by Alan Steinle
Here are five samples from my poem “A Poet’s Guide to Birds.” You can download the entire poem as a PDF from this page.
Black-capped Chickadee – Poecile atricapillus
These birds are rather tame
and sometimes dare to eat from human hands.
Their call is in their name.
They sometimes fly in bands.
In spring, they nest apart in thicket stands.
Canada Goose – Branta canadensis
Their heads are black and white.
Aquatic plants and grass and grains are food.
They form a V in flight.
Beware the attitude
of males protecting still their growing brood.
Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
These birds will tend to stay
in flocks as they consume the fruit they find.
On branches, they convey
a berry down the line
and pass it on till one decides to dine.
Cliff Swallow – Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
They build on cliff or wall
their mud-brick nests in colonies of scale.
They have a harsher call,
sharp wings, and squarish tail.
They catch the bugs on currents as they sail.
Common Raven – Corvus corax
Wing “fingers” spread to sail.
They make a hoarse and trilling croak that’s low.
Note shaggy throat, wedged tail,
and two-foot length, and know
you’ll “nevermore” mistake them for a crow!