Dream birds, literally... (1 Viewer)

[columbidae]

It seems like I remember someone recently mentioned keeping a list of birds seen in dreams. I would like to know specifically what birds--common, rare, or even non-existent--that you all have seen in dreams.

Last night I dreamt that I saw a puffin landing on a schoolyard--unusual enough as I'm sure no puffin has been anywhere near my area, but then when I saw someone near it I realized it was about 30 feet tall!

I've also dreamt recently about wild turkey, painted buntings, and a Louisiana waterthrush, none of which I have actually seen in the wild.

Have you ever dreamt about a bird, then seen it soon after?

 

[pauco]

no must keep on dreaming.
bert

 

[simondix]

I did but my dream wasn't accepted by the rarities committee.

 

[Andrew]

I have often dreamt wierd and fascinating birds and then look up a book a long time after and feel I have seen it before!

 

[birdman]

This is quite bizarre, Dan, as I almost started a dream birds thread on Wednesday.

My dream bird from Teusday night was nothing rare, but it was our beautiful Kingfisher, and for the record, I saw it by using the "perch" method suggested on BF by nigelblake for photographing Kingfishers!

 

[Charles Harper]

I dream of birding almost constantly, and like other dream elements, they are a source of infinite frustration. I have NEVER had a bird dream in which I have not forgotten my binoculars, and spend the entire dream trying to finbd them and get ready to bird, but am constantly side-tracked-- car won't run, car runs too fast, car goes wrong direction, clothes torn, clothes wet (have to urinate in real life), clothes missing, car missing, wrong day, wrong path, wrong ticket, wrong forest, on and on it goes. I have never seen a bird I could identify upon awaking, though there have been a number of shadowy, half-hidden, swift-flying, bizarre hybrid images.

Drives me nuts.

 

[dennis]

Hey Dan, I mentioned dream birding a couple of months ago. I brought it up because of my listing problem(I can stop anytime I want to).

I referenced "The Pettingell Book of Birding Records", Second edition, 1991. It lists a variety of listing records that are kept by otherwise sane people.

The record holder at that time, Terence Lee Sciefer of Pennsylvania, recorded 253 species of birds that had appeared in his dreams. He was far and away the champion since second place was held Amy Price of Arizona. She recorded 93 species.

A personal birding accomplice, Bernie Morris, has recorded 58.

Can't say that I can remember any specific birds in my dreams. Maybe I'm not as far gone as I think.

dennis

 

[birdman]

I can imagine the ethics of dream listing being fraught with difficulties.

We've all had those dreams were you meet, for example, your brother, but the person you see is actually Bob from down the road - but as far as your dream is concerned, he's still your brother...!!!

Surely it must happen that you dream the sighting of, oh I don't know, a hummingbird - but clearly, from your waking skills as a birder, you recognise that it was clearly an ostrich.

Which do you list? One? Either? Neither ?? Both???

In any event, there's a serious danger that your dreaming dream list and your waking dream list won't reconcile.

Then you're in a right fix... oh...oh... I see... you said SANE people.

Sorry... my mistake!

 

[Andrew]

I do recollect the details of a few dreams when I wake up and I shall try to write about one or two soon as they are often surreal! Why don't we try to write about soem of the next ones we have, mine could be 'A Devonian Sees A Lesser Crested Tern attack Joan Collins....In His Dreams!'.

 

[Tammie]

I normally dream about the one bird I would dearly love to see but don't get up here.... the northern cardinal. I had a dream recently so vivid that I woke up in the morning thinking I actually saw three of them on the feeder! Broke my heart when I realized it wasn't true!

 

[datnoyd]

I live in America and dreamed I went to London and saw a brambling. Is such a thing possible? It was very vivid. I woke up reaching for my "birds of Europe" guide. My dream bird was very close!

I have seen a flock of Australian gallahs (pinkish cockatoos) in Jamaica in my dreams, and before my my first trip to Jamaica I dreamed I caught a Streamertail and held it close to my heart.

Yes I have had the arrived in a foreign land without binoculars scenario in my dreams!

Kim E. Datnoyd

 

[columbidae]

I can see where the problems would arise in listing ones dream birds. How would I list the 30-foot tall puffin that I saw? What actual variety of puffin is this size? Not to mention that in the dream I saw it in a place and habitat totally different from where actual puffins live. And what of dreams that I've had where I saw birds but not specific species--not generic featureless birds, but--this is kind of hard to explain, but the context of their appearance in the dream just did not involve categorizing the birds into species.

I've thought about listing dream birds but I'm just not sure how to deal with this situation, where the bird doesn't exactly fit a known species. Maybe more of a descriptive journal, rather than a checklist, would work better.

 

[Richard Ford]

I used to have reoccurring dream that just around the corner from my house in a field where nobody ever went. There was a secret pond that only I could go to, there was always Rare Terns and waders passing though all the Herons were Purple, all the Starling were Rose coloured etc etc. I think I tried to show it to someone, when there was a Frigate bird or something present, but alas it was just a field to anyone else… Ho hum…
:-C :smoke:

 

[Andrew]

Richard, That is a good dream!

 

[LuBird]

I dreamed of birds once and not that long ago. I can't remember one thing about the dream,only that it was pleasant. I am always trying not to dream about anything as I feel it is an invasion of my privacy. So when I do dream, I hardly ever tell the dream and try not to remember it. Just this once, 'cause it was birds,it might have been nice to know what kinds of birds I saw Oh I hope this thread will not make me dream tonight

 

[marcus]

I don't ever remember any specific bird I saw in my bird dreams, I just remember having a few. I really wish that I could have more. It seems that would be the subject that I would dream of a lot, since I have birds, birding and binoculars on my mind so much.
marcus