Totem Birds

Many birders talk about their favorite birds. Some base their picks on appearance or song, others simply like the way a certain bird behaves. I have no idea what makes the following birds so important to me. All I know is that no matter how many times I see them--and some of them are incredibly common--each one seems exciting. These are the birds that make me tick.

Here they are, more or less in order. Seven is my favorite number, so I'll give you my top seven.

1. Eastern Kingbird

To me, this species represents everything a bird should be. I look forward to seeing my first each spring, and every one afterward until the last flock vanishes in early fall.

2. Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler

There doesn't seem to be anything this small songbird can't do, or any habitat in Louisiana where they can't be found in winter. Birders tire of them because they're so common, and maybe because they're so tricky. Many a birder has pulled up binoculars to investigate a strange bird only to find that it's just a Yellow-rump doing something strange.

I can't think of many sights more exciting than watching a flock of Yellow-rumps flashing through a wax myrtle bush in winter, their bright yellow patches lighting up a gray day. Probably not too many birders would agree...

3. Yellow-headed Blackbird

I remember looking out of my window one day when I was a kid and noticing that one of the Red-winged Blackbirds had a bright yellow head. I woke up my brother, and all we could figure was that someone had painted the bird's head. Not long after, my parents bought me a Golden Guide and I found our friend in it. I've seen a few since, and each one is just as exciting as the first.

4. Bobwhite

The simple but beautiful call of this bird is often the only sign of the hidden community of creatures that live at the edge of the human world, retreating as progress advances. Loud, clear, and cautious, the call is often all we detect of this bird. The occasional sighting as they creep into the open or explode at our feet is always memorable.

5. Snow Goose

Very few things are as exciting to me as hearing the first flocks of Snow Geese flying over on a cool autumn night, arriving in Louisiana for the winter. After a long jungle summer, the arctic returns.

6. Swainson's Hawk

Remember when this bird was a rarity in Louisiana? I haven't forgotten. I still get just as excited to see one today, in state or out.

7. Upland Sandpiper

I found my first one in my uncle's field and then I found it in his copy of Louisiana Birds. I still think of them as Upland Plovers whenever I'm lucky enough to see one.

8. Fulvous Whistling Duck

Okay, either I lied or I can't count. I couldn't leave this bird off the list. When I was a child living in exile in Kansas, a vacation to the farm in Kaplan meant seeing pairs of these beautiful "Tree Ducks" lowering themselves slowly down on beating wings into the hidden safety of the dense golden-green ricefields. The old times are almost all gone, but these birds remind me.