All posts in category nature

primeval

Em El and I took some much-needed vacation time last week. Part of our journey included a return trip (for me) to one of my favorite places in the South: the Congaree National Park. This park protects the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest on the continent. The average canopy height of the trees is over 100 feet, with many trees well over 150 feet high, including the National Champion Loblolly Pine, which tops out at 167 feet high and almost 15 feet around. Here I am below in front of one of the Congaree’s mighty giants. To put things in perspective a bit, I am about 6 feet 2 inches tall.

On this day, we spent about 6 hours exploring the swamp and it held many wonders for us. Migrating warblers and vireos flitted through the park, often coming quite close, and we frequently heard the wild cry of the Pileated Woodpecker, a bird that is in my mind the perfect ambassador to a place like the Congaree. During our sojourn, we were also lucky enough to spot two Barred Owls. Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was the small herd of wild boars we startled (the startling was mutual, believe me) as we hiked through one of the more remote areas of the park.

Between the massive trees, the clumps of Spanish moss hanging everywhere, and the overwhelming primal feel of the place, I felt like we’d traveled back in time, and I couldn’t help wondering what it must’ve been like before our ancestors tore through here like a pack of Tasmanian devils, chopping down trees and draining swamps like there was an endless supply of both.

All I can say is I am so glad that the National Park Service exists. It is arguable that it was too little too late, and that in the grand scheme of things, the NPS protects a mere shred of the natural beauty that once adorned this country. But if it weren’t for places like the Congaree, it would be so much harder to drive through the South today and see how suburban sprawl eats up more and more land. I think of my trip to the Congaree like a pilgrimage. I return to the city renewed inside, for a little while at least.

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by sean on September 23, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in birds, congaree national park, conservation, nature, owls, south carolina, southeast u.s., swamps, trees, vacation, warblers, woodpeckers

Posted by sean on September 23, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/09/23/primeval/

corroded contact points

Sometimes we disappoint ourselves, in either the short or the long term. Sometimes both. Not much has left my head lately and traveled to the page. Other life things have taken precedence. Which is fine, but I’m getting anxious for them to be resolved. As refuge, I’ve taken to the woods when spare time presents itself. Many of the birds have finished breeding already, and fledglings are out and about: rambunctious teenage woodpeckers, even tinier than usual chickadees, not-as-wary young catbirds. A couple of weeks ago I saw a female Wood Duck with 12 fuzzy little ducklings following her en masse. At the same time and place, I saw two adult Bald Eagles. These birds are truly majestic, so much so that perhaps our country doesn’t always live up to the pure ideals that they have come to represent.

Meanwhile, change looms ahead and I suppose when the transition completes, I will remain the same. But perhaps not. Certainly the opportunity to learn new things will follow. Certainly the chance to reorder and rearrange my life will dangle in front of me once again. And armed with a little steel wool, I can clean the corrosion off of these contact points in my head. Perhaps then the clarity I seek will reach its target.

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by sean on July 6, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in birds, change, ducks, inner life, nature, parts of the whole, writing

Posted by sean on July 6, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/07/06/corroded-contact-points/

romance in the woods

Love was in the air during my weekly Friday birding expedition. I followed a pair of Carolina Chickadees for a while; the female fluttered her wings as the male fed her treats gleaned from the surrounding branches. Not far from them, a pair of Northern Cardinals were engaged in the same courtship ritual. And all around, male birds were singing their hearts out, proclaiming “Mine, mine” on their individual territories. Eastern Towhees were particularly present and loud that morning. A Veery sang down by the water in the same spot where I found one a few weeks earlier. I love the Veery’s song! Wood Thrush, too. We are lucky to have some in the woods behind our house this summer. Overhead, crows harassed a juvenile hawk (Sharp-shinned or Cooper’s, I think, without good enough looks to confirm either way), chasing it from tree to tree for quite some time. Several deer crossed the road about 50 feet ahead, completely oblivious to my presence. Tiny Eastern American Toads hopped here and there all over the trails. I heard more birds than I saw. It’s getting harder to find the birds now, but I try to think of it as more of a challenge and work on my ear birding.

Last night, when I returned from a walk Em said the birds were raising a ruckus outside and she thought there might be an owl around. When we went out a few minutes later to run an errand, sure enough we saw a Barred Owl up in a tree behind the parking lot! It stared us down with its spooky black eyes for a few seconds before flying off. Owls are so awesome!

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by sean on June 16, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in barred owl, birds, courtship, nature

Posted by sean on June 16, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/06/16/romance-in-the-woods/

return of the little yellow birds

I spent four hours birding in the woods today and was excited to finally spot some warblers! I saw both Pine Warblers and Palm Warblers (an entire small flock of ’em). The Palm Warblers are just passing through; they breed much farther north, chiefly in Canada. But some of the Pine Warblers will be sticking around and raising families.

It was an otherwise good birding day. I saw and heard several Brown Thrashers. Not exactly exotic, but they are only here in the summer months and their intricate songs are a real treat to hear. I like hearing them skulk around in the underbrush, too. I also saw two Pileated Woodpeckers goofing around with each other on a tree trunk. That was cool…I always love seeing those crazy birds. Down on the water, I witnessed some fascinating social interactions between two male Mallards and one female. It seemed like the one male was trying to chase off the other one, but at one point the female acted like she’d had enough of both of them and chased them off so she could do some feeding in peace. Eventually the one guy got the girl and the spurned fellow cruised off to sulk by himself.

I felt like I could’ve stayed out there all day. Four hours passed so fast, and I was reluctant to leave. Lately I’ve been thinking about those solitary days in the past spent alongside a muddy river. I spent so much time outside back then…it was the only way I kept from going crazy. It seems like I’ve always felt much more at ease in the woods, or otherwise surrounded by nature and wildlife instead of inside, surrounded by “stuff.” When I’m inside, I tend to go too far inside myself. It’s like I’m being squeezed tight by the walls around me. But outside I can breathe, I can untether my soul and let it roam free.

I think I am just going to be forever restless.

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by sean on April 10, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in birds, inner life, nature, parts of the whole, peace, warblers, white-breasted nuthatch

Posted by sean on April 10, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/04/10/return-of-the-little-yellow-birds/

state of the birds

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by sean on March 22, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in birds, conservation, nature

Posted by sean on March 22, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/03/22/state-of-the-birds/

reward for a cold trek

Yesterday morning I took a walk with ML up to the park. It was cold and blustery. I had my binocs with me to monitor any bird activity. The birds were quiet as we walked along the road into the park. As we approached the lake, though, I spotted a pair of ducks in the water, right above the dam. We got up closer and ID’d them as a male and female Hooded Merganser. Such striking birds! They swam steadily against the current, away from the dam, and then suddenly the female took wing, the male immediately following. Later as we walked back along the road, we looked down into the river and saw a solitary male merganser. Bonus duck! Below is a shot of a male Hooded Merganser from the Flickr page of TT_MAC, a Canadian couple who also have some other cool nature photos on their page.

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by sean on March 1, 2009 • Permalink

Posted in birds, ducks, hooded merganser, nature

Posted by sean on March 1, 2009

https://sd-stewart.com/2009/03/01/reward-for-a-cold-trek/

balance

I desperately needed time in the woods today. Lately there had been too much time spent in urban centers, too much time spent in cars, too much plane travel, too much time away. I find it necessary to stay in tune with what the birds are doing. I find comfort in their activities. The simple beauty of their lifestyle makes sense to me. I hear the sweet rhythm in how they live. But when I turn my ear to my fellow human beings I hear erratic discordant noise. The unpredictability of it all sets me on edge. I watch the birds search for food and then I watch people drive faster and faster in metal boxes along strips of pavement. Where is the sense in that? Birds seek food and shelter, they travel to warmer climes for winter, and back north again to raise families. People walk through the woods, coarse and loud, talking crassly on their cell phones. We violate the places where wildlife struggle to make their homes, over and over in increasingly egregious ways. When I enter the woods, I think of it as a chapel. Here we are silent, here we are respectful, here we do our best to make a minimal impact. Here we observe quietly. The birds are easier to see in the fall as the trees shed their leaves. But it’s harder to sneak up on them, when you are crunching on those fallen leaves. It was a perfect day to be in the woods. The golden light spread through the trees and fell upon everything below. I soaked it up. I rested and recovered. I breathed deep. And then I strode unwillingly back out into the madness.

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by sean on October 31, 2008 • Permalink

Posted in birds, fridays, halloween, inner life, insane humans, nature, solitude

Posted by sean on October 31, 2008

https://sd-stewart.com/2008/10/31/balance/

owlish

While making dinner in the kitchen last night, I heard a great commotion among the songbirds in the side yard. It’s probably that owl again, I thought. Sure enough, when I pulled back the curtain and peered out the window I saw a large barred owl perched in literally the same exact place on the same exact branch as last time. Likely to be the same owl, I figured. The tufted titmice were leading the mob, as usual, sounding the alarm for all the other birds in the area. There is something about these tiny birds banding together in the face of danger that really gets to me. They are so brave! Here is a giant predator many, many times larger than they are, and yet they boldly confront it with no sign of fear! If only all of us humans displayed such bravado. Perhaps then there wouldn’t be so many downtrodden among us. It’s staggering to think of a world in which everyone refused to be bullied, and instead stood proud and defiant in the face of abusive authority.

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by sean on August 27, 2008 • Permalink

Posted in barred owl, birds, circle of life, life, nature, owls

Posted by sean on August 27, 2008

https://sd-stewart.com/2008/08/27/owlish/

field notes, annotated

1. Catbirds are taunting me from the underbrush.

Generally speaking, I go birding at the worst possible times, like the middle of the day. I set low expectations. I’m happy if I successfully id one new bird. Since I am pretty new to birding, this usually makes it easy for me to have a good day. I am easily excited by birds that most expert birders are probably too jaded to appreciate anymore. I have not even ever gone birding at the most appropriate times, like 6 AM. I have said to myself, when visiting particular spots, that I should come back to the same spot early some morning. But I haven’t ever even set my alarm that early for birding, never mind setting it and then just shutting it off and going back to sleep, which would be the likely result.

2. I settle in at my favorite spot. The only bird I saw on the walk in was a single male Northern Cardinal. After a few minutes, I hear approaching dogs, then a voice asks if I’ve seen anything good. I turn to see a friendly older couple standing behind where I am perched on a concrete structure of unknown purpose. “Just getting started,” I explain. If they are seasoned birders they likely thought me crazy. Just getting started at 2 PM. Right.

The thing is that I’m not obsessed with numbers. I’ve been dutifully marking birds off in my field guide as I identify them, but I’m not keeping a running tally anywhere. I figure I’ve got the rest of my life to watch birds, and I’ll just keep plugging away for the fun of it. Maybe that’s why I don’t get up at the crack of dawn to go birding. I would be way too overstimulated if I were to walk into the woods and see or hear 50+ birds in the course of an hour or two. I’m just getting started here, so I want to take it slow.

3. I spot a pair of promising orange-looking songbirds in a tree across the shallow lagoon in front of me. They are elusive, though, and I can’t make out much in the way of field marks. My best guess is they are immature Baltimore Orioles. As I flip through the field guide I hear some splashing noise, as if someone is walking through the water about 100 feet or so away from where I’m sitting. I look up and see a female deer walking away from me through the shallow water. I train my field glasses on her and just as I focus in, she pauses to squat and casually expel a steady stream of urine into the water. As she does her business, her head moves back and forth as if she’s checking to see if anyone is watching. At one point she turns around and looks directly at me. When she’s done, she saunters over to the shore of a small island in the marsh and nibbles on some plants before disappearing from view.

4. I continue glassing the area looking for the orange birds but they never reappear. I see a red-breasted woodpecker skulking on a tree trunk. Then a trio of male American Goldfinches begins to dominate my field of vision. At one point they all alight for a mutual drink on a muddy spit in the middle of the lagoon. I decide to move on to a different spot.

I think there are different kinds of birders. Some are obsessed with building their life list, and they will go anywhere and pay anything to do it. I can’t see ever becoming like that. I’m not that interested in taking birding trips. What I am interested in is the ecology of the place around me. I like to find out what lives nearby and what they do all day. At the moment, I happen to be focused on birds. Part of this is seeing who stops by on their migratory routes. That is where the big chance comes to see some really different birds. But I am content to study our resident population. After all, we are sharing the same space and the more I know about them, the better I can learn how to share.

5. I cross over to the typically more heavily used section of the park. However, the stone bridge leading into this section from the main entrance has been closed due to unstable conditions. The city and county are duking it out as to who will foot the bill to fix it. In the meantime, all the dogwalkers have to find another way into the park. I walk around, enjoying the subsequent light foot traffic, and spot some of the usual suspects: White-breasted Nuthatches, juvenile American Robins, Tree Swallows, more Red-bellied Woodpeckers. I watch one eat a large berry.

6. I walk over to the dam to see if there are any interesting birds fishing over there. All I see is a mockingbird, though. The sun is starting to dip in the sky a bit, and the skeeters are coming out. I decide to start walking back through the park toward my bike, which is miles away at this point.

I like serendipitous bird sightings. Like when I’m eating breakfast and an unexpected bird arrives at the feeder. Or when I’m out doing something else, taking a walk or whatever, and I see a cool bird. There is something about setting out to go birding that seems weird to me. If I think, I am going birding, then I know I will see at least some birds, and quite possibly something I haven’t seen before. So I am expecting it. But when it comes as a total surprise it is that much more enjoyable. I prefer to think, I am going to take a walk in the woods, and maybe I will see some cool birds.

7. I am feeling a bit dejected as I cross the light rail tracks and take the fork in the trail that more closely follows the shore of the lake. Suddenly, I look up and I’m at eye-level with a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron! Probably having just awoke from its afternoon roost, the bird is perched about 10 feet away on a tree trunk jutting out onto the lake. We stare each other down for a moment. I train the field glasses on the bird as it saunters farther up the tree, at one point opening its mouth wide and sticking its tongue out! Then it disappears into the tree’s foliage. I walk on a bit farther to a good spot to look out over the lake at one of the nearby islands. It’s here where I come upon a trio of evening fishers. I immediately spot an adult Night-Heron, but it ducks away before I’m able to tell if it’s a Yellow-crowned or Black-crowned. Next in my field of vision is a Belted Kingfisher on top of a dead tree, scouting out its terrain. Not far from the Kingfisher, a Great Blue Heron wades in the shallows.

I stop by my favorite spot one more time, but not much is going on there so I pick my way back up the trail to my bike and ride off into the fading light.

That was it for the day!

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by sean on August 24, 2008 • Permalink

Posted in birds, nature, red-bellied woodpecker

Posted by sean on August 24, 2008

https://sd-stewart.com/2008/08/24/field-notes-annotated/