BIRDLAND CELEBRITIES -- U. MICHIGAN CHAMPS

Late News Bulletin -- University of Michigan won Big Ten college football championship for the first time since 1997 thrilling their fans everywhere, including our family alums and the rest of us who share that enthusiasm!  

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College Football is one of numerous U.S. sports enjoyed by many, often even more so during challenging times.   All sorts of other news items catch my attention including some that can make this world in which we live seem like a very scary place.   The "ignorance is bliss" saying could well be a true "blessing in disguise", but also could be a dangerous one leading to "burying my head in the sand" if I choose to just "tune it all out".  Mostly, I realize there's little I can do to avoid some worst-case scenarios as reported in some of these following examples.

Last month NASA launched DART (short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test), a rocket to smash into an asteroid to alter its path.  Success is desirable to protect our Earth in case there ever is such a threat.      Live Science summarizes a NASA report that there is an asteroid named 4660 Nereus entering Earth's orbit but is expected to pass by us.

Then I read Solar Superflares may occur more frequently than scientists thought.  The result could be devastating geomagnetic storms adversely affecting a wired global society as we're becoming -- obliterating satellites in orbit and infrastructure on the ground -- causing an internet apocalypse. Given how wired we are here on Earth personal and businesses connections could be wiped out as could be all individuals' personal data.

We all know Omicron, the latest variant after Delta+ evolved from Covid-19 creating the pandemic now circulating in our world.  Scientists rush to determine how serious the threat, how to best combat the infection.  Will there be even more variants in our future -- some possibly immune to presently known vaccines?

That's not even considering climate change with oceans rising resulting in water overflowing our shores consuming land masses to cite just one undesirable consequence.

Fortunately, none of what I discover causes me to worry to the point I'm filled with anxiety through the day and doesn't depress me to a degree I lose sleep at night over what might happen.  Like most others I defer to scientific experts to analyze the situations and trust they'll come up with possible solutions to save themselves and the rest of us.  

While we can't fix everything, occasionally, as with climate change and the pandemic viruses, there are some actions, in addition to the scientific experts, we as individuals can initiate to effect beneficial changes for ourselves and others to some small degree.  Of course, many individuals acting together can begin to have more effect meaningful for all others.  There are many positives in this world which I keep reminding myself and I suspect you may be doing the same, too.  

A respite from thinking about all the more negative matters can become a mentally healthy exercise by  distracting, then redirecting my mind's focus elsewhere.   Nature, other living creatures, music are just a few examples of elements that can serve that purpose for me.   They always seem to demand my full attention, bringing me a good dose of much welcomed pleasure.    I wonder what interesting activities others engage in to stimulate desired positive thoughts and feelings with which to brighten their lives?      

So it is, one such effective distraction for me occurs when for short times I vicariously live in another world including with nature's creatures or listen to music I favor. 

BIRDLAND by Manhattan Transfer 

A popular vocal group from an earlier decade vocalize live in Tokyo Japan 1986 with remarkable lyrics they added to this complex Weather Report song.  From the album "The Very Best of Manhattan Transfer."  

I've also been intrigued again by the Big Bear Bald Eagles so will update their saga though I really hadn't planned to do so this year.   I've periodically been writing about them the past few years since they've become SoCal residents nesting in the mountains east of where I live.   My attention was recaptured this year when I read a new improved live camera had been installed continuing to focus 24/7 on the eagles nest.

Curiosity had really got the best of me this past October when I remembered these eagles had laid two eggs last year, sat on them for weeks and then, disappointingly, neither hatched.  I couldn't help wondering, would this adversely affect the wanna-be parents' relationship?  Would they try to hatch eggs again?  Would they even return to the nest?  When would they arrive if they were coming back this year?

If you're curious about what they were up to in the past few years on those occasions when I peeked in on their life, type "Big Bear Bald Eagles" in my blog's search in the upper left-hand corner of this screen which will bring up several of my accounts including some videos.

The Friends of Big Bear Valley is a site I recommend for ongoing current updates.  Preserving Bald Eagles from extinction has been serious business after all as has been my general attitude in writing about them, but I may waiver a bit this time.  

These bald eagles have become celebrities even garnering news media coverage.  The birds are constantly under the video and audio monitoring of the live nest camera -- a real reality show!   Celebrities in our society garner a lot of attention from their public especially if some of their behaviors have been characterized as being unorthodox.  Perhaps this bird couple could be no exception though they seem to be oblivious to the fact we are watching them night and day.  Maybe, somehow these birds aren't immune to all the hoopla either.  I wonder if they know or suspect on some level they're being observed.   I wonder if they ever have that feeling -- you know -- that you're being watched, but you don't see anyone, or sometimes you discover there is someone intensely looking at you?   

Indulge me -- here's a little different take on these birds' story.  Consider this -- the life of these Bald Eagles is a soap opera story, you know -- Jackie's a cougar, having chosen a younger partner,  Shadow, for whom she unceremoniously ditched her previous older partner who will remain nameless.  On my initial visit to the BB site that first year, the old partner was reported to have been sighted flirtatiously flying around again after their previous season together.   The rumor was he may have been a bit flaky, so she gave him the cold wing which is more than just gossip!  Hooking up with this new guy, Jackie had apparently decided he was a keeper from their previous successful first year together.  Would he continue to be?

The Big Bear people reported they weren't sure the couple would be back, or even as the same pair.  But then Jackie and Shadow showed up again in November last year and began bringing those sticks to the nest to ready up the place a bit for another brood.  All of this was for naught since along with some other drama there was no egg hatching.  What happened?  We'll never know.

Bird-wise as I had become, I was wondering if those eagles would return this Nov. since they had such an unsuccessful previous year -- or would Jackie have traded Shadow in for a new model? . .  .  .  . t i m e . . . .. passing . . . . . FWIW I was just motivated to check their site -- they're back!   Here's the new link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE&t=0s

And... BB authorities added an additional link to a new wide view camera focused on Big Bear Lake to enable seeing the eagles flying, along with the continued coverage on that nest site link above.

Jackie won't lay eggs until after the first of the year.  Meanwhile she and Shadow will fly in with sticks and fluff they gather, then architecturally carefully arrange their material in the nest's remodeling process for their new brood.  This nest in the upper branches of a very tall tree must withstand winter's occasional icy cold rains, snowy blizzards, and the strength of tree-shaking winds before some hot dry days descend on the area.  The eggs must be safely secure and protected from breaking as the parents incubate them while sharing the multi-weeks alternating responsibility of sitting on the nest.

During this nest construction, the couple may occasionally be seen dining on fish or snacking on other wild-life food Shadow generally flies in as primary provider.  If they want their eggs fertile which they must be to hatch they will also have to find time to caboodle (not exactly a scientific term), beak to beak, lots of romance and more, but nature being what it is, the necessary behavior will likely occur numerous times whether on site or out of view.  Eggs are laid between January and March.  

Check out the eagles-updates link.  

So, there you have it -- once again, this blog post content has evolved into being . . . .  . for the birds!