THE TENOR OF SPRING (4/24/03)

If you remember, April got off to a rather rough start — cold and snowy. Then it stayed cold, but instead of snow, we had rain — and lots of it! Who can guess what the month will bring as it continues to unfold? Our eyes tell us that goldfinches are returning to their golden state and that willows are also changing from dull to vibrant. Our ears also let us know that our resident birds are feeling spring-like and also reveal the presence of new arrivals.

One needn’t have left his house, though, to know of spring’s emergence. The messages from birders who share their sightings on MassBird, the area’s ListServe on the Internet, certainly reflect the tenor of the times. Reports inundate subscribers with accounts of displaying woodcocks in the pastures adjacent to wooded areas and of phoebes’ harsh calls resounding from many areas. And, as you read this, the arrival of hummingbirds is imminent.

MassBirders have been keeping track of the movement of waterfowl. As the ice receded from ponds and as fields flooded, ducks were everywhere. Most would soon be winging north, with only a few remaining to nest in our area.

Not as obvious as the activity in our yards or along our errand-running routes has been the northern movement of hawks. Hawk watching is not a casual activity; one has to go to specific spots in order to enjoy their seasonal movements. The premier spot for this pursuit on the Cape is at Pilgrim Heights in Truro, an eastern-facing vantage point high above an expansive marsh. Take a chair and sit for a few hours with the monitoring staff and volunteers of Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Pilgrim Heights is located in North Truro, within the Cape Cod National Seashore, on the east side of Route 6, just south of the Provincetown line. Look for the brown and white "Pilgrim Heights" sign. Park in the first parking lot and take the Small's Swamp Trail to the second overlook. Birders are there 9 a.m.-3 p.m. every weekend, and most weekdays in April and May.

If you’ve never thought hawk watching could be interesting or exciting, then you should read the very recently-published The Wind Masters, written by Pete Dunne and illustrated by David Sibley. Most of us will stop in our tracks when we see a hawk soaring overhead. We’re fascinated by the bird cams that allow us to watch activity of nesting falcons on city buildings’ window ledges (see links below) or peer into the nest of a hawk or bald eagle. In this sequel to Dunne’s Hawks in Flight, where he showed what birds of prey look like, we can now understand what it is like to be a bird of prey.

Pete takes us inside the lives and minds of all thirty-four species of diurnal raptors found in North America — hawks, falcons, eagles, vultures, the osprey and the harrier. Through 33 vibrant, fictionalized accounts, Pete shows us how each bird sees the world, hunts its prey, finds and courts its mate, rears its young, grows up, grows old — and dies. He aptly imagines the emotions, thoughts and fears of these magnificent birds and describes the challenges each species faces. He also provides details of their diets, habits and habitats.

Although nothing beats watching birds in the outdoors, you can use inclement weather to become a voyeur; watch birds far away at feeders or in their nests. Watch them feed their young! It’s almost as good as being there in real time! Here are a few active websites:

(1) http://birds.cornell.edu/cfw/fun_with_birds/bird_cams.html

(2) http://www.owlcam.com/ see barred owls in Mass.

(3) http://www.nu.com/eagles/default.asp see 15-minute updates on nesting bald eagles

You can also monitor the northward movement of hummingbirds as they arrive in New England by going to: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/humm/About.html. If you don’t have a computer, don’t let that stop you from enjoying these websites. Go to your local library, get a little help, and you’ll be online and enjoying these marvels of both nature and technology.

And while Spring will help soothe the everyday worries of the world, perhaps this poem will also help bring peace to your hearts.

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.