A husky chip, a flash of yellow, a winged jewel fluttering amidst the leaves. Yellow-rumped Warblers are the first warbler to arrive in spring and the last to depart in the fall. They are abundant during peak spring migration in late April and May. On our local walking trail, you can occasionally see flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Last spring, I watched a flock of 30 foraging along the trail. This chance encounter sent me on a journey to bring birds and people together.
On that sunny weekend morning, I stepped off the side of the trail and watched a cloud of warblers drift toward me. They were sallying back and forth, catching insects on the wing. The leading edge of the flock was closing in at 20 yards when I heard loud voices behind me. I knew my magic moment with the birds was about to be dispelled.
Two women approached. I turned to say "hello" and expected them to make eye contact. But they were deep into the "he said, she said" conversation I hear everywhere. They passed by, their heads spinning with human affairs, disconnected from the beauty around them. They plowed through the fluttering warblers, who parted at their approach, filling the air like animated confetti glistening in the sun before settling back down behind them. I was amazed. They did not even look at the birds. This was a stunning display of disconnection, disinterest, and self-absorption.
I was grateful for this moment. It made me think of Rumi.
"If God said, 'Rumi pay homage to everything that has helped you enter my arms,' there would not be one experience of my life, not one thought, not one feeling, nor any act, I would not bow to."
I paused to reflect on this experience and the rare congregation of warblers and people. In this area, the two main lines of the trail come together. It is the junction of two former railroad lines that create a small triangle of land at its center.
Birds travel on the wooded trail corridors and build up in this little triangle. A flock of 30 warblers twittering in the breeze on a sunlit spring morning should elicit awe and wonder. It is a rare phenomenon in an urban area, and it is lost on most people. Everyone seems to exist entirely in their heads, lost in the world of human affairs, swept up in a race against time. The value of slowing down and being present has been subsumed by a relatively superficial chaos of our own making.
We set the pace, but this press of time
Take it as a little thing
Next to what endures
All this hurrying soon will be over
Only when we tarry
Do we touch the holy
Rilke
This chance encounter with self-absorbed walkers and wayfaring warblers prompted me to consider ways to bring birds and people together. This one-acre triangle of land is full of exotic plants and piles of leftover soil from a long-ago railroad project. I had birded in this area many times and knew it had potential. I recalled visiting Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, where we enjoyed spending time in their bird sanctuary. I realized that we must make our little triangle beautiful.
So I proposed creating a bird sanctuary. It would be a makeover, a restoration, a tangible sign of care and respect for the land and the birds—a diamond in a rough, brutalized landscape.
Part of the reason people do not look around them is that we have made a beautiful world ugly. Urban trees bear the brunt of our thoughtlessness. Compacted soil, concrete, herbicide, and obsessive mowing limit their growth and health. We carelessly bludgeon trees with heavy equipment, leaving them with shattered limbs and shortened lives. This abuse turns something beautiful into a constant reminder that we are too busy to care. Our trail is lined with miles of bludgeoned trees.
But in our bird sanctuary, we will tend to the trees and prune them properly to promote a long life. We will water them in dry spells and mulch them to reduce stress. We will show that we care.
Our Parks Department was receptive to the idea of a bird sanctuary, but they made it clear that they did not have funds in their budget or time to do the work. We discussed the idea at a Grand Prairie Bird Alliance board meeting and with a few friends, but as spring transitioned to summer, the idea of a restored bird sanctuary faded into the greenery.
As summer transitioned to fall, a random phone call breathed new life into the project. A friend of a friend told us that State Farm Insurance was celebrating their 100th anniversary, and they wanted to fund sustainability projects.
We talked to State Farm and pitched the idea of a bird sanctuary. We promptly received $75,000 in funding to build and landscape a water feature with native plants. I saw this as serendipity—the universe conspiring on its own behalf. It shows the value of putting ideas into the world and waiting for a response.
When we first saw the rendering of the water feature, the project became real. A meandering creek surrounded by native plants in a space currently dominated by mowed lawn. We then worked with the town horticulturists to design the planting. In the process, we learned much about people's comfort zones, differing views on nature, and practical constraints in planting in a high-profile public space. Plants couldn’t be too tall, too messy, to aggressive. After a couple of meetings, we worked through the pros and cons of different scenarios and settled on a list of wildflowers, grasses, sedges, shrubs, and trees. It could be a native space, but some tameness was required.
We laid out the benches and thought through the lines of the site from a nearby pavilion, which would also be accessible to people with mobility limitations. Short-statured native plants were planned to maintain the view of the birds and the water.
Construction of the bird sanctuary begins this spring. This will be a place for people to come together and rest in beauty. A place to pause and allow our life to intertwine with the life of this place. Migrating birds navigate uncharted territory and prompt us to navigate uncharted regions in ourselves, where we can experience the power of reconciliation with each other and with nature. We hope plants and birds are focal points for conversations between community members who otherwise would not talk to each other. This will be a peaceful place to discuss our shared love of nature. A common ground comprised of lovingly tended plants.
I plan to set the stage by including poetry in the signage for the sanctuary. Donna Faulds is a contender.
Settle in the here and now
Reach down into the center
Where the word is not spinning
and drink in this holy peace
Feel relief flood into every cell
The timeless wisdom of Lao Tzu should also be included.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
This sanctuary will be a little bright spot, shining light into the world. I think of it as my little light, and I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine! Everywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine! Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Let's all shine some loving light into the world.
Where the water of life flows,
no illness remains.
In the garden of union
no thorn remains.
They say there's a door
between one heart and another.
How can there be a door
where no wall remains?
Rumi
Seeing the warblers captured by your lens is a Friday morning treat.
Reading about your idea coming to life raises a smile.
Hearing that you are living in your sphere of possibility warms my heart.
Best wishes with your project!
Backpacking last summer in the Three Sisters Wilderness, we came across a couple hiking with a Bluetooth speaker strapped to one of their packs, blasting music that could be heard a mile away, completely oblivious to the raptors and songbirds they were drowning out in their own homes. There are so few places where animals can be ~mostly~ free of the sounds of human technology. I was pretty appalled at the time, but I can only hope that couple had a quiet night under the stars, and maybe hiked for a few days in “silence” once they realized how rich it actually is to just be quiet for a while. Your story of the walkers caught up in their “he said, she said” reminded of that experience. I am SO EXCITED to hear of your project. I will be cheering you all on from afar and hoping for frequent posts detailing your progress. This kind of thing is my very favorite. :)