It
is early autumn now, and I love this time of the year. The weather
is cooler, mornings are brisk, trees and bushes are starting to
slowly change colors, and there is a quiet energy that gives a
little bounce to one's step. It is also the time of the fall hawk
and songbird migration, and that always energizes and excites me.
This year I am not teaching, so I now have the opportunity to check
a bit of the migration during the week. This year I am on an autumn
camping trip for the first time in decades, and I am able to visit
wildlife refuges along the Atlantic Flyway and track the hawk
migration. What a gift!
When
my wife and I camp we love setting up in state parks. They are well
maintained, situated in wonderful locations, have good facilities,
and are near towns with interesting places to go and things to do in
the event of rain. We picked one place in both MD and VA that were
near a couple of National Wildlife Refuges with which we were not
really familiar; we were looking forward to tracking the migration
in new places. We would be in a number of marshy areas, which is
heaven for us. We love marshes; marshes contain a vast array of
plant communities that in turn support a wide variety of wildlife.
As a result, marshes can support an amazing diversity of life that
is way out of proportion to their size. Where there are diverse
plants there are diverse insects, fish and small mammals. And where
there is a diversity of insects, fish and small mammals, there is a
great diversity of birds. And sure enough, we saw plenty of birds
and insects. Turkey vultures were all over the place, soaring with
the winds, and there were plenty of full grown and immature eagles
taking to the skies as well. Merlin, Coopers, broad winged,
sharp-shinned, and marsh hawks were all soaring high and circling in
the skies as they hunted. We caught a peregrine falcon posing in a
dead tree across a pond from us. Even though the weather did not
allow for the regular rush of hawks normally seen at this time,
there was plenty to see. But it was not just hawks and birds of
prey. In the marshes we saw great white and snowy egrets, great blue
herons, dozens of swans, green-winged teals, black ducks, and more.
Walking the trails we came across some confusing fall warblers we
could not hope to identify and woodpeckers we could. We also
encountered breathtakingly beautiful butterflies and colorful
dragonflies that had us shaking our heads in wonder. It was an
embarrassment of species riches that lifted our spirits and took us
to that special place of quiet wonder and awe that only being
outside and directly connected with the natural world can bring. It
was a gift to have the time to both explore new places and to see
the cycle of nature and time at work at a leisurely pace.
One
other thing that amazed us on the trip was the number of National
Wildlife Refuges that are in MD and VA. We had been to Blackwater
Refuge outside of Cambridge, MD before, but we visited a total of
four refuges in eastern part of the two states, and had our trip not
been cut short by rain, we could have visited at least four more.
The four we visited-Eastern Neck in VA and Pawtuxent, Eastern Shore
and Blackwater in MD-each had slightly different layouts and
environments, and that made me quite aware of the hands of humans in
managing nature at refuges. Normally when I think of humans
“managing nature” I think of negative things, such as the
destruction of wetlands and poorly planned levee systems that led to
the floods in New Orleans during Katrina, and the over-development
of natural habitat that has helped lead to climate change and the
near extinction of so many species. But the human management in the
Wildlife Refuges seems to work extremely well. Their human made
impoundments, carefully laid out hiking, biking and auto trails, and
their controlled burns all serve to keep an abundant number of
species surviving midst the dual threats of climate change and
development. In addition, their educational and outreach programs
seem to be connect with people of all ages and types. I have always
been a big supporter of National Parks and National Wildlife
Refuges, but seeing so many in such a short period of time made me
even more aware of the wonderful work they do. Without them this
city born West Philadelphia kid might never have become a birder or
explored much beyond my front door. And for that, I am grateful.
We
will be back to those refuges-there are winter walking tours at a
couple and festivals at others. That is one of the wonderful things
about being alive; there are so many places to visit, so many things
to explore and so many things to discover. I know I will never get
to see all the places and sites that would blow my mind and please
my soul. But what that means is that this is constant and ongoing-I
will never run out. There will always be more to see, to do, to
learn, and to experience. And that is a very good thing, indeed. Happy Autumn to you all.
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