They are of course preparing for the long flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Just an incredible, mind bending feat. To see them gather their nerve as the sit in the trees on the shore then make that great leap. It seems completely impossible for them or any of the other multitude of birds who fly the migratory pathway twice a year.
I have been out on the rigs when a storm comes by and they become exhausted. They die in the thousands and thousands and the fish have a feast. It is pitiful to watch but it is nature in action. Strangely it is apparently a one shot trip for the birds. They have enough energy to make it and just enough. If they are thwarted and have to land on a rig, if they are so “fortunate”, there is nothing there for them to eat and they have spent their energy reserves and die.
Life is cruel. I see these things and wonder how comfortable we should feel that, “His eye is on the sparrow.”
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