A cyclist on the wing sounds like flying down the road at 25 mph. Riding like that would leave scant time for birdwatching.

My father always enjoyed the outdoors. I never saw him ride a bicycle (although he may have done so when he was a kid), but he was quite a one for bird-watching.

A slow-motion trip to see and hear our avian citizens would have thrilled him. In fact, I\’ll be he would have preferred to take such a journey on foot. That way he could have gone even more slowly, with more time to look around and keep his ears open for birdsong.

Daddy was absolutely amazing. He could see a bird on the wing from a block away, and identify it: its relative size; whether it looked dark-colored or lighter-colored; whether its wings were pointy or rounded or squarish at the ends; how it flapped its wings; whether it flew low to the ground or higher up; whether it maintained a consistent height from the ground or \”swooped\” as it flew.

Next time you\’re out for a long ride, keep any eye peeled for what\’s on the wing. I\’ve seen bald eagles, kingbirds, and more.

Incidentally, what would Walt Whitman have a thought of this?