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Write a story from the perspective of a bird migrating for the winter.

Posted in Winter on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 128 stories

The First Flight

Submitted to Contest #63

I lift my head from where it was tucked under my wing. The first chill wind of winter has hit. The force of its gust knocks the leaves out of the tree and I watch as the world momentarily swirls red, orange, and gold. Then everything settles again. I extend myself as I rise then jump and catch myself before I drop too low. The ground is sparse, far more than I’ve ever seen before. Granted, I’ve never experienced a winter. My greatest hope is that I never do. I’m going to fly south where it’s warmer and there will be more food to hunt.I retur...

133 likes 44 comments 44
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The Will of the Wind

Submitted to Contest #63

By Caden HillThe falcon peered downwards at his prey.He soared hundreds of feet in the air above a roiling Alaskan sea. The water steamed and bubbled, smashing against the dark rocks of the coast to produce titanic upthrusts of freezing liquid.But despite the turmoil below him, the old Peregrine was unfazed. He had braved winters cold enough that the blood began to still within him, and winds so strong that they reduced towering pines to little more than broken twigs.He flew through it all.For if he would not fly, he would not live.And today...

112 likes 138 comments 138
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Meg

Submitted to Contest #63

Dedicated to my magical parakeet, Meg, who passed October 12th. I hope you're happy soaring around in paradise, Meg.I'm flying.Mama, I'm flying again, so free! I feel so independent! The cage is gone!Mama?Where are you, Mama?Weren't you holding me in your warm hand just now?Weren't you looking at me and smiling?Why was there sadness in your eyes, even though you were smiling? Mama, what happened? Why did saltiness roll down your face and fall into my mouth? It didn't taste good, Mama. Please don't feed that to me again.Why was your face...

109 likes 1407 comments 1407
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Chicken Lips

Submitted to Contest #63

Hurry up!  It was Saturday morning and the chickens were arising, Feathers ruffled and beaks slapped with bright-  Croissant,  NO,  Crescent,  NO Cerulean? Certainly not,  Oh! the word is-  CRIMSON  red lipstick  Because these chickens were ready  And they were ready to party.  They had been planning this trip since the beginning of time, whether that meant they were first chickens or first eggs, mind you, and the day was finally, brilliantly and beautifully here. What good was sitting a...

90 likes 174 comments 174
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"The journey mate"

Submitted to Contest #63

"The journey mate"By: Syed Nasim Aejaz AshkThey were about two hundred and fifty in number and constantly flying at high speeds towards the destination. The intensity of hunger and thirst had exhausted their body strength to a great extent, but ignoring their surroundings and fatigue they were flying at lightning speed. Though he was also tired, but in view of the fear that his companions might lose the courage, he was showing a little too much self-confidence, hence, he eventually increased his speed gradually, neglecting the intensity of h...

86 likes 77 comments 77
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An Unusual Migrating

Submitted to Contest #63

“Wake up you sleepy pants, we’re migrating today!” I opened my eyes, the autumn light shining in my face. Most of my relatives were already up, flapping around, making a racket throughout our giant pine tree. It was my Aunt who woke me up. I never liked it when she woke me up, because she shouted in my face, almost blasting my wings off, and then flies away like nothing ever happened. Unfortunately, I wake up like this every morning. I ruffled my wings, and one of my brothers came over and said, “You should start packing you know, we’re leav...

60 likes 12 comments 12
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The City Of Smog

Submitted to Contest #63

As I flew over the city, I thought once again how overrated humans were. It was a big city, New York City my mother had told me, and as it is with most big cities, it was loud and bright. Flashing billboards, hoards of people, fumes, large glass windows, pretty much everything a bird despises resided in NYC, making the journey through it a particularly perilous one. The other members of my flock seemed to have some sort of respect for humans, as if their toying with new ways to ruin the ecosystem is a valuable skill that us birds are incap...

59 likes 33 comments 33
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Three-Note Call

Submitted to Contest #63

It’s getting colder again, and you know it’s time to move when you hear your father’s three-note call. The fields are glistening with snow, long circles of dark green grass diminishing until all that’s left is the sludge of white. Adorned with a silver frost, the red and yellow flowers have lost their colour. The only constant is the sky, which shines a brilliant blue. It’s your long winding road, your transportation, your perpetual home. You have a few others flying beside you. Your mother is ahead, her black and grey wings outspread. S...

59 likes 25 comments 25
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Ruby's First Flight

Submitted to Contest #63

Ruby’s First Flight By: Haripriya Chirp! Chirp! I heard my family. They were all calling me and signaling that it was time to go. All of them were tirelessly waving their pale-yellow feathers with blue and purple patterns. I glanced down at my own body and saw that I still had very pale beige feathers. Mother and father had told me I still had a lot of time to grow up, and soon have strong bold colored wings like how my mother and father do. I sighed an...

51 likes 3 comments 3
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Scarlet Tanager

Submitted to Contest #63

I am Scarlet, Scarlet Tanager. A bird who hatched in the South and lost in the North. Here I was, told you a story of mine, not a good one but I hope it leads my way to you.I remember that afternoon, years ago before I turned one. When the leave has fallen composed with their dignity told me a story of an autumn that I have never seen. I was young and enthusiast. Every pain and failure were part of live experience. I believed that moment of time, those experiences will shape me into what’s best of me. Until it never stops. It starts to burn ...

51 likes 10 comments 10
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A Tern for the Worse

Submitted to Contest #63

*Author’s Note: “A Tern for the Worse” is a standalone story, set in the same universe as my other Reedsy short-stories, with overlapping characters and events.*The headwinds were getting stronger. The world was changing, and my flock was getting smaller. Each loss was a new addition to the Firebirds twinkling in the sky beyond; but I survive.Since the thunder storm that dried the rivers and lakes, life was hard. The Grounders suffered the most, and still do. The Baldies ruled the Grounders thanks to the Gift they received from their God, bu...

42 likes 40 comments 40
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The Storr

Submitted to Contest #63

This story is reminiscent of a trip I took to Scotland one year ago, where I was fortunate to hike across the Isle of Skye. It was one the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed, and I wanted to capture the geological aspects in this story from the north to the south of the island.Thank you to all the lovely citizens of the Isle of Skye, who befriended me and helped me along my journey.///I gaze down at the earth as my colony takes to the skies, our leader gently commanding us to gather into formation. I fall in line behind Onyx––a fami...

39 likes 21 comments 21
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Fowl Play

Submitted to Contest #63

They sped along in V formation, kings of the aerial highway. Any jaywalker plucky enough to cross them was flattened. Dale was riding near the front, when the leader honked loudly. "There's a nice hole-in-the-wall up ahead. We're stopping for drinks." They’d been traveling since sunup so the gang honked back their overwhelming approval. The smooth surface was icy on Dale's underside as he settled into the water. He shivered. Then, after a moment, began to guzzle lake water. He'd been needing a drink for hours.His gullet full, Dale start...

34 likes 9 comments 9
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Sunny Shores Duck Retreat!

Submitted to Contest #63

(Write a story from the perspective of a bird migrating for the winter.)They tell you eat eat eat. You must eat enough to sustain yourself for a very long flight. Of course you know there can and will be stops along the way, as you move south and food is still available but you must guard against storms, headwinds and other unforeseen factors.So here I am, Daniel the Mallard drake, swimming along the shore feeling quite buff and fit . My weight is optimum for a long trip and I regularly take off and land, circling the pon...

32 likes 9 comments 9
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Montis Absentia Pt. VIII

Submitted to Contest #63

1The wind whips against her face, cold and pure. Around her squawk her brothers and sisters, her friends and companions, her children. Somewhere in the flock is her mate — her companion of many years. Their youthful I-can’t-spend-a-minute-without-you intensity has faded, but their love has not diminished. If anything, the bond between them has grown more solid and stable.She flaps her wings, powerful and adept. Her trajectory controlled, her speed strong, her destination ingrained. She honks once, a cry of happiness and belonging. Some of he...

26 likes 5 comments 5
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