The Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was sturring, not even a mouse;

The cat hat removed any stray rodents running the floors,
Because she followed the policy to keep cats indoors;

The birders were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lifers flitted in their heads;

When out in the great oak a clatter did brew,
A Barred Owl calling “Who cooks for you?”;

I sprang from my bed and grabbed my bins,
Slipped on a bird book and bonked both my shins;

I felt the need for a pain reliever,
And nearly toppled over my sleeping Chesapeake Bay Retriever;

I made it to the window and looked at the feeding station,
And remembered all the year’s work for conservation;

I gazed at the moon-lit yard, which twinkled like glass,
Oh how great it looked with frozen prairie grass;

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
An early rising Cardinal chirping with no fear;

I grabbed my coat and was followed by my entourage,
Our two wild Dobermans out towards the garage;

The shadows of the old willow blocked the light of the moon,
Concealing the suet where woodpeckers would be soon;

Suddenly out of the darkness a figure did stand,
The friendliest person I’ve seen in the land;

He carried a camera, bins, bird guide, and gave me a smile,
And asked if he could talk to me for awhile;

He called out bird names with a bellow,
“Whooping Crane, Cerulean Warbler, and that ‘Lord God’ fellow;

All birds facing the danger of vanishing from Earth,
Unless people realize just what they’re worth;

Birders and nature-lovers must make a stand,
Educate the ill-informed to make sure to care for the land”;

He warned me to never quit fighting for birds,
Even if just through this blog with photos and words;

Without warning his mouth was drawn and he let out a pish,
And a Bald Eagle arrived still carrying a fish;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Let me know if we work together we have nothing to dread;

And then I heard him exclaim as he vanished from sight,
“Merry Christmas and good birding to all, and to all a good night!”

‘Lord God’ is a reference to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Originally written December 2006 by Eddie Callaway