I Travel a Lot

I travel a lot. It takes up most of my time. I always fly, solo. My territory stretches from the mountains of Central Mexico to Northern Colorado in the spring and the reverse in the fall. My interests are insects, berries and sex. My journey is perilous. I face and flee constant dangers in the sky and on the ground. I instinctively follow waterways, hide in the trees, fuel up and generally continue flying at dawn. With good shelter, food and cover, I stay a day or two. I fly with a group. We are never in formation, rather haphazardly darting, dashing and each of us on our own. Some do not survive the flight.

I like cool weather not hot. I arrived in Steamboat Springs in May in a snowstorm. I was cold. My friend left strawberry jam and orange marmalade out. It helped me make it through the night. He welcomes us every spring with food and misses us when we depart. He won’t let us inside. We are too wild.

We brawl with each other, usually in gluttonous avarice, to the point of distraction when another steals and eats the contested portion.  I rough house with the one I have my eye on, in hopes of building a house with her, in an airy canopy. I’m gambling on her cupidity. With luck, we’ll leave together when the nest is empty.

The summer is short but sweet high in the Zirkel Mountains. There, we are shy, stay out of sight and feel, as one, the time to return to Mexico.  We have destinations, ambitions and goals, but our life is the journey. We are birds of a feather that fly together. Our heads are red. Our breasts are yellow and white bars accent our black wings. Some say we’re the most beautiful species in the Rocky Mountain Empire. Fact or fiction, we are, none the less, the Western Tanager.

Western Tanager migration in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The Western Tanagers arrive in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in May. The wild bird migration lasts three to four weeks and they continue to the Zirkel Wilderness Area for the summer. They are hungry after flying from the central mountains of Mexico. In the fall they return to Mexico and I rarely see Western Tanagers in the summer or fall. I look forward to their annual colorful antics every spring season.

This short story won first place in the competition with the Bud Werner Memorial Library, officially named the East Routt Library District. Our local library in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

In addition, the photo of the Western Tanager in the snow appeared in the Valley Voice Magazine - May 2023 issue, a monthly publication for Routt County, Colorado.

Enjoy and Regards, Ken Proper