Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Mary Lee at A Year of Reading is our hostess this week. She has a blitz poem waiting for you!
The unofficial theme for my summer has turned out to be birds. I had the good fortune to spend 5 days in July at the Bird Sleuth Educator Retreat which takes place at Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s stunning campus in Ithaca’s Sapsucker Woods. Wow…what a gorgeous spot! If you are addicted to their feeder and pond cams, as I am, then you know what I’m talking about.
I’m a novice bird watcher, not a certified bird nerd, but I’m working on it. While there are a number of birds I am able to recognize by sight, I’m completely useless at identifying them by sound when birding or enjoying their chorus from my porch. To help me expand my repertoire, I’ve been studying bird mnemonics (geeky, I know), since I returned. These phonetic interpretations are swimming around in my head and some of them worked their way into a slightly cheeky list with a twist poem.
But who are you?
Caw-caw-caw-caw-koodle-yah; koodle-yah
Po-ta-to-chip
Cheer-up; cheer-a-lee; cheer-ee-o, whinny
Are you laughing at me?
Tit-tit-tit-tit
Chk-a-dee-dee-dee
Jay-jay-jay
Do you want me to go away?
Chiddik; chiddik
Cheer-cheer-cheer-purty-purty-purty-
Hooo-ah hoo-hoo-hoo
But where are you?
Keeeeeeeeer
Conk-a-reeeeeeeee
Cheeva; cheeva; cheeva fer-da; fer-da; fer-da; here; here; here peter-peter-peter-
Who’s Peter?
And now for a challenge: I’m hosting Poetry Friday in two weeks — August 17 — and I’d love to throw a bird-related poem challenge out to anyone willing to fly along. Join me!
*************************************************
Thanks for visiting and join us for some Poetry Friday fun!
Wondering and Wandering 
I know at least five of those songs! How fun to put them into poem form!
Love the 8/17 challenge!
LikeLike
What a delightful bird song poem Christie! I know more birds by sight than sound, but I do listen to them and wonder who they are when I don’t know their song. I’d love to take you up on your bird poem challenge, thanks!
LikeLike
Hmmm, a bird poem challenge… What a fabulous idea, Christie! I am not good with bird calls, either, so I really appreciate the mnemonics. How clever you are to weave them into a poem!
LikeLike
I recognized a few of these, but now I’ll have to investigate the rest of them…thanks for sharing, Christie!
LikeLike
My favorite call is the robin’s, and the phoebe’s call makes me chuckle when I hear it. Chickadees do the name so much more sweetly! I’ll hopefully be joining you in the flock. Sounds like lots of fun.
LikeLike
I know a few of these; know when spring is finally here when I hear “Conk-a-reeeeeeeee”, but my brother is a whiz, knows them all, it seems. Your challenge is one I’ll take on. I love birds, too, will give it a try! Thanks, Christie!
LikeLike
I will be writing a bird poem for sure. Thanks for the heads up.loved the musicality of bird songs in this poem. It reminds me of the poem I sent Linda Mitchell recently.
I love studying birds too.
LikeLike
Your poem made me laugh – how clever it is! And now I’m wracking my brain for a bird poem idea. Lucky I have two weeks to think on it.
LikeLike
This is wonderful! I love the sounds….and memories of Ithaca are exceptionally sweet for me. Those dense, humid woods and those waterfalls in the gorges, lake, blue-green hills…..love it all. I’m in for a bird related poem! Can’t wait.
LikeLike
I can hear those birds. Chickadee-dee-dee-dee-dee!
LikeLike
I’m in! Not necessarily with a mnemonic poem, but, birds I can definitely do! I look forward to it!
LikeLike
Taking up your bird-related challenge…can’t wait to see what results from it! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
LikeLike
What fun list poem! I wish I were able to recognize more birds by their calls. The only one I can identify is the quail with its bob-white, bob-white. I have the bird challenge on my calendar, but we’ll have to wait and see if anything turns up!
LikeLike
Maybe you could write a picture book about bird songs? I’ll join in the bird poem fun on the 17th!
LikeLike
How clever of you to incorporate all these sounds in your delightful poem! I’m a novice bird nerd as well–something else we have in common! I, however, am hopeless when it comes to identifying birds by their calls, though I’m constantly improving my visual identification. I love your challenge for PF and hope to participate–let’s see if my somewhat flighty muse cooperates.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I missed this last week, so I’m glad Molly pointed it out. I went to a poetry reading for a book called Bird Forgiveness. I am armed and ready. Now if I can only find the time! School has started!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad you are in for the challenge, Margaret. Happy new school year to you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are clever, clever, clever, and that challenge sounds FUN. I do love me some bird communications…. ;0) Thanks for the post & the challenge.
LikeLike