high, songbirds lack the genetic mechanism which seems to bring about old age in many animals. Of course this is an intriguing subject for research.
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