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Nature Lives on Big Friday

Lloyd Alexander

Blog #6 of 14

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June 4th, 2012 - 05:17 PM

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Nature Lives on Big Friday

There are days when you visit many places and it seems so quiet that you begin to wonder where all the creatures have gone and if there is something wrong with the area you are visiting. Hours upon hours can go past with not even butterflies or moths or even a spider is seen. The World seems to have gone quiet. Then there are those days when things just are thriving and it seems you can't keep up with everything.

The forecast called for rain coming in for multiple days and thus I decided Friday June 1st would be Big Friday and I would go out early and stay out late to make the most of it. Some 1200 pictures later I would say I made the best of the Big Day. The pictures certainly do it justice but at the same time I think words are needed to complete the pictures. So these are the words.

I started the day down at Laudholm Farm in Wells as I had heard there were Piping Plovers on the beach and I wanted to see if the chicks had hatched yet. It is a great place to walk with many miles of trails and a small fee of only $4. There are many habitats but I was making a straight line to the beach, albeit slowly. I come to a junction and there is a bird house but that is not what caught my eye. In the brush under the birdhouse there was something moving about. I stopped where I was to listen and look to try and figure out what it was that was there. A cheerful song with trills and chirps told me there was a House Wren somewhere to be found in the brush. I stepped a little closer and knelt to the ground to have decent angles to look in the brush. Sure enough there it was looking at me and singing away. Seemingly happy as can be on this sunny day.

I looked through the lens and found the sport where I could get the wren without all the twigs in the way and it called again before it flew to a better position for pictures. I swear some wildlife are just simply hams when it comes to having their pictures taken. I snapped a few more shots and then off it flew to the top of the nests and out flew another wren and in flew that one. So a nice nesting situation for them with brush right under their home. Considering House Wrens will nest in about anything including old shoes or boots or even cans if they find them around your yard or garage this was an ideal spot. I decided to move on before I wasn't welcomed anymore. It was a great way to start the morning.

After about a hundred yards I was able hearing lots of singing around me with movement in the trees too. I heard the call of a Northern Cardinal and looked in that direction. I was looking up and spotted the bird but before I took a shot another bird began to sing much lower and closer. I looked and ther was a Brown Thrasher right beside me. I aimed the lens but couldn't focus as I was too close. I had to back up and then took a few shots. A squirrel came running through the bushes and off went the thrasher.

I stopped here and there to listen and too look as I made my way to the beach. The tide was quite high so I carefully made my way down the beach making sure I didn't come upon a nest and scare any birds. Most places with Piping Plovers or Least Terns are roped off but the birds do not stay in the roped areas and can be found far away from them nesting or exploring with chicks. Leaving them feeling safe and at peace with their surroundings is important. It is with any wildlife. We encroach enough on their space as it is and we should be extra cautious during breeding seasons.

I make my way to the end and see a man fly fishing and the familiar roped off section of the beach. I was excited and I also noticed across the channel was a ton of bird activity. A quick look through the lens told me there were many terns, gulls, and likely some plovers too. I asked the fisherman about the other side and he explained it was hard to get to but told me what he knew. I thanked him and then headed slowly towards the roped area. I looked and looked but didn't see a thing.

The funny thing is I know exactly what I am looking for and how well they can blend in with their surroundings. I stop and just slowly scan the ground until something seems different. I study it and realize I am looking at an adult Piping Plover in the sand and rocks but from behind which makes it even harder to pick out in its surroundings. Then out of nowhere comes the other one of the pair and it makes a noise to get my attention. It heads away from the one laying down to obviously divert my attention. I back up a little and slowly follow. This is what the bird wants and I accept that. Away we go and I take some shots. I step back further and watch as it keeps an eye on me and on the sky. It removes around peeking out from behind grass and other things as it goes. I slowly back away and am thankful for the shots of these beautiful birds.

I make my way slowly back off the beach and take a different path back towards the parking lot. It is on a wooden boardwalk. Sounds are all around from slithering snakes by the boardwalk to chipmunks and red squirrels chattering to many birds singing. I simply take it all in with each slow step. A cat bird whines and a Blue Jay calls loudly. Other birds chirp too and some fly away while others across in front of me. A splendid walk and I leave the camera by my side.

This path leads out to the junction with the wren house. As I approach I hear the familiar call of a Eastern Towhee and I stop. It hops out from the shrubs and I raise the camera. I begin to push the button and off it hops back into the bushes and out onto a path that meets the junction from another direction. I walk to the end and turn the corner. It calls and hops back through to the other side. It feels like a game and the towhee seems only to happy to go back and forth. I smile and stop at the junction and it decides to stay in between. The wrens come out and sing. I laugh out loud and move on.

I finally get back to my car and look at a map to see how to approach the other area. I quickly figure it out and off I am to Parsons Beach.

I would say a few things about Parson's Beach that are positive and negative. In some ways it is so typical of Maine beaches and lakes these days. As a person who has lived in the state my whole life I fail to understand why so many beaches are private or parking fees are outrageous. There is no benefit to living in the state as far as going to these places. You can go in the winter with no major issues but summer forget it. Parson's is a large beach and yet there is parking for a mere twenty cars at best. No fees and that is great but you are treated to a nice sign that says "private road" before you enter the bech. Do not block and do not drop off here and certainly do not come down the road. As you get onto the beach it is a true gem but as you walk towards the right you end seeing a sign that says "walking only beyond this point". Seriously, I can only walk? Not sitting and no enjoying. I get to the end where a fine home sits and the only way around it is on the rocks. I normally would not go past but I know this is where the birds are and there are no signs restricting access as long as you stay off there property. I do all of this and get to where I need to go but why so many rules on something we should all simply be able to enjoy. I have never understood it and never will.

As I approach the obvious fenced and roped area that serves as protection for the Piping Plovers and Least Terns that are nesting here I see just how much activity there is here. An amazing amount of terns flying to and for with small fish in their mouths landing near females and trying to impress them enough to get a mate. So many choices though for the females. As I walk I near a noise off to my right and there is a little baby Piping Plover running in the sand. They can be so hard to see and blend in very well. I stop and unslung the camera as I kneel to get lower for this tiny cotton ball on a pair of twigs running around. Soon I see Mom and two more little ones. I make sure to keep my distance as I do not wish to disrupt their happy World. Mom settles and I know I am far enough away. I take pictures as the little ones run here and there without a care in the World it seems. So precious are these moments that I am able to see and treasure. Then they hunker right down as a Black-backed Gull appears and circles but can't seem to if d them. I stand and move along as the full could just be trying to see what I am looking at.

I continue my slow walk at the tide line and again I hear noise to my right. Yet another set of beautiful babies and two parents. I do the same as before and watch as the little ones have a game of chase and blend in very well will dried seaweed and sand. So much fun but I know I need to move on and promise to find them on my way out. They are quite far from the roped area but they do not know what the ropes are for and will go where they go. As it should be.

I approach the roped area but I am staying away from that area as there is more then enough to see down here with many terns flying about and many more on the ground awaiting the approach of a male with a fish. I stop and do not even point the camera for a good five minutes. I take in the calls of the birds, the rumbles of the waves, and the essence of the ocean in the air. It is a magical World that I am sitting in right now. Truly it could have been June first of 2012 or June first of 1712 and what I was seeing would be the same. Time changes so many things but every once in awhile you can find a magical pocket where life is still simply life as it has always been. Here was that special place and I just soaked it up.

I finally take the camera and start taking shots of terns flying this way and that, landing and taking off. Some land near females and a brief exchange takes place as she looks him over and looks at the fish. Sometimes she loudly calls at him and sometimes she lunges at the fish, both of these always seem to send the male flying off to another place signaling a non match for those two. Sometimes two males bring fish to the same female and both are rejected too. Then I see one male land next to a female and she acts very different. She looks at the male but only calls softly. He approaches slowly and she calls again. This repeats until he is beside her and then he nuzzles beside her and slowly the fish is moved behind her head and then I. Front of her face. Sometimes with a quick jerk to send the fishes tail straight up in the air and the. It falls like a pendulum. This practice goes on for sometime and the nuzzeling continues too. She flattens and opens here wings slightly as if for balance or to provide more stabilization and suddenly his wings flap and he is now on her and the movement of the fish co to use as par tof this new dance. She moves her head and he moves the fish. He almost seems to tease her with it before finally giving her the fish. She holds the fish in her mouth as he moves on top of her and tries to keep his balance. At times using his wings and others his bill to hold her in place. Finally the beautiful moment passes and he slides beside her with his head sliding against hers before he lifts it high and proud. A call is given as he sits beside her while she finally eats the fish he gave to her. They seem to sit in peace.

Truly a beautiful natural and pure moment of nature. I am truly in awe as I flip through the images to see it all again. Then I move on and let them be in peace. Others are still trying to find their mate. Common Terns and a Roseate Tern or two are also here with various gulls. I look back and sky is black with birds movi g towards me. Crows? No, not crows as these are much larger birds and they are getting closer and closer. As they near I can tell they are Cormorants. There must be a hundred of them flying straight to where I am and all the birds seem to notice at once. The mood changes and I can feel it in my own senses too. A heightened awareness comes as the birds around me take to the air and call loudly. Warning others of the dark cloud approaching us. My fight or flight instincts kick in but there is no threat to me from the Cormorants and it is just merely the vibe of the other birds resonating through to my soul. Birds are circling and the Cormorants are comi g straight for us and the hair on my arms stands. At seemingly the last second they vere back towards the ocean and land en mass. The ocean now has a large dark spot and the birds around me begin to call less and land sporadically. Soon all is come again and the tension eases as the Cormorants begin feeding on the same little fish the terns keep catching for their attempts at finding a mate. I too settle back down and photograph a bit more.

I decide it is time to head back to the parking lot which is a long walk away. I walk and am thinking about everything that has happened this morning as it is barely past Noon now. A truly magical day so far and it has seemingly just begun. I hear a call to my left and remember the little ones down here that I had promised to see before leaving. It is as if they wanted to remind me of my promise. I slow and kneel again.

I begin to take shots and then one of the babies heads towards Mom and lays before her. So precious and cute. They are endangered but if others could see this beautiful site how could they not help in their fight for survival? Not a survival of a single bird but a survival of a species and a beautiful part of our World. The baby nudges the Mom who lifts slightly and under her it crawls. Suddenly it is gone from site and had I not seen it through my lens I would be none the wiser that a bird is under the adult Piping Plover. Soon Mom gets up and takes a few steps and looks back at the baby who is flat on the ground. It's dusty brown matching the sand perfectly. It doesn't move and I begin to wonder if something had happened to it but then Mom gives a very soft call. The baby pops up and a seems to slowly shake of the sleepiness from its body. It looks in my direction and I feel a connection. It feels as though it asks me to remember what I have seen and to help it. To remember the plight of the Piping Plovers and the Least Terns. To remember the beauty and the truth that nature lives even when we don't take notice. That it only asks that we do not destroy everything it needs and that we give it space to live too. That we share a World, an Earth that once had room for all things big and small. I nod to the little one and promise to spread the word. Nature Lives!,,

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