Today I stood in the exact same spot I stood in seven years ago to make this photo of a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). And today, like then, I was standing in that spot as a participant in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. That December day in 2018, we counted birds from dawn to dark and saw probably a dozen white-throated sparrows, plus several individual birds of several other species of sparrow. Today we counted birds from dawn to dark, covered the same ground, and did not see a single sparrow! Do I need to repeat that? Today my…
Tag: birds
#AdventWord #Brood
It was a hot summer day. I had been butterfly counting for hours and was dripping sweat and running low on water. Time to head for air conditioning. Then I walked up on this little brood, secure in their well-reinforced basket hanging from a branch of a small tree swaying gently in the breeze. Stop. Ponder the wonder of it all.
#AdventWord #Equity
There’s something profound about coming eye-to-eye with a non-human creature, especially a wild one. It shrinks the distance between you and them, the species difference, the size difference, the physical differences, and more. Of course I don’t know exactly how the other creature experiences our encounter. I know I spooked a white-tail deer by locking eyes with her. Up went her flag and off she went. But she had good reason to be afraid. I was holding a compound bow with an arrow nocked. This barred owl, on the other hand, sat quietly and stared back at me and my…
#AdventWord #Heed
One October day in 2019, I turned north on Hwy 39, a.k.a. The Creole Nature Trail, headed home from the Gulf Coast of southwest Louisiana. The Pintail Wildlife Drive of Cameron Parish was on the right a few miles up the road, and I planned to visit before heading on home. But well before I reached the Drive, I spotted this Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on top of a power pole clutching a large silver fish in its talons. As I am inclined to do upon such sightings, I hit the brakes and pulled to the side of the road….
#AdventWord #Day
Day. The partner to night. “The light of day,” we say, usually to herald something good happening. For example, if the book I’ve been working on for quite some time now eventually sees the light of day, I will be very, very happy! In contrast, “never see the light of day” means something got hidden or buried. It is hard to think of a celebratory connotation or application. Usually, it suggests we’re up to no good and hope for the dark of night to cover our misdeeds. Ultimately, the light of day and dark of night are equally important to…
Edge & Essence 