I’ve always enjoyed going to the beach. There is nothing like watching the waves roll in, smelling the salt air, and in general enjoying the entire “at the shore” existence. That includes watching and hearing the birds that are unique to the area. It’s fascinating to watch Ospreys as they dive into the surf and come up with a fish caught in their talons. Likewise, to see the pelicans flying in formation always fascinates me. It never fails when I see a flock of them that I have to stop what I’m doing and count them. They simply capture my attention at almost every encounter.
Living in Coastal Georgia I’ve come to realize coastal birds also have a unique sound. Of course, I know all birds do; experts can distinguish a robin from a wren or a cardinal from a bluebird just by hearing their song. Still, there is nothing quite like the call of a coastal bird. It’s more raucous somehow, more insistent to me. It’s like they’ve learned to pitch their call differently in order to be heard over the wind and waves that frequently buffet the ears.
Whenever we travel to the beach, my husband spends time photographing the birds and living near the coast he often captures a great picture when we’re at home. I’ve posted two of his photos here. The pelican above was taken while we were on vacation and the fabulous heron was taken while we were driving around near our home. Both pictures remind me of a book I read and reviewed recently.
The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves is the second in her newest series, The Two Rivers. Once again she has managed to capture the area in which the book takes place, with it’s cliffs and rivers and, of course, the heron’s in the area although they don’t play a huge part in the book. Rather, the book focuses on the people, many of whom are becoming regulars. There’s Chief Detective Matthew Venn and his husband, Jonathan as well as Matthew’s two main detectives, Ross and Jen. They are all unique and fully three dimensional, so having read the first novel in the series this is like a return visit to old friends. The link above will take you to my full review in Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
For now I’ve got to be content with thinking about the shore birds, since I’m still at home recovering from a nasty high ankle sprain. It could be worse, though, I could be without something to read. I hope that’s not the case for you. For now, I’ll say Happy Reading.
