Encounters With Bird Spirits

Many of my encounters with bird spirits occur at critical times in my life. Often the raven, hawk, or eagle delivers a message of warning.  Or sometimes of hope in the face of despair and hopelessness.
The hummingbird, however, is a bringer of cheer and blessings from the spirit world.  Here I tell their contrasting stories.​

I was hiking in the Ent Moors recently with my dear brother James.  His relationship was in deep trouble, and I had frequently offered him the chance to bail out of an abusive situation by moving in with me, in a comfortable apartment we had shared for years. 
But on this day that was not my message.  I simply announced to him on the rocky crags of the “Towers of Shangri La” that I was giving up on my attempts to save him.  “She will destroy your life,”  I sadly announced, “but I am finding someone else to be my roommate, because I can’t wait any longer for you.  I am sorry.”  In that exact moment a young red shouldered hawk flew to a branch directly in James’ face and started screaming very loudly.  No, there was no nest nearby to defend.  We had been talking quietly for some minutes before the conversation turned to the Moving issue.  Then suddenly it swooped in. It screamed for several minutes.   James was immediately clear about the message.  He decided that day to rent my spare room as a precaution.  Soon the chaos at his girlfriend’s house got much worse.  Now we both believe that a young hawk saved his dignity and possibly his life. 

Hummingbirds have been an omen of blessing for many people.  But my favorite story happened in Boynton Canyon, near Sedona.  I had led a group of 10 pilgrims up to the spectacular red rock walls of Boynton Canyon.  At the trail summit was a wide table of rock at which we stood for a drum ceremony in which I asked the spirits of this canyon to give us a blessing.  Within moments a hummingbird flew into the center of our circle.  Then it flew around the circle stopping  inches in front of the eyes of each participant to hover there.  Only when each participant was so honored did the hummingbird fly away.