Can you say Anthropomorphism?

 

Evening grosbeaks are all named Pete. Whenever a new one appears they all call out, "Pete!" Just like "Norm" in Cheers. It's always hilarious.

I knew you could.

Most people don't know many 16-letter words but this is one of them. Its usual definition is the act of giving animals human characteristics and it is most often said when trying to embarrass or belittle the human who is committing the said offence.

Let it be known that I anthropomorphize routinely, almost continuously, in fact. And I do it with no shame. No shame whatsoever. 

As Brenda once told a friend, "At our house, all the animals talk."

Another time Brenda said to me, "The animals, they speak to you."

The typical context of someone belittling people like me who anthropomorphize is "How ignorant and egotistical it is for you to think that animals must have human characteristics!"

My response, at least in my head, is "What an arrogant and ignorant ass you are!

"Are you such a dimwit that you don't know animals communicate, not only with each other, but to every other life form that is capable of receiving that communication?"

Have you ever sat in a deer blind and seen a doe whitetail swivel her head and perk up her ears toward the sound of a bluejay issuing an alarm call? 

Why do duck hunters sometimes put out a heron decoy near their spread? Because the presence of a heron communicates safety to the flock. Ducks trust herons.

The birds sitting on the tree near the house and looking into the window are saying, "Hello! The bird feeder is empty!"

A red fox eating sunflower seeds that have fallen on the snow at night is saying to himself, "I'm completely invisible to that guy standing in the brightly-lit sunroom." And then, "Crap, why didn't someone tell me he had a flashlight!"

Loons are the easiest creatures to communicate with. Loon books often interpret their calls. The so-called yodel is the loon on the water saying hello to another loon that is flying. That flying loon responds with a laugh. 

The mournful "howl" or wolf call sound is the loon saying, "Where are you?" to its mate. 

The "kook" call is, "Are you friendly?"

Loons are very social with humans. They will swim right up to you when you are playing the guitar on the dock or to see the dog. They can also put on water-dancing displays when you get too close to their nests. 

"Go someplace else!"

I have had so many personal moments with loons that it is hard to pick one to talk about but here is one from last summer. I was sitting on my chair casting from the dock after supper when I spotted one of the neighborhood loons way out on the bay. He immediately turned and headed my way,  just poking along.

When he was about 50 feet away he stopped swimming and seemed to say, "Catching anything?"

"Not a bite so far," I said aloud.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to call it a day," I felt the loon said to me. And with that he put his head under his wing and went to sleep.

I made a few more casts in directions away from the loon but then picked up my tackle box and went back to the cabin so I didn't disturb him. It was the polite thing to do.