Like falling in love

In my head, I'm an ornithologist. I don't know whether anyone else would agree, especially taking into account that I've had considerably less contact with birds in the last couple of years.

But it doesn't matter. I just am one. Period.

Why? Because I get this feeling in my stomach, half way between indigestion and butterflies, every time I see a bird. It's similar to falling in love. Somehow birds manage to creep into my life, no matter what I do and where I am. They manage to make my serotonin levels drop and push me straight into a state of obsessiveness. It happens every time I go back to the parrot world - it's like a drug. I'm fine for a while and then I see a photo, a video, or Merlin forbid, a live parrot. All of the sudden my brain is not only choking on the parrot beauty and intelligence, but also starting to pick and choose which parrots I should keep, what would the dream aviary look like, where in the world are the best places to go to see those amazing creatures in their natural environment. From there it's straight into forums, articles, conservation initiatives, books, whatever I can get my hands on.

I wonder whether others get that, maybe not necessarily with birds, but anything at all?

Currently birds are creeping into my attempts at art:

Blue-and-gold macaw; chalk and coloured pencils

Goldfinch; coloured pencils

Orange-bellied parrot; watercolours

Maybe I really should push for a PhD involving parrots... Hmmm... Then I could obsess on a daily basis for three full years!