© Gerald Herbert | ASSOCIATED PRESSA U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer picks up dead birds on North Breton Island, La., on May 20, 2010, about a month after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico. The latest estimate of birds killed from the spill: 800,000.
As most know, the act of carrying a caged canary into a coal mine used to be a method for the carrier to save his comrades in the event of deadly gas buildup in a dark, leaky shaft. Enlightened miners took a canary's dropping dead as a strong suggestion that prolonging their own lives depended on a quick flight to fresh air.
The first requirement of such an alarm system is to pay attention. The second is to accept that the physical world is ruled by cause and effect rather than magic. The third consists of the willingness to rationally assess a situation - hastily, if need be - and only then to act.
May is generally accepted as the month when the spring migration peaks. The return of birds, their singing and their good-natured showiness contribute a fair measure of what makes May merry.
Humans have a connection with birds that works at multiple levels, including the inspiration for flight.
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