News from My Neck of the Woods

It’s fascinating to wander one’s home territory and keep track of the wildlife and the wild plants, and to observe the changes week by week and day by day. When did the creek slow to a trickle this year, and when did it last year? What’s going on with the wild strawberry crop: Who’s eating the strawberries, how do the ripening dates compare with last year’s, and what’s the quality like? And for wildlife, how many does have I seen, and how many fawns? (By the way, a mother bear and her two cubs are in the area this year, and I wonder if it’s the same female that had two cubs here last year.)

No, I didn't take this photo. Yikes! (Public domain)
I’m not sure of the number of acres surrounding my home that I regularly traipse during the course of a week, but I’d count at least 175 acres as my home territory. I own a mere fraction of this landscape of hills, meadows, swamps, marshes, and woodlands, but I watch over all of it. In fact, I feel sometimes like the caretaker of a huge estate.

As the months pass, there are victories and tragedies to account for. A victory this year was the return of “my’ chestnut-sided warbler. This beautiful male and his mate have a nest in the exact same area they did last year, not far from our stream. I know it’s the same pair because the male has a song that’s unique. Of course his song is similar to all chestnut-sideds, but he has a unique variation. I swear he says, “Mo-ga-dee-shew, with the accent on the “dee.” So this couple has nested, as has “our” indigo bunting pair, and several pairs of common yellowthroats.

The tragedy was at a new neighbor’s place. They have dug a foundation for their second—no, wait—I think it’s their third home--on land they prepared last summer. I worried last year about the scarlet tanager that nests on their property. I don’t know if he and his mate successfully raised a family last summer or not. But he returned this year, and everything seemed to be going well until two weeks ago. The owner returned to put in a “road” of sorts for his electric hook-up. This man's driveway is too winding to be used as a direct route for the electricity running to the house. The trees were chainsawed right down the middle of the scarlet tanager’s territory. I haven’t heard him sing since.

Speaking of nests, you know, even when I know where a nest is, I never approach it. I never even go close by. I know lots of naturalists like to get close to see the nest or see the eggs. I know these people wait until the parents are out foraging, but I believe the birds know when a human has invaded their territory. Birds need space, inviolate space, if they are to thrive while raising their young. They have enough problems from wildlife marauders, and they have enough trouble finding the amount of undisturbed land they need for their nesting areas.

So, what’s going on in your neck of the woods?