Although I’d seen birds riding the thermals before, I never heard the term until I moved here to Northern Colorado a few months ago. I’ve been loving watching all the birds around here–as I wrote about in my post about Killdeer and other magical flying creatures. And lately I’ve been seeing lots of hawks, mostly, lazily circling high up in the sky, not flapping their wings at all.
I could find any really good videos of birds riding the thermals, but here’s a decent one of Mr. President and First Lady, 2 eagles from the National Arboretum eagle cam.
And here’s a better explanation than I could write of what riding the thermals is from PBS:
It’s not just raptors that ride the thermals. I’ve seen my beloved white pelicans floating by, and seagulls, too. And people do it in paragliding.
What would it feel like to ride the thermals?
I have no desire whatsoever to go parasailing–or parachuting, or anything that involves actually being high up in the air without being inside a (preferably big) airplane. And yet, when I watch those turkey vultures, red-tail hawks, white pelicans, and crows gliding through the air, I feel a thrill. I feel like part of me floats with them, riding the wind, riding the drafts of warm air.
And from time to time, I feel like that’s what I’m doing in my life. Not like in a dream where I’m actually flying. I don’t often have those. But inwardly–in my soul.
Michelle Barnes shared this lovely quote from Toni Morrison (from Song of Solomon):
If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.
And I also came across this quote:
Right now, you are flying. Right now, your job is to hold your breath. — from The Writer’s Life by Annie Dillard
Years ago, I dreamt that a white eagle flew in through my bedroom window and landed in my heart. It was a beautiful and startling dream.
Dream Eagle–painted by me in acrylic
And it’s Poetry Friday–so here comes a poem (or 2)
This week, Poetry for Children hosts Poetry Friday. Check out their blog and join in if you want, or just see what other poets have to share this week.
I haven’t really found the words to express the joy I feel when I watch these birds riding the air. But I wrote the following 2 haiku to begin with.
These haikus are marvelous! I especially like you second one and the last line. I love watching the birds soar and swoop as well! Thanks for sharing these!
Like you, I love watching hawks soar above the fields around my house. It would be amazing to be able to “learn to soar” and “effortlessly glide high above” the world. Thank you for sharing your lovely haiku!
I love watching birds ride the thermals–and I would love to join them. I did get to try hang gliding a couple of times. Both were short flights due to a lack of thermals on those days, but I would love to just soar and soar. Your first haiku captures a little of what I feel when soaring. It is so hard to put that feeling into words.
Thank you for this lovely post. (And how interesting to learn that a hummingbird rates higher than a raptor on maneuverability!) Have you seen the poem “Spiral Glide” by Mary Lee Hahn (from THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL)? I think you’ll like it! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361625045059116439/visual-search/
These haikus are marvelous! I especially like you second one and the last line. I love watching the birds soar and swoop as well! Thanks for sharing these!
Thanks, Kiesha–and you’re welcome. It was really hard to find any words to describe the feeling of just watching.
Like you, I love watching hawks soar above the fields around my house. It would be amazing to be able to “learn to soar” and “effortlessly glide high above” the world. Thank you for sharing your lovely haiku!
Thank you for your kind words.
I love watching birds ride the thermals–and I would love to join them. I did get to try hang gliding a couple of times. Both were short flights due to a lack of thermals on those days, but I would love to just soar and soar. Your first haiku captures a little of what I feel when soaring. It is so hard to put that feeling into words.
You are braver than me–I’ll stick to inner soaring. But it must feel amazing!
Thank you for this lovely post. (And how interesting to learn that a hummingbird rates higher than a raptor on maneuverability!) Have you seen the poem “Spiral Glide” by Mary Lee Hahn (from THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL)? I think you’ll like it! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361625045059116439/visual-search/
Thanks for sharing Mary’s lovely poem– I hadn’t read it before.
How lovely to make these connections between nonfiction and poetry, information and wonder! Thanks for joining our Poetry Friday gathering!
Thanks. And I’ve been loving Poetry Friday!