I realized that my solitary experience of birdwatching is genuine social engagement outside human community, a capacity that has been evolving between humans and other life forms for millennia.
A commotion of flapping colors, shapes and sizes approaches and persists as birds take turns digging into the high-energy food we provide, whether the most modest or lavish spread.
Soon the great bird backed down the post in pulses, turned its body and leaped onto a branch near the middle of the bush where it proceeded to feed on the red fruit.
