Oldest North American feathered friends,
Bigger than ducks, longer, thicker necks than grebes,
Splendiferous sculpted aquatic bodies,
Land walking nah,
Lifetime in water, save mating, nesting ashore.
Part submarine, part fighter jet,
Long open water runways,
Pattering into wind across watery faces,
Head down, hunched back, nose of jet.
Powerful wingbeats, impressive 112kph aeronautics.
Dense bones, low water sitter,
Dagger-like bill tilted skyward,
Curious skinny dipping lakers,
Beholdable earthly markings,
Ultimate lowriders with attitude!
Vigorous frogmen, squeezing feathered air,
Nose, throat valves, lung protectants.
Head down, sturdy webbed feet kick,
Torpedo-shaped, launching minus splash,
Five-minute breath, forty-three metres below!
Clear eye membranes perfect swimming goggles,
No grit no saltwater irritations,
Surface blink clears vision,
Down go protective shades, forty winks,
Piercing red mating eyes, the look!
Breeding plumage spring mate, autumn concealing molt,
Checker-board black-and-white underwater camouflage,
Spot mimicry, sunlit shimmering surface water,
Beguiling bald, golden eagles,
Winter feathers deceive sharks, orcas.
Males, females winter apart.
Spring birth lake reunification.
Elaborate bobbing dipping diving courtship.
Several days many copulations.
Chicks four weeks later, water bound.
Family of four, one thousand-kilo summer fish!
Thirty years remarkable longevity.
Mother Earth, primeval, ethereal.
Sane wilderness call – WhooEEEooo.
First Peoples revered.
©2022 ReeseHalter.com
Agitate. Disrupt. Defend.
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#ProtectAllWilderness
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#GenZEmergency
Reese Halter is a bees/trees/seas defender.
His latest book is GenZ Emergency.
Email: HalterBooks@gmail.com for your autographed copy.
In Australia, order from the Bob Brown Foundation by emailing: Contact@BobBrown.org.au
