At Roberts Bird Sanctuary on Halloween day the plants and wildlife enjoyed one of those final warm humid days before the initial frost. I stepped off the trail to look at an old pump-house where my friends and I used to smoke cigarettes because we were naughty. I definitely could have fit through the small gap to get inside again but didn’t. As an adult I’m less and less willing to get cobwebs in my face, even to feed my nostalgia.
On the way back to the trail I looked through my binoculars at the little birds flitting among the red osier dogwood and yellowing tamarack. They were drab brown but they weren’t the goldfinches I saw everywhere this time of year. Of all the birds I know, goldfinches are the only ones that I’ve seen nesting in September. But it wasn’t them.
Finally one of the little brown jobs revealed a flash of yellow from the top of its head. It was a golden-crowned kinglet, alternately raising and lowering its yellow crest for whatever reason. Excitement, territoriality? I’m not sure. This little bird of only six grams carries its tiny yellow flag into the world boldly. It sets itself apart from all the other drab brown birds that are impossible to distinguish at this time of year.
So how do you distinguish yourself? What is your tiny bright flag that you raise so audaciously? The kinglet carries its flag around Minnesota all through the cold winter. It shows its crest whether or not anyone is around to see it. You can do that too. Against all mental perils of cold and dark, against drudgery at the workplace and debt and estrangement, bear your flag! Bear the flag that is staked firmly within, the flag that was planted there on the day you were named!
pseudoisaac 