Central Ohio NatureMeasuring Wealth
Posted on August 2, 2020
Certainly not an original thought, but most would say that if you have your health, enough resources to ensure adequate food and shelter, some leisure time when you are not dealing with “resources”, and good friends with whom you enjoy sharing life’s adventure, additional wealth is probably not going to contribute to life’s meaning or happiness. It also doesn’t hurt to have a curiosity about life as It will keep you engaged and seeking until the day your number gets called.
So what does any of this have to do with nature and where is Central Ohio Nature going with this? Well to get to the punch line without further delay, it has to do with an awareness of wealth that was experienced after a recent outing in the canoe. Of course this awareness doesn’t just drop out of the sky, it is facilitated by reading and enough research to appreciate what is being seen and experienced, good health and fitness to undertake the adventure, and last but not least, the company of a willing co-conspirator (in this case my wife) never hurts.
So what exactly contributed to the awareness of wealth on this particular day?
First, there’s the aesthetic of the canoe, it’s graceful purposeful shape, and the way the paddler and the canoe become one as they quietly move through the water with only the sound of the paddle as it brakes the water’s surface, is drawn back, and then, with droplets shed from the blade playing the stroke’s final notes, it leaves the water and returns to the beginning. A meditation; paddler, canoe, and water.
The north end of Griggs Reservoir. It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of a metropolitan area. We had the place to ourselves that day.
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Secondly, along with a good cast of supporting characters, at the north end of the reservoir in a stand of dead trees we had our first ever sighting of red-headed woodpeckers at that location.
Red-headed Woodpecker
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The supporting characters, not all of which are pictured, included osprey, juvenile spotted sandpiper, great blue heron (common), green heron, great egret, black-crowned night heron, belted kingfisher, great-crested flycatcher, wood ducks, double-crested cormorants, mallard duck, map turtle, large eastern spiny soft shell turtle, and a large snapping turtle.
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Female Belted Kingfisher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Mother Wood Duck with young.
A large Eastern Spiny Softshell.
With the exception of the canoe all other photos are by my wife.
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The well connected lawyer or successful entrepreneur measures their wealth in a different way than most equally successful individuals who love nature but may have a less demanding career. The “buy in” on a wealthy street in our area may require that one to be engaged with a community of like minded individuals who have also attended prestigious institutions of higher learning. This coupled with a family legacy, and the “cross pollination” with other like minded established families may be key stepping stones to shared values and wealth which include the necessary hard to fake accoutrements, such as a large beautiful house and luxury cars, which signal one’s membership in the tribe.
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But we are all destined to travel a narrow path and are all members of a some tribe. A path taken often excludes others. There is only so much life we can live. While there are undoubtedly exceptions, one would not expect that a successful high net worth entrepreneur would consider it a worthwhile use of their limited free time to walk a wetland path learning about dragonflies. Perhaps a business ski vacation to Colorado would serve their purposes better. However, is the person with more limited resources, for whom Colorado ski vacations are a bit out of reach, but who spends their time in the company of dragonflies and thus the interconnected web of life, any less “wealthy”?
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So the challenge for us all is to increase our wealth in ways that speak to our soul. The sacrifices that an entrepreneur makes to be successful in their realm are significant. From the point of view of a lover of nature they will miss out on at lot. The wealth bestowed from time spent in nature comes from a deep sense of connectedness that transcends our own self, allowing us to no longer think it terms of boundaries but instead to embrace the whole. It is something that money cannot buy and is beyond valuing. Perhaps Thoreau said it better than anyone has since:
A Quiet Voice
Posted on July 10, 2020
One of the wetlands in Prairie Oaks Metro Park, a park located not far from our home, is easy to pass right by as you drive into the west entrance. Unlike the grand vistas of Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon that overwhelm one’s senses making it hard to look away, wetlands speak with a quiet “voice”. A voice that can only be “heard” if one gets close, stops, listens, and looks. Usually at first little will be seen, but as one waits life will slowly announce it’s presence.
Wetland, heavy vegetation around the perimeter made getting to the waters edge difficult.
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It was a hot steamy early July morning that, given the recent prolonged hot spell, possessed nothing to set it apart from the day before or the day after. With the warm temperatures the goal was to see what we could see during a relatively short visit.
Not far from the water in an area of restored prairie, White Wild Indigo, “It’s habitats include moist to dry black soil prairies, sand prairies, thickets, edges of marshes and sandy marshes, borders of lakes, limestone glades, and dry clay hills. Bumblebees pollinate the flowers and the caterpillars of some skippers and butterflies occasionally feed on the foliage, including Wild Indigo Duskywing, Hoary Edge, Southern Dogface, and Orange Sulfur. The caterpillars of the Black-spotted Prominent moth can also be found on the foliage. The Wild Indigo Weevil and their grubs also feeds on this plant. White Wild Indigo is poisonous to mammals“. Ref: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info
At water’s edge a very tiny Blanchard’s Cricket Frog that the casual observer could easily mistake for a grasshopper if it weren’t for the water. “Ohio Distribution: Occurs in the western 2/3 of Ohio. Appears to be more common in southwestern Ohio than in other parts of the state. Status: This species is declining rapidly across much of its entire range. In northern Ohio it appears to be less abundant today than in the past. No apparent declines in southern Ohio have been noted to this point“, Ref: OhioAmphibians.com. (Donna).
The wetland is an oasis for dragonflies.
Male Blue Dasher, they are most common around shallow marshy ponds, (Donna).
Female Widow Skimmer, common around rivers lakes and ponds, (Donna).
A striking male Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
Bull Thistle adds color to the wetland environment.
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With the prolonged hot spell and little rain the wetland’s days may be numbered which may pose a challenge for this painted turtle.
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Milkweed flowers and leaves attract numerous insects not the least of witch is the Monarch Butterfly.
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Perhaps to become a gray tree frog, a tadpole rests near the water’s surface.
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A Green Heron lands in a tree overlooking the water. We wonder if he sees any tadpoles.
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Nearby it was hard to ignore the striking color of a male American Goldfinch.
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The Big Darby flows through the park not far from the wetland.
Lazard’s Tail, with it’s lovely fragrance, is currently very common along the river.
This Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly was seen along the muddy banks of the Big Darby. I’m always grateful I’m not a gnat when I see those eyes.
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Water Willow, with it’s small but beautiful flower, is a very common aquatic/semi-aquatic plant in Ohio and can be found along most reservoirs and rivers. “Habitats include sandbars, gravel bars, or mud bars of rivers, low islands in rivers or ponds, shallow water or muddy banks of ponds and rivers, shallow water of rocky upland streams, shallow water or wet areas of swamps, and sandy marshes. Water Willow occurs in wetlands with either stagnant water or slow to moderate currents of water. The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by bees. Other floral visitors include various wasps, flies, small butterflies, and skippers. These insects obtain primarily nectar from the flowers, although some bees collect pollen and some flies feed on pollen. Water Willow is one of the host plants for the caterpillars of Hydrangea sphinx moth which feed on the foliage. This plant is also a minor source of food for muskrats“. Ref: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info
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We hope you enjoyed this brief early July visit to Prairie Oaks Metro Park. The wetland left us with the heightened realization that nature contains universes within universes, all interconnected, but each with a magic and beauty all their own.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Canoeing And Red-headed Woodpeckers
Posted on June 27, 2020
It’s always fun when one can combine two loves. In this case canoeing and birds. My wife and I are blessed with a fondness for the active engagement of moving under our own power, be it it hiking, cycling, or paddling. It turns out that this type of quiet activity enhances the chance of seeing birds and other wildlife.
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The last week found us at the north end of Alum Creek Reservoir twice. The reservoir comprises a large portion of Alum Creek State Park. The first of two fairly long paddles was to see what birds we might find and the second was to get a better look at the red-headed Woodpeckers seen a few days before. Red-headed Woodpeckers are always a treat to set because their numbers have decreased significantly in recent years.
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According to Cornell’s All About Birds: “Red-headed Woodpeckers declined by over 2% per year from 1966 to 2014, resulting in a cumulative decline of 70%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 1.2 million, with 99% spending part of the year in the U.S., and 1% in Canada. The species is at risk of becoming threatened or endangered without conservation action. These woodpeckers were common to abundant in the nineteenth century, probably because the continent had more mature forests with nut crops and dead trees. They were so common that orchard owners and farmers used to pay a bounty for them, and in 1840 Audubon reported that 100 were shot from a single cherry tree in one day. In the early 1900s, Red-headed Woodpeckers followed crops of beech nuts in northern beech forests that are much less extensive today. At the same time, the great chestnut blight killed virtually all American chestnut trees and removed another abundant food source. Red-headed Woodpeckers may now be more attuned to acorn abundance than to beech nuts. After the loss of nut-producing trees, perhaps the biggest factor limiting Red-headed Woodpeckers is the availability of dead trees in their open-forest habitats”.
Loading camera equipment into our fast but stable 18 foot Sawyer canoe. Unless you are near shore. it’s hard to appreciate this boat’s speed when you really want to get somewhere, as it leaves virtually no disturbance in the water.
Getting ready to depart on a very quiet morning.
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Not our primary objective but it wasn’t long before Prothonotary Warblers were spotted at waters edge.
Protonotary Warbler
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The next meal, (Donna).
Not a good day for the spider, (Donna).
Shortly after our encounter with the Prothonotary Warblers we spotted an Eastern Kingbird on it’s nest on a branch overhanging the water.
Eastern Kingbirds are common along Ohio reservoirs in the summer.
Along with Wood Ducks, Osprey and one Bald Eagle and an Indigo Bunting, there were many Great Blue Heron sightings. However, in what was somewhat of a surprise, no Green Herons were seen.
A mother Wood Duck heads for cover, (Donna).
Great Blue Heron, (Donna).
Indigo Bunting
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Further up river:
Our first look in the area where we had seen the Red-headed Woodpeckers an few days before didn’t turn up much, so we headed further up Alum Creek to see what else might be found.
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On the return leg we stopped at what appeared to be a Red-headed Woodpecker “hotspot” and were rewarded with a number of sightings.
The habitat at the north end of the reservoir.
A juvenile was the first to permit photographs:
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. . . and then after some repositioning and jockeying the canoe looking for better views and better light we were able to get some shots of an adult!
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We’ve paddled to the north end of Alum Creek Reservoir many times over the years and this was the first time we’ve seen Red-headed Woodpeckers in these numbers, perhaps three adult pairs. Was our timing just bad in the past, were we just not looking for them so they remained unseen, or were they not there, at least in the quantities observed? We’re are not sure but hopefully future trips will answer the question. Meanwhile we will rejoice in having seen them and may even pay them another visit before the year is over.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Butterflies That Don’t Look Like Butterflies
Posted on June 22, 2020
In the last few weeks butterflies have become a lot more common, especially during warm late spring afternoons. To the casual observer some don’t even look like butterflies.
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Below are some seen recently where there’s no question what they are.
The very small Banded Hairstreak, (Donna).
Another very small butterfly, the Summer Azure, (Donna).
Hackberry Emperors are a very common medium size butterfly that shun flowers but on a warm day will often land on your skin.
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a large butterfly that’s easy to spot and usually easy to get a picture of.
The profile of the medium size Eastern Comma is a bit confusing but in flight there is no mistaking it for anything but a butterfly, (Donna).
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But then there are some where we’re not quite sure, a moth, butterfly, or something else?
The Silver Spotted skipper is one of the largest of the skippers and for that reason fairly easy to spot. It is a fast flier not floating like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Habitat: Disturbed and open woods, foothill stream courses, prairie waterways. Range: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
The Zabulon Skipper is very small, common but easy to miss. Habitat: Brushy openings near moist forests and streams. Range: Massachusetts west through southern Michigan to central Kansas; south to central Florida, southern Louisiana, and northeast Texas. Strays to New Mexico, South Dakota, and southern Quebec. A separate population ranges from central Mexico south to Panama. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
Two very small and seldom seen Crossline Skippers. Habitat: Open grassy areas including prairies hills, barrens, power line cuts, old fields, forest openings. Range: Western North Dakota east across central Minnesota, southern Ontario, and southern Quebec to central Maine; south to northeast Texas, the Gulf Coast, and northern Florida. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
A Peck’s Skipper on a dandelion. A very small fury butterfly. Habitat: Many open grassy habitats including meadows, prairies, lawns, marshes, landfills, roadsides, vacant lots, and power line right-of-ways. Range: British Columbia east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia; south to northeastern Oregon, southern Colorado, northwest Arkansas, and northern Georgia. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
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And then there’s this rather unusual specimen.
American Snout, Habitat: Forest clearings and edges, thorn scrub, brushy fields, roadsides.
Range: Argentina north through Mexico and the West Indies to southern United States. Migrates to central California, southern Nevada, Colorado, and most of the eastern United States. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
While fascinating it’s not clear what purpose the snout serves, (Donna).
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Given that many butterflies are very small and some fly very fast it can be a challenge to spot them. However once spotted, they transport one into a world that few visit and get to appreciate.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Getting Along Just Fine
Posted on June 11, 2020
At first, as we looked across the river, there appeared to be a Double-crested Cormorant hanging around with a bunch of turtles. But a closer look revealed that one turtle didn’t resemble the others. The others, Northern Map Turtles, were almost too many to count. The unique turtle was a Spiny Softshell Turtle which, while not uncommon, can’t compete with the map turtle when it comes to shear numbers in central Ohio.
With it’s neck almost fully extended, it’s almost as though the softshell wants to be a cormorant. The cormorant and softshell made the picture interesting, but it was fascinating to see that they were getting along just fine.
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As opposed to just two weeks ago, the brilliantly colored male Baltimore Orioles are much harder to spot with trees leafed out. However, one obliged by landing on the exposed branches of a nearby sycamore.
Enjoying a tasty meal in a sycamore tree.
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We’ve transitioned from spring to early summer wildflowers. Two of my favorites, both anemones are Canada Anemone and Thimbleweed. The Spiderwort was photographed in bright late morning sunlight, not the best conditions, but the dark background made it work. The flower of the ninebark is amazingly beautiful considering the plant’s rather ordinary name.
Foxglove Beardtongue “grows in moist, sandy soil in full sun in meadows, prairies, fields, wood margins, open woods and along railroad tracks. Its bloom period is from late spring to early summer. The plant is known to attract butterflies and hummingbirds“. Ref: Wikipedia.
This small bee is only a little over 1/2 inch long.
Thimbleweed
Spiderwort
Canada Anemone, “in the past used medically by North American Indigenous peoples as an astringent and as a styptic for wounds, sores, nosebleeds, and as an eyewash. The root was respected by Plains tribes and used for many ailments”. Ref: Wikipedia
Wild Raspberry
Ninebark
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Along the reservoir small regular waves under overhanging branches create a fascinating pattern of reflections.
Waves and reflections.
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Sometimes just an inadvertent glace in a direction not planned draws one into an adventure of unexpected wonder.
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Thanks for stopping by.
A Warbler Fascinates and Delights
Posted on June 6, 2020
We are blessed to have Prothonotary Warblers nesting in central Ohio. Much of the nesting success can be attributed to the numerous nested boxes that have been installed and maintained in the habitats favored by this delightful bird. During hikes and while canoeing we also see nesting activity in abandoned woodpecker cavities. It is always a little more special to observe the prothonotary’s behavior in a natural setting. Especially for the photographer.
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Some interesting facts: “Prothonotary Warblers forage in the understory, slowly hopping along branches, twigs, and on the ground in search of food. Sometimes they climb up tree trunks and pick insects off the bark similar to the way a Black-and-White Warbler forages. When the male establishes his territory he searches for potential nesting sites in standing dead trees and places a layer of moss in each hole. He selects a few good spots and displays in front of each site for the female. He flies slowly up above the tree canopy with tail spread and slowly flutters back down. To entice the female to check out potential nesting sites, he enters and exits the hole several times. As soon as the female selects a site, she starts building a nest. On the breeding grounds males and females aggressively defend their territories, chasing away intruders with snaps of their bills and sometimes with physical attacks. They are monogamous and maintain their bonds during the breeding season. – – – Prothonotary Warblers are uncommon to fairly common in good habitat. Their populations declined over 1% per year from 1966–2015, resulting in a cumulative loss of 42% over that period,”. Ref: Cornell All About Birds.
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One such area not far from our home is the O’Shaughnessy Nature Preserve Twin Lakes Area along the Scioto River watershed north of Columbus. We decided to use a canoe to explore the area thinking that it would provide the best access to the birds. Many of the birds in this area seem to be using nesting boxes.
Excellent Prothonotary habitat.
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You never know what birds will do and even while shooting it’s often not obvious because one to preoccupied making sure the subject is in focus, especially when you’re in a moving canoe. Having said that, we were excited to find a prothonotary in the process of obtaining a meal.
A tasty morsel, an orb weaving spider is spotted, (Donna).
Without much hesitation.
Down the hatch.
Burp!, (Donna).
Yum!
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A little later, and not more than 100 yards from where the spider used to live, another sighting. Could it be the same bird? This one decided to sing, perhaps energized by a recent meal?
Getting ready.
A quiet beginning.
. . . and then as if working towards a grand finale, singing with some stomping (actually scratching).
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As mentioned in previous posts many warbler pass through central Ohio but we are blessed to enjoy this one just a little longer.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Bringing Up The Rear
Posted on June 2, 2020
It’s been over a week since we’ve seen a significant number of spring migrants passing through our local park. For this year at least, female Redstarts and Black-throated Blue Warblers trailed their male counterparts by a few days. It was exciting to see Yellow-billed Cuckoo along the edge of the reservoir again this year.
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When the Blackpoll Warblers move through Griggs Reservoir Park it’s usually a sign that spring migration is near it’s end. “Blackpoll Warblers breed in black spruce and tamarack forests (further north) in Canada’s boreal forests. In western Canada, they also use thickets of spruce, alder, and willow. In northern New England they breed in wet areas with evergreen trees. During migration they stop over in scrubby thickets and mature evergreen and deciduous forests. On their wintering grounds east of the Andes in South America, they occur in forest edges and second-growth forests below 10,000 feet. Blackpoll Warblers are numerous throughout their range, but their numbers have declined severely in recent decades. Much of their far-northern breeding range lies outside of the area covered by the North American Breeding Bird Survey, making it hard to estimate population trends precisely. Nevertheless, the NABBS records suggest an extreme decline of nearly 5% per year from 1966–2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 92% during that time period.” Ref: Cornell All About Birds.
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The ruffled feather look.
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The female Black-throated Blue Warblers were also part of the late migration mix. “Black-throated Blue Warblers breed in large tracts of mature deciduous and mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands with a thick understory of shrubs including hobblebush, mountain laurel, and rhododendron. In the Appalachians, they tend to occur at elevations of 2,600–5,250 feet, but they occur at lower elevations in hilly terrain farther north. After breeding, individuals often move to shrubby young forests (i.e., early successional habitats) with their offspring. During migration they occur in all types of woodlands, parks, and gardens. On the wintering grounds they inhabit dense tropical forests, woodlands, shade-coffee plantations, and second-growth areas with trees. Black-throated Blue Warblers are common and their populations increased by 163% between 1970 and 2014, according to Partners in Flight“. Ref: Cornell, All About Birds.
Female.
Male for comparison.
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We’ve been hearing Red-eyed Vireos more in recent days. The White-eyed and Warbling Vireos have apparently moved on.
Red-eyed Vireos often make their presence know by their almost constant repetitive calls, (Donna).
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Eastern Wood Pewees are still seen, but many may head further north as they don’t seem as common in the park in the summer.
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Occasionally we still see a Yellow Warbler.
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The mallard babies are growing up and amazingly, considering they are usually victims of various forms of predation, their ranks haven’t thinned much.
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Breeding in the park, Eastern Kingbirds haven’t been nearly as rambunctious the last few days. Perhaps they are busy with nest building.
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An immature Red-tailed Hawk was seen near it’s nest at the north end of Griggs Reservoir during a recent paddle.
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The water was certainly not enticing but the fresh green of spring made up for it.
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The highlight during that same paddle was spotting a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. A bird we don’t often see. Some nice shots were obtained due to a very light wind and smooth water. “Yellow-billed Cuckoos use wooded habitat with dense cover and water nearby, including woodlands with low, scrubby, vegetation, overgrown orchards, abandoned farmland, and dense thickets along streams and marshes. In the Midwest, look for cuckoos in shrublands of mixed willow and dogwood, and in dense stands of small trees such as American elm. Yellow-billed Cuckoo populations declined by about 52% between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey”. Ref: Cornell, All About Birds.
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Note the beautiful tail feathers, (Donna)
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Due to Covid-19 no birding “hot spots” such as Ohio’s Magee Marsh were visited, but even so it’s been a great spring migration.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Beauty In A Very Small Package
Posted on May 25, 2020
We were actually looking for the last of the migrating warblers. Walking along the shoreline shrubs that bordered the reservoir I happened to look down. At my feet was the blur of a not uncommon, very small, blue butterfly flittering in the grass. I turned to my wife, who has a passion for such things, and said there’s something here of interest. She immediately went to work. Click here Eastern-tailed Blue for more info on this butterfly.
Male Eastern-tailed Blue.
Usually only the gray underside of the wings are visible when it lands.
In our experience, if the temperature and sunlight are just right, conditions that seem to occur more in the spring, this beautiful little butterfly, about the size of a dime with wings closed, is much more likely to show it’s beautiful blue “topsides”.
Thanks for stopping by.
With A Little Help From . . .
Posted on May 15, 2020
We are blessed to enjoy nature and this usually results in not being around a lot of people. A perfect combination for these times. Spring is the season of new life whether it be the young leaves and flowers of a buckeye tree, or the sometimes almost frantic activity of nesting and migrating birds. One day last week, along a wooded park road at waters edge, there seemed to be colorful “missiles” flying everywhere. In that moment, with the smell of spring flowers and a backdrop of surrounding tree green luminescence, it was hard not to feel the warm embrace and the affirmation of being part of something that is much more.
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So with a little help from our friends, be they butterflies, birds, wildflowers or trees, we are invited into a world that to our peril is too often ignored. But to work it’s magic, it demands that we be in the moment, pay attention with intention, and extend our curiosity beyond it’s usual realm. At first, we may find our curiosity stunted because, equipped with little knowledge, our imagination of what lies beyond the next “mountain” is limited. Finding the answer to that first small question may start a journey that informs and empowers in ways never imagined and that far outreach the original field of inquiry.
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In the spring birds are endlessly foraging for food in trees and in low lying brush. What in the world are they all eating? Observing bird behavior, particularly Baltimore orioles as they work over buckeye flowers, coupled with additional research reveals the answer. In the spring birds, including warblers, obtain nutrition from tree buds and the edible parts of flowers including their nectar in addition to insects. Could this be one of the reasons that the orioles like the park near our home with it’s numerous buckeye trees? Within limits, don’t look for a common yellow-throat in the top of a tall tree, most migrating birds find suitable food in a variety locations.
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So below are some birds that have brought a dimension to life in our humble city park that will not be there in a few weeks. In doing so they have expanded our awareness of life that goes far beyond our current cares.
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Black-throated Blue Warbler, Griggs Reservoir Park (GRP)
Take 2, GRP.
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Male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Duranceau Park (DP)
Male courting display, DP.
The female looks curious, DP.
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Chestnut-sided Warbler, GRP.
Another view, GRP.
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Male Indigo Bunting, GRP. Could we be so fortunate that it would nest in the park?
Take 2, GRP.
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Male Baltimore Oriole, GRP. Baltimore Orioles build many nests in the park.
Another angle, GRP.
Immature male, GRP.
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Palm Warbler, GRP.
Singing, GRP.
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Pine Warbler, DP.
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Male American Redstart, GRP.
Another view, GRP, (Donna).
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Tree Swallows are hear for the season, GRP.
Male and female, GRP.
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Barn Swallow, GRP, (Donna).
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Northern Parula Warbler, GRP.
Another look, GRP.
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Blue-headed Vireo, GRP, (Donna).
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Warbling Vireo, GRP.
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White-eyed Vireo, GRP, (Donna).
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Yellow Warbler, GRP, (Donna).
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Blue-winged Warbler, DP, (Donna).
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Black and White Warbler, GRP, (Donna).
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Yellow-throated Warbler, GRP.
Take 2, GRP, (Donna).
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White-crowned Sparrow, GRP.
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White-throated Sparrow, GRP, (Donna).
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Magnolia Warbler, GRP.
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Prothonotary Warbler, GRP, (Donna).
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Scarlet Tanager, DP.
Take 2, DP.
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Yellow-rumped Warbler, GRP.
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The Great-crested Flycatcher nest in the park, GRP.
Northern- Flickers also nest in the park, GRP.
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Tufted Titmouse are a year round resident, GRP, (Donna).
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As are Downy Woodpeckers, GRP, (Donna)
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House Wren, GRP, (Donna).
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Catbirds are also a summer long resident, GRP.
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Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, DP, (Donna).
Female, GRP, (Donna).
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Mallard family, GRP, (Donna).
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We hope that this post finds you in good health and that in this season of new life and rebirth, you find your celebration.
Chipmunk
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Thanks for stopping by.
Nature In The Time Of Covid-19
Posted on April 28, 2020
It may go against our initial reaction, but if it illuminates a greater understanding and appreciation of life and it’s inter-relatedness, we are blessed to live in the time of Covid-19. Not since before to the advent of modern medicine and most notably antibiotics, has serious illness and death been so relevant to the way we live our daily lives. Stories of mass death due to plagues and other pestilence, in what to us seems like the distant past, are well documented. More recently there have been periods where death has been a greater part of our awareness, WW II comes to mind, but in that war few in the civilian population of the United States had to worry that their “number” might be called. Now the lethal enemy could be lurking in the smiling face of someone just a few feet away and so we find a kinship with those in our more distant past.
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One can only guess how most folks dealt with outbreaks of cholera before there was any idea of how it came to be or spread. Certainly fear, and the hope that through prayer to god one would be spared, was a big part of it. But then what? Suppose you were blessed with another day? How did you experience it? My guess, and I’m sure that of most, is that there was a heightened value placed on each day, if one was not grieving the death of a loved one.
I have reached the age where cherishing each day is no longer just an intellectual concept but one that is experienced. Still, events of the last few weeks have heightened that awareness.
During this time, walks in nature have been an escape but have also served as a reminder of what it has to teach. Learning about the natural world, and appreciating all that comprises it, has been a passion for a number of years. As a result, like any passion, whether one is a painter, gourmet cook, or restores antique cars, while so engaged, one can be totally in the moment and for a time all else is forgotten.
However, this passion for, and love of, the natural world not only has provided times of escape from many of life’s cares but has evoked an awareness of being part of something greater. This goes against our usual mindset, undoubtedly fostered in part by the sheer number of humans on the planet, that we are exceptional, and are somehow above and separate from other living things. But a virus doesn’t know whether it is invading the body of a human or a frog. In either case, the results can vary from just an annoying illness to one that is fatal. Bacterial infections, although often treatable by modern antibiotics, may have the same range of outcomes. But viruses and bacteria are nature and are essential to life as we know it, and often death.
A walk in the woods is a reminder that living things are constantly being born and dying and that to our eye the beauty of autumn color is often as captivating as a spring wildflower attracting pollinators, birth and death. Nothing lasts and any illusion we have of permanency is just that. So Covid-19 has come knocking at our door with an unrelenting song of illness and death and with it the fear that even though we may not have many of the of the high risk criteria no one can be too sure. A new normal at least for a time. We have reluctantly become part of the humanity of history, of the black plague, and of the polio vaccine. We share their fear and joy.
A quiet walk on a wooded path challenges one to be alive now as fungi is seen thriving on a dying tree while a bluebird, with captured insect, flies to it’s nest bringing food for it’s young. It challenges us to hold all life as sacred informed by the humble realization that until the very recent past we were but a small part. In our ephemeral moment the call to us all is to be relevant to the needs our world, to those around us, and to all living things, to reach out in love.
