Ghost birds

NewMexiKen has clerestory windows on both the east and west side of my living room. These are delightful in innumerable ways — the morning light, the evening color, seeing the moon and stars or the glow of the Albuquerque lights reflected on the mountains at night.

There are alas, two downsides. For one, it is almost impossible to watch TV when the sun shines directly in the west windows in the afternoon or early evening (depending on the time of year). And two, the bird-brained birds fly into the windows because (I’m guessing) they can see straight through the house.

At the moment there are three “etchings” in the glass from these collisions. The impact is so hard the bird leaves an imprint of itself that would do the Shroud of Turin proud. Of the three impressions currently, one is head on, one appears to be an oblique shot, and one is wings extended. If you click on the image and look carefully you can see this last image, almost like a ghost.

And perhaps it is a ghost, though in nearly nine years I have found just one carcass.

There are by the way six or seven quail gobbling up this morning’s birdseed as I speak. Still time to get in your Thanksgiving orders.

The photo was taken from the living room at around 9:30 this morning. The plants on the berm are — ah choo! — chamisa (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), its fall yellow dying away, and Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), its lavender flowers long gone.