While walking today, I came upon a section of the path where a red headed bird, which at first I thought a woodpecker, was busy scrounging the surface of a fallen tree. It allowed less space between us than birds usually do and then another bird, much smaller and chubbier, darted into position near the same space. The second bird seemed a follower and not a leader. It probably knew Keith Jarrett was a famous pianist, whereas the first bird knew he was on ECM and had worked with Miles Davis, Paul Motion and Jan Garbarek. I stood still enjoying the view and soon more birds were swooping down gracefully landing on the same bark platform though I didn’t see evidence of what the fuss was all about, food I guess.
More birds arrived at adjacent tress or inspected the same space. Awesome colours, another uniquely red headed creature and everyone a stop motion expert. It seemed this was a different kind of bird, there was no machine gun dance as is particular to woodpeckers, plus usually they are vertical. I don’t know the bird names, I’m not Kyo Maclear or Jack Breakfast, yet for a moment, I felt like I was in the world those two ordinarily share. Then one black winged missile propelled itself and half way towards me-as-target darted off, ending what would have been a very real injury. I was startled realizing how easily this thing that is so much smaller than me, could execute an offensive move that was so surprising and win the contest because of speed and unpredictability.
Just then a man started coming towards us from a different direction and I thought his presence will ruin the whole mystical space I was so much enjoying. He was dressed in black, had greasy dark shoulder length hair and wore unnecessary sunglasses. I expected he would make sudden gestures and the music of all these birds would abruptly end. He reached into his pocket. This probably meant getting his phone to shoot pictures like most people on these paths. But then he cupped his hands in an Alfred E. Newman stance and birds moved to the millet. I realized he had been feeding them before I got there, that’s why they’re hanging out waiting for more. This is all because of the man in black (and he didn’t even kill someone in Reno just to watch them die). Made me think about those moments in the Köln concerts where Jarrett destroys the listener but if you only listen to those sections, it isn’t as powerful as without the moments leading up to it. The birds appearing to be doing something I find mesmerizing is only so because of what was happening previously.