Birds

The water: there is velvety, soft + the salt content is high. So it’s ideal for floating. Different light conditions seem to lead to different floating conditions, strangely.
Pelicans fly overhead as one floats in this tropical seascape.

This crossing was really different from taking the mailboat to Dover. I felt the wind on my face. I felt on the same level as the seagulls that were hanging out on the water surface. I didn’t even know they did that. My favorite ocean bird is the Gannet.

T.v.A. It’s like a seagull but more slender. It has a finer long beak, the back of its head is yellow. It has a thin black line around its eyes, its wings are elongated. Its the bird that can dive the deepest into the ocean. When they dive, their body turns into a a screw that penetrates the water. Gannets are also faster than seagulls.

T.v.A. Arriving is ok if the community is small enough. For example, in Fair Isle: you can only stay at the birds observatory: Breakfast, lunch + dinner are at fixed hours.

There are bird counting sessions at the observatory. There are rangers that stay there in order to count the bird population. It’s a ritual that lasts for about an hour in which the rangers sit around the table and compare the numbers of each population of birds that they counted. There are also ringed birds to identify, their migratory patterns, etc. The rings are a way for scientists to track the birds across different areas.

A lot of the islands I have visited have migratory birds passing through them. It’s nice to sit there on an island and to have the bird-world passing by and over you.

One of the most amazing things that happened to me on Fair Isle was the following: I was standing on a cliff (it was not dangerous.) I had binoculars and was looking through them at birds all around me. Suddenly, I had the feeling that I could touch the birds because I could not see the land through the binoculars, it was covered by the black edges of the viewers.

So it felt like there was just ocean + birds + me + no land. It felt like I was flying with them. It felt like there was no difference between what they were doing and what I was doing. It felt fantastic. I was too close to the cliff to walk around. I get scared really easily.

I was not using the binoculars to look at what was far away but they were blocking the physical reality instead. Because of the blackness within the binoculars. I could hear the sounds of their wings flapping It really felt as if I were amongst them.

T.v.A. I think there must have been around 20-30 birds around me. The birds are always there. I was just allowed to be close to them + they didn’t seem to bother. I went to Fair Isle two times. Now they’ve built a new bird observatory.

In the texts I’ve written, the sea has always appeared one way or another. But only for a minute or so. Seabirds, also appear regularly. On the other hand, I’ve never talked about birds of prey or of mountains. The city + the sea form a universe from which I draw.

Close your eyes and imagine that you’re standing on the edge of a cliff on a remote island. There’s a flock of seagulls flying very close to you, just off the cliff. Imagine that you’re looking at them through a pair of binoculars. Because of the black frame inside the binoculars, you cannot see the land, just the birds flying around you. You are surrounded by the sounds of the birds that appear to be almost laughing.
Your feet are firmly on the ground and still you have the feeling that you are part of the flock of seagulls and that you are flying amongst them.