Quick! To the Birds!
American Robin
Pull query “UCCS_R_ACST_BY_CPP”.
Numbers. Data. Spreadsheets flying across my dual monitor set-up. I’m working from home – the only chunk of quiet, uninterrupted time to do number crunching.
I hear distant sounds, but I’m too engrossed in my formulas.
Input “=VLOOKUP(A2,COP!A:A,1,”false”)
The sounds get louder. American Robins, lots of them. My attention is starting to splinter, but I’m still holding strong to my spreadsheets.
Input “=COUNTIFS(…”
Whistling. Whining. Squeaking, like car brakes or a dog whimpering. I know that call. My brain suddenly flips into bird mode. I rush to the window. Dozens of Cedar Waxwings are in the trees across the parking lot, flying to and from a Toyon Bush. I need my camera. I hope I can rush out there before they leave!
I grab my camera, keys, phone, jacket. Calmly but quickly rush around the block. I see dozens of birds fly across the sky. I arrive to find Cedar Waxwings staring down at me from treetops. I intentionally avoid positioning myself directly under the tree to dodge the splats of waxwing droppings raining on the bushes.
Cedar Waxwing Curiously Looking At Me
American Robins are busy munching berries. I stand there mesmerized by the chaos of sounds all around me. European Starlings, Cedar Waxwings, American Robins all calling simultaneously for a dizzying but pleasant whirlwind of sounds.
I smile and am grateful to spend a ten-minute afternoon break watching the birds. With a smile on my face, I walk back home and back to work.