flapping
An epiphany!
I was watching a dragon fly hovering, next to the Basil blossoms, wings beating so fast
they were a blur.
Then it rested, puffing like mad!
It was knackered!
How do they do it?
I’ve never seen a bird PUFF.
An Indian minor flew by, flurry of rapid, grouped wing beats, then the ballistic phase, wings folded, into the fall.
Dropping like a stone, gravity kicking in.
Fuck!
I’m falling??
Then a mad frenetic panic of rapid flaps, then into the ballistic again, dropping like a stone.
All this energy going into this senseless oscillation.
Bloody imported minors, they never learn!
On the other hand, the arrogant crow, flaps.
Then, totally cool, slides effortlessly into a sailing, gliding motion.
No panic fighting against gravity!
Not even a puff!
No bloody effort at all!
The pricks!
Then you think about the body drag coefficient?
How do these big buggers do it?
Pelicans?
Slow, shallow, lazy flaps, broad wingspan, sailing, gliding, completely under control.
And they are up there with the hawks?
Dots in the sky stuff?
What training do these guys do?
No visible sign of a puff?
I know they are careful about their diet
But really?
They all look overweight to me!
And while we are up there, the solitary hawk, the master of the skies.
Slow, languid wing beats, ascending, sailing, gliding, higher into the currents, oblivious of gravity, soring to great heights.
I’ve never seen an overweight hawk.
That may explain it.
Then, the hawk, breaking with the tail, a rapid, controlled flutter, head bent, total focus on the prey.
Then the ballistic dive!
In for the kill at supersonic speed.
Gotcha!
Then I love, the super confident, swagger of the hawk.
The slow ascending wing beats.
Did you guys get that attitude?
Back to the supremacy of the skies
So very little direct killing happens in the air did you notice?
It seems to be an earthbound activity, killing.
Humanity, being earthbound, must be feeling REALLY hemmed in, to be such an effective killing machine.
We can’t just fly away, unassisted that is?
Escape, we are not up to it!
Perhaps that is why birds look so C00L, they know, they can just get up and go!
Anytime, with no mechanical aids?
Then there are the gulls.
They certainly spend a lot of time walking around.
So, are they just resting or just chatty?
I don’t see any chests heaving.
Always in a flock, a flock of angry, battling individuals, strutting their stuff.
Arching the back in an aggressive scream, in their dainty red stockinged, quick step, to chase away their own kind.
They certainly know who their competition is?
Just like mankind really!
To be fair, in the air they are very graceful.
Controlled, tail breaking, tilting into the wind.
Chilling out on the waves for a bit of a lark?
Are they actually doing something or are they just resting?
It is interesting to reflect on the fact, that eagles and hawks, only seem to spend time on the ground.
When they are in killing mode!
It certainly isn’t resting, not a puff in sight.
Although they do roost!
Lording over the earthbound creatures.
When you look across the board, ducks, herons, robins, sparrows, none of them look tired after all that flying?
A bit raggedly sometimes, after a particularly harrowing mating performance!
Mating is obviously a competitive, arduous task?
I’m sure having significant impact on their self-esteem, if rejected!
Just think?
Day in, day out, beating their wings, just to stay up there and for REALLY long periods of time!
No wonder some of them decided to stay on the ground!
They just had to learn to bloody RUN like hell!
At least when you stop running, it’s not life threatening!
Gravity doesn’t just, throw you to the ground!
There take that!
What about when they are flushed, I ask myself.
Not in embarrassment!
Have you ever seen a bird, EMBARRASSED??
In total panic stupid yes!
Escaping certain death, in a frantic, flurry of beating wings.
Startled into flight!
Then they go like the clappers!
Beat, beat, beat, their little hearts must be racing!
Still no puffing though!
No heaving chest!
Just a controlled, perch landing, a wide-eyed, fluffing of the feathers.
Gee, that was close!
Yet, we haven’t even mentioned the migrating birds!
Continual flying, through all kinds of weather.
Gravity laying heavily upon them.
What tenacity!
The determination!
They must be exhausted poor things!
But do they REALLY know what they are doing?
Consider!
Have you seen cranes, sandpipers, swallows, starlings.
Working out?
Limbering up?
No!
They just stand around, a bit of stretching, heads turning.
That’s it!
Looking at one another, deciding WHO is going to lead and fly first!
Hell!
Don’t look at me?
Or do they just draw straws??
I must admit, I have never seen cranes, standing around, chest’s pumping
puffing, recovering, from a long flight.
Leaning against trees, face down in the mud or flat on their backs in the reeds.
Exhausted!
Usually, just grooming, a quick check on the depleted stock of feathers.
Heads ducking into their doona, just to check.
Or are they like human athletes?
Really low heart rates, that enables the relentless beating of wings.
For heaven knows how long??
Which I might add, brings us to the hummingbird, who, oddly enough is migratory?
They are small, feisty buggers, low body drag coefficient.
But BOY!
Do they need it!
With all that ducking, darting, dipping, tilting, fluttering about.
Their wings are a blur, over 70 beats a second.
Significantly more than their lazy brethren, who track around 2 to 7 beats per second.
That is, a flapping rate ranging from just keeping up there to total panic!
The Blue Heron being the slowest, barely keeping airborne at 2 beats per second.
A bit of a dullard really!
Now, just to put it into perspective, the Hummingbird.
The little blighters, you’ve got to love them!
Their hearts race at 1260 beats per minute.
While us humans, are a paltry 60 to 100 beats per minute, athletics 40 beats per minute.
No wonder they only live 3-5 years!
Birds, no matter whether they flap flap, fall, flap flap, fall, or
Flappppppp, flappppppp, flappppp, with a low, shallow beat or glide, sail or sore.
I have NEVER seen a bird.
Puff or pant!
I rest my case!