I have a completely irrational ridiculous fear of birds.
Yes you read that correctly. Birds. Doesn't matter how big or small, pretty or ugly. Pigeons, cockatiels, canaries, parrots, seagulls... They are all the same to me.
I've been afraid of them for as long as I can remember. I think it stemmed from a faint memory of my dad ripping a frozen magpie out of one of his weasel traps when I was small child. I still remember the sound it made when he shoved the thing in his pocket and it still makes me shudder. Also, in grade four, Josie Bonfield brought in to show our class two little blue eggs that his pet bird had hatched and Aaron Johnson picked one up and squished it between his fingers. Gross. Then to make matters worse I had a pigeon full on fly into me when I was coming home from high school one day. It was sleeping on a chair on our covered deck and I must have startled it when I ran up the stairs. It hit the ceiling and then flew into me and was flustered so it just flapped around my head for a second before I swatted it towards the opening. My dad, who saw the whole thing, just about keeled over laughing. I, on the other hand, was practically in tears.
Mostly it's a fear of hurting them, I think, because it's not their claws or talons that frighten me. It's their wings. They just seem so fragile. And I feel like it would be so easy to break their necks. Even just typing this is making me queasy.
But in preparation to live with this little guy all summer (meet Percy), I decided it was time to conquer this phobia. From a distance, I've always been able to appreciate the beauty of the creatures, but trying to put a budgie on my finger was enough to make me have a panic attack. My brother and my mom raved about the aviary during our trip to the San Diego Zoo (or Wild Animal Park... one of the two), but I stepped in and walked right back out. I couldn't handle a DOME full of birds with no escape. No way Jose.
So how does one conquer a fear of birds? By going to an aviary, of course. So I made a trip down to the Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park. I promised myself that I would stay for an hour. It's not a very big place, but there is lots to look at and lots to read if you take the time to do it. After having several almost-heart attacks, I found that after a while I did get accustomed to the whole idea and found it quite nice and serene in there. The birds swooping down from overhead didn't freak me out as much, though there were a couple times where they came a little two close for comfort. And the little ones were just fine. The scariest were the ones on the ground. I was so terrified to step on one. Or to have one attack my legs. I had a small desire to kick one. I don't know why. It's the same feeling people get when they want to squeeze a really cute baby or kitten too hard. Don't worry - I resisted. Besides, even the thought of kicking a bird makes me shudder in anticipation to what kind of sound it would make as my foot broke its wing.
Here are some pictures I took myself (for proof!) - except for the first one, which I got online. If you are ever in the Vancouver area and have a half hour to kill, I highly recommend checking this place out. It only costs about $5 and you could even learn a thing or two!
