Ah, beautiful, and important. How to save the biosphere by letting allowing room in the world for native plants and the birds (and others) who rely on them. Thank you for your contribution. Also, it's such a pleasure to see your wonderful photos.
Exquisite. Happy sigh. Thank you SO much for sharing these experiences. (Birds and animals seem very attuned to gentle souls. You and I are very blessed.)
I don’t think I would be described as a gentle soul 😕 but when in nature I do slow down and find the gentle peace that lets you just be a part of it. The wonder of it....the divineness. Being held in Gods arms and knowing a piece of His nature
So lovely! I've also found that birds will approach much more closely if I'm already there than when I try (however carefully) to approach. They also seem to have a bit of an expectation of things that humans do - for example, my three kids like to climb trees, and birds of all kinds will often approach very close to them. I think the context of being in the tree removes the bird's suspicion! There's also just something about kids, in a way - my youngest daughter regularly has squirrels or chipmunks just come right up to her in the woods. The nuance of this very-real-and-observable variation in the reactions and "personalities" of wild creatures is endlessly fascinating to me.
I think you are right, there is something to the individual personalities of animals and to people being out of their normal context I can get much closer to birds in my kayak than I can walking on the shore of a lake or river. I also think that some of them become familiar and relatively comfortable with people. The birds that nest in my garden give alarm calls when they first start nesting and I walk by but after a week or so they just sit and watch me walk by because I’m out there every day. The chipmunks that used to run around me when I’m sitting in the garden now just run straight over my feet down the path without even looking. When I sit really still, and wear camouflage birds will perch on me.
Right! I’ve heard that from others about kayaking, too. We’ve also noticed the way the little creatures will often get accustomed to our daily routines and begin to ignore us - it’s quite a nice feeling to be ignored that way! They definitely take notice of our behaviors too, don’t they - my dad used to have an outdoor job in TX where he made daily rounds of various fields on a gator. There was a bald eagle nest at one of the fields, and they would alarm when the gator approached. He made a habit of parking in a certain spot and quietly going about his rounds, and soon they took no notice of him. Once, he’s sure the proud parents got his attention from the nest to show off their fledglings. His co-workers were always loud and in a hurry and the eagles always scolded them. Same gator, but the eagles knew the difference between the individuals 🤣
Thank you, Joe. It is really nice when you have an unexpected close encounter with a bird like that. Here in the Midwest, there are a lot of kinglets migrating through now and if you get close to them and stand still, they will come surprisingly close to you. They are fearless little bundles of energy.
Marvelous. Thank you for writing so beautifully and sharing with us. There is so much wisdom in your words, Bill.
Ah, beautiful, and important. How to save the biosphere by letting allowing room in the world for native plants and the birds (and others) who rely on them. Thank you for your contribution. Also, it's such a pleasure to see your wonderful photos.
Nicely done.
Exquisite. Happy sigh. Thank you SO much for sharing these experiences. (Birds and animals seem very attuned to gentle souls. You and I are very blessed.)
I don’t think I would be described as a gentle soul 😕 but when in nature I do slow down and find the gentle peace that lets you just be a part of it. The wonder of it....the divineness. Being held in Gods arms and knowing a piece of His nature
So lovely! I've also found that birds will approach much more closely if I'm already there than when I try (however carefully) to approach. They also seem to have a bit of an expectation of things that humans do - for example, my three kids like to climb trees, and birds of all kinds will often approach very close to them. I think the context of being in the tree removes the bird's suspicion! There's also just something about kids, in a way - my youngest daughter regularly has squirrels or chipmunks just come right up to her in the woods. The nuance of this very-real-and-observable variation in the reactions and "personalities" of wild creatures is endlessly fascinating to me.
I think you are right, there is something to the individual personalities of animals and to people being out of their normal context I can get much closer to birds in my kayak than I can walking on the shore of a lake or river. I also think that some of them become familiar and relatively comfortable with people. The birds that nest in my garden give alarm calls when they first start nesting and I walk by but after a week or so they just sit and watch me walk by because I’m out there every day. The chipmunks that used to run around me when I’m sitting in the garden now just run straight over my feet down the path without even looking. When I sit really still, and wear camouflage birds will perch on me.
Right! I’ve heard that from others about kayaking, too. We’ve also noticed the way the little creatures will often get accustomed to our daily routines and begin to ignore us - it’s quite a nice feeling to be ignored that way! They definitely take notice of our behaviors too, don’t they - my dad used to have an outdoor job in TX where he made daily rounds of various fields on a gator. There was a bald eagle nest at one of the fields, and they would alarm when the gator approached. He made a habit of parking in a certain spot and quietly going about his rounds, and soon they took no notice of him. Once, he’s sure the proud parents got his attention from the nest to show off their fledglings. His co-workers were always loud and in a hurry and the eagles always scolded them. Same gator, but the eagles knew the difference between the individuals 🤣
My kind of birding! Thanks, Bill!
You are welcome. This was similar to your Monarch experience on the island only with gold finches.
This is one of the best Substack posts I have ever read. Thank you for the beautiful pictures and allowing us into your world.
Thank you. That is high praise. I am glad to hear that you appreciated this essay.
Thank you for sharing what you see and your wonderful talents with us. I feel blessed to have read this post this morning.
Your articles are like prayers. I WILL be sharing them with my church. Love you, Bill!
Thank you, Joe. It is really nice when you have an unexpected close encounter with a bird like that. Here in the Midwest, there are a lot of kinglets migrating through now and if you get close to them and stand still, they will come surprisingly close to you. They are fearless little bundles of energy.