The White Bird

The sun rising over Halibut Point bathed Folly Cove's ledges in golden light and deep shadows. It made a rich backdrop for noticing the birds gathered around a school of small fish.

Early morning, Folly Cove

The leathery tones in the granite accentuated  a singular white bird perched above the multitude like a serene icon over the feeding frenzy.

The White Bird

In its stillness the bird seemed an eerie transmogrification of a member of a usually frenetic tribe. It was an albino Herring Gull, feathers unmarked by color or pattern. At that moment the White Bird appeared aloof from the restless appetites of its species.

It's easy to sense transcendence in such a creature. It seemed to be composed of elements only partly of this world. Its lack of outward detail suggested supernatural detachment, self-contained elegance, potency in reserve. It projected a quiet knowing.

In both the Old and New Testaments a White Bird, particularly a dove, is often associated with divinity, purity, peace, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

White tern, Plum Island

This was my second recent encounter with a mysterious white bird. The one above photographed on the Plum Island safari is apparently an albino Common Tern. Without visible field markings, taxonomy can be difficult. I felt the yearnings of science weaken. Like the ancients, and like mystics of all eras, I became aware of metaphor taking hold as a force of meaning and power. Whiteness has timelessly suggested clarity, hope, and new beginnings, the removal of pain and suffering, the unity of spectral diversity into Whole Light.

White is the color chosen for bridal veils and baby's swaddling clothes, for surgical healing and naval ceremony, for Islamic pilgrims and Christian angels, for Buddhist funerals and Hindu shrouds. The Pope has worn white since 1566 as a symbol of purity and sacrifice. It is the color of glory and of the heart bled dry.

From Moby Dick to alpha wolves to Great Sharks, white has been associated with power and liminal qualities at the boundary of life and death. The White Bird flies back and forth between ultimate realms. For minds seeking the fullest experience it brings science and imagination into Oneness.