Questions of Flight

 

Don't you admire the strong, confident

rhythm in the wingbeat

of the Great Blue Heron?

How about the up and down,

arching flight of woodpeckers,

undulating between the trees?

Or the linear, straight and fast

destintion-driven style

of most ducks?

You must enjoy trying to track

the swirling, swiveling, darting

ride of the swallows.

And aren't you fascinated by the

skilled precision and acrobatics

of any hummingbird?

Don't you admire bird flight,

and try to imagine what it might

be like to fly? 

Pure delight! 

Right?

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Great Blue Heron ~ Eagle Lakes Park - Naples, Florida

2. Pileated Woodpeckeer ~ Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Ring-necked Duck ~ Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Tree Swallow ~ Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Broad-tailed Hummingbird (female) ~ Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado 

Cursive

A swallow is flying
in a cursive "S"

above the shallow shoreline,
wingtips brushing the surface,

sweeping, swooping, scooping
insects in the humid summer air. 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 2, & 3. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Saul Lake Bog & Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan

flights

the flights of swallows

stitch together fine fabric;

white veils of cirrus

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Michigan Creek - Jefferson, Colorado

Silent Wings

Above the calm lake,
swallows slice
on silent wings
through the purpling
shadows of dusk.

I think I can hear
their chattering small talk:
of mosquitoes and midges,
the hunting is good,
their confident flight.

Pursuing with passion
a swift, winged life
of grace and precision
during these long days
of warm months.

Soon, their sleek bodies
meet their shadows,
as evening ends
their silent flight. 

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1,2,3, Pickerel Lake Park,  (Fred Meijer Nature Preserve) (Pickerel) Kent County,  Michigan

4,5,  Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve, (Saul Lake) (Nature Conservancy), Kent County, Michigan


Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor

Air Show

Knifing through thick summer air
over a lake of smoothed water,
swallows swoop for small insects
with a spatter of small chatter.

Not famous or well-known
for their song or plain call,
but their skilled flight performance
a silent air show for all.

©  2013  Richard Havenga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Locations:

 

1. Pickerel Lake Park, (Pickerel)  Kent County,  Michigan 

2. Big Crooked Lake  (Crooked)  Kent County,  Michigan

 



When

When the soft
fabric of dusk
begins to wrap
around the shoulders
of summer trees...

When the swallows
and waxwings have
finished swooping
for insects
over the water...

When the fireflies
begin flashing
yellow-green
in the dark
understory...

When the bats
flutter erratically
through the
dimming sky
light...

When the evening crickets
secretly resume
their wing-ed,
scraping
static...

When the day
is slowly
introduced
to the
night...


Will you be
present, 
attentive,
and astonished,
all over again?

©  2013  Richard Havenga