Sunny, calm and mid
80s
For the past couple of weeks,
the forecast around here has sounded like a broken record. Every day has been beautiful. Following our steamy July and beginning
of August, the weather has suddenly taken a turn for the better. Hope it lasts.
We are heading up north to
friends in Burlington, Vermont for the weekend. In route, we decided to plug the address of the Berkshire Bird
Paradise Sanctuary into the GPS and go see the place. It is one of the largest bird rehab sanctuary in the US and
we were prepared to be in awe of the facility. Well, paradise is in the eye of the beholder. When we arrived, we found what looked
to be a set out of the old Ma and Pa Kettle show. Overgrown, in need of a good coat of paint, and at first
sight pretty darn dismal.
As we walked around the narrow
gravel paths between the various chicken coup enclosures, we found hundreds of
birds in relatively close quarters.
Not what we were expecting!
When I photograph birds in the
wild, I make an attempt to pay attention to context, making sure to include
some of the wild surroundings which accent the beauty of the bird. So, that is what I was looking for
here.
What I did not pay attention
to is the fact that this is no zoo.
These birds are here for a reason.
Either they were shot, or hit by a car, or were pets that people
abandoned, or whatever. The reason
for the sanctuary is not to make the people that visit here at peace and happy
about what they see, but rather to make the birds better and provide them with
a comfortable environment before being released back into the environment or
sent off to some other facility.
The owner and director of the
facility, Peter Dubacher, started the sanctuary back in the early 70’s. I checked out various stories of the
work that Peter has done over the past 40 years and now have an appreciation
for what this place is all about.
So……if you want to see birds in their most pristine settings, get
outdoors and go birding! If you
want to see wild birds of all ilks from different parts of the world in a
beautiful “mock” setting, get to one of the more reputable zoos throughout our
country. But if you’d like to see
birds which have been given a second chance at life by a devoted caring
individual and don’t really care about the ambiance of the place, go check out
the Berkshire Bird Paradise in Petersburg, NY. Enjoy the birds and just look past the surroundings!
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