A View from Nature: A Day in the Life of White Rock Lake Birds

By Vicki Gies

Unlike Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, the birds here at White Rock Lake, where I live, are not scary at all. In fact, they add joy and interest to my day.

Unlike Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, the birds here at White Rock Lake, where I live, are not scary at all.

Let’s start with the beginning of each day. Our morning alarm clock is a flock of geese, commonly called a gaggle of geese. They fly over us around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, honking as they go. I refer to that time of day as “goose-thirty.” They either fly to the ponds at Tenison Golf Course or further down White Rock Creek. When I hear them, I know it’s time to wake up.

Our morning alarm clock is a flock of geese, commonly called a gaggle of geese. They fly over us around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, honking as they go.

After that, all the other little birds start chirping and flying through the trees in the woods, each with its own song. I haven’t quite figured out which song goes with which bird, but here’s what the songs sound like: “Pretty knees, pretty knees,” “we need ya” (repeated three times), and “toot” (three times short and one time long).

After that, all the other little birds start chirping and flying through the trees in the woods, each with its own song.

There are a few bird sounds that I do know: the red-tailed hawk has a highpitched “pew,” (repeated two or three times). Its sound matches its majesty and beauty well, and I have been lucky enough to see both the male and the female!

Of course, there are the ducks with their quacks and the crows with their cawing. And the owls: the great horned owl makes the unmistakable “who-who-whowho.” The great gray owl sounds like it’s laughing, and the smaller brown- and yellow-tinted owl I’ve seen makes no sound at all, at least that I know of.

I can’t forget the monk-parakeets, which look like Quaker parrots and sound like them too. The cardinals say “doodley” (repeated two or three times and ending with “doo”). The other birds of my woods are the mockingbirds and the tiny, colorful finches.

In addition to these birds that I’ve mentioned, other lake birds at White Rock Lake include egrets, loons, pelicans, and a pair of bald eagles, which I have not been lucky enough to see yet.

I spend my day watching and listening, and before I know it, it’s goose-thirty at night, and it’s time to go to bed!

Photos courtesy of Calvin Cortez.

This story is dedicated to the memory of one of the world’s greatest movie directors, Sir Alfred Hitchcock. May he rest in peace.

Vicki Gies is a STREETZine vendor and frequent contributor.