Week 11 Story: Field Guide to Thunderbirds
Field Guide to Thunderbirds
03/23 - Yukon Mountain - 6:00 a.m.
Rose before the sun today to watch for thunderbirds. They should have already migrated back to the region by this time of year. I remember last year there were at least two dozen pairs. When they filled the sky, clouds blotted out the sun, rain came down, and people feared for their lives. Now, the skies have only songbirds and eagles these days.
7:30 a.m.
At last--two thunderbirds! A male and a female--a mating pair. I watched them for at least thirty minutes as they circled the region, looking for a nesting site. It seems they've finally settled on the summit of Yukon Mountain. As I recall, last year the hollow basin at the peak of the mountain was the best thunderbird nesting site in the area. The birds have chosen well.
03/31 - Yukon Mountain - 3:00 p.m.
Been watching the breeding pair of thunderbirds for over a week now. They have laid eggs--although how many, I've not yet been able to determine. Today, I observed the male swoop down, lightning splaying out from his wings, and pick up an elk to take back to the nesting female. A terrifying display.
04/02 - Yukon Mountain - 8:00 a.m.
Very disturbing sight today. I was watching the thunderbird nest through my binoculars when the male returned again to the nest with a prey item--except this time, the prey was a human female. Didn't recognize her, but I don't visit the local village very often. She was quite terrified, and although I couldn't hear her, I could tell that she was screaming. Worried about the locals. The eggs should be hatching soon.
04/03 - Yukon Mountain - 12:00 p.m.
Spent the morning looking at the side of the mountain. There is a man who has been climbing towards the peak since dawn. I wonder if he is the husband of the woman who died yesterday.
2:00 p.m.
The man reached the summit. Both of the thunderbirds were away from the nest when he arrived, uncharacteristically. I now know that the thunderbirds had three eggs in their nest--the man rolled each one over the side of the nest. All three of the eggs splattered, the almost-hatched young inside dead. This man was surely avenging the woman.
5:00 p.m.
Incredible events. Been watching the man descend the mountain all afternoon. He was almost to the base when the female thunderbird returned to the nest. Upon seeing that her eggs were broken, she flew up in a fit of rage, casting her storm far and wide across the sky. She attacked the man, but he was armed with a bow and shot an arrow into her throat. The arrow didn't hinder her--she cried out and flew away north. No sign of her since.
5:30 p.m.
The sun is going down now. Still no sign of the female, but the male arrived back at the nest too. He also shrieked in anger and dove down to strike at the man. But the man had another arrow ready, and shot the male in the wing this time. Like the female, the male retreated toward the north. I believe the man has made it back to the village safely, although I lost sight of him in my binoculars when he got to the thickest part of the trees.
04/07 - Yukon Mountain - 9:00 a.m.
No sighting of the thunderbirds since their encounter with the man. I wonder if they survived their wounds. Perhaps they have retreated north for good. Looks like I'll have to pack my tent in the morning--I must go in search of them.
Author's Note: I have kept the basic plot of this retelling the same from the original Alaskan legend. However, I did drastically experiment with the point of view that the story is told from. Originally, the story was told from third person perspective, focusing a lot on the fisherman's experiences as he gets revenge on thunderbirds. In contrast, I told the story from an outsider's perspective, as an ornithology studying the thunderbirds watches the encounter unfold.
Bibliography: "The Last of the Thunderbirds," Alaskan Legends unit, Katharine Berry Judson.
Hey Kenzie,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting read. It is the first "diary-style" blog post I've come across all semester. One of my favorite things about this class is I am constantly coming across new styles of writing and creative storytelling methods, so kudos to you for doing a great job with this one.
Also, I see that you are pulling from an Alaskan legend that I'm unfamiliar with when talking about these "thunderbirds," and since I'm unfamiliar my mind kept going to the legendary birds in Pokemon when I thought about what these thunderbirds are like, haha! I hope that's a close enough reference :)
Hi Kenzie! Like Chris, I hadn't seen a story from this class written in this diary-entry format before, and it works perfectly with what you're trying to achieve! The idea of an ornithologist taking field notes of Thunderbirds is brilliant - treating this mythical creatures as part of the animal kingdom in a way that sort of makes them a normal fixture of the world, but still regarding them in their power and mythical presence. Really quite a unique spin! Your line, "Worried about the locals. The eggs should be hatching soon" was really well-crafted: foreboding, yet retaining the concision of a field-note, and also in a way foretelling how the local man responds to the loss of his wife. I would contrast this with a line that I feel like you could modify a little bit "This man was surely avenging the woman" - this kind of speculation doesn't seem to fit neatly into the idea of field-notes, where observing behaviors takes precedence over assuming motivations. Perhaps you could convey this idea by instead noting something about the man's body language or behavior that would give this revenge-based impression? That was the only part that I felt like could use some tweaking, the rest is really quite incredible and fun to read!
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