Even in winter, a sunrise is warm

Ah, December, such a deceptively cheerful month! December offers us many reasons to celebrate, one of which I never considered until I heard the words of American author Oliver Herford. Herford (1863-1935) gave the world such wry epigrams as “Many are called but few get up,” and “Only the young die good,” but his most sincere and touching contribution was surely this poem, I Heard a Bird Sing:

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

“We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

Corey, like so many of you, is giving his weekend over to Christmas Bird Count activities. I’m not committed to any CBCs this year, so my birding will be incidental. How about you? Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Share your plans in the comments below.

Whatever your plans this weekend, make time to enjoy SkyWatch Friday. Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend!

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.