This bird is a hawk maybe? I never located a match when I tried to figure it out.
Regardless, what I DO know about this bird is he/she is a good fisher-bird. I frequently see this bird soaring high over the lake at the local park where I walk.
The bird doesn’t dive into the water when he sees a fish. Instead, he descends to the surface as though he is plucking a dandelion from a field, and when he rises again, he rises with a fish.
I am at the lake a fraction of the day, and in the last two weeks I’ve seen him scoop up three fish. I can only imagine how many he actually has caught in that time.
When he gets one, he circles the lake one last time then always heads away from the lake to the south. My guess is there is a nest of hungry babies there.
I’ve learned 8 life lessons from this bird:
1) Be patient and delay gratification. Sometimes you need to hover long intervals of time before you catch anything.
2) The higher the vantage point, the better.
3) Less is more. Don’t immerse yourself completely when getting your talons wet will do.
4) Learn from others and learn things for yourself. Embrace what works that your ancestors have taught you about survival and thriving in life.
5) On the flip side of 4, let go of an idea from your own mind or another if trial and error reveal the idea doesn’t work for you.
6) Embrace the skill of flying. Birds can physically fly without help from the gadgets that humans must use. However, as a metaphor, a human can let their spirit ‘soar.’ They may find life goes better when they do.
7) If life calls you to spend many hours going it alone, embrace the advantages of solitude.
8) Don’t get overly involved with what onlookers think. They only know the very surface of how your life in the moment appears. Just live your life fully and trust that it is enough.
Since I am a 24 year vegetarian, catching a fish may not be the perfect symbol, but when you think in metaphor, it works.
NOTE: I later learned this bird was an Osprey.