Over the 10+ years that Bob has sailed from Connecticut to Antigua in November, song birds have found their way onboard to rest during their long migration south. These are always single birds so we imagine that they are individuals who have fallen behind the flock. It has never ended well. Most of them die onboard within 24 hours of arriving. It’s very sad, although it is part of nature. Maybe these are all older birds, but it always hurts to watch this happen. Maybe we should take comfort in the fact that each of these birds had a little rest and perhaps died peacefully. I know I am putting a lot of human emotions on birds. Nature is not sentimental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is now Memorial Day in the US, and over the weekend Bob and I sailed 200 miles from Menorca in the Balearic Islands to Sardinia. We arrived in a small cut on the western coastline of Sardinia yesterday, Sunday, after about 40 hours of motoring, sailing, and mostly motor-sailing. On Saturday around midday a little song bird arrived in our cockpit. I immediately had the same old dire emotions of this little bird being exhausted and dehydrated, and likely close to death. He flitted about for some time. Then he left us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n