Nervous Energy

The Beauty of an Autumn Migration                23 September 2012

Today winds blew strongly from the west. Yesterday they crashed in from the North with an Arctic chill.  I awoke at 2 AM and, curious about the frost, I put on shoes and wandered to the back yard to pick the last tomatoes by flashlight.  Each tomato was covered in a thin layer of hoar frost, and the grass sparkled in my artificial light.  Back to bed, I curled up to dream of what adventures I might find on my day off.  I awoke with butterflies in my stomach, restless.  Just maybe, we ornithologists can sense the nervous energy of a good Fall migration.

This evening, I ventured out to find migratory birds in the wetlands of Crex Meadows.  I hadn’t seen Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area in a very long time, and I was surprised at how lush the vegetation was.  Despite the early fall colors, the wetland plants were just beginning to lose their grip on photosynthetic productivity.  Wild rice, sedges, cattails, and reed grasses had grown in lush, dense stands over the summer.  The drought had created rich mudflats that were now teaming with Wilson’s Snipe, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover, and Pectoral Sandpipers.   While autumn migrants dashed about and green gave way to yellow ochre, the smartweed bloomed a vibrant pink.    Harris' Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows added mysterious, quavering sounds to the brushy edges of the wetlands.  Just a few feet away, a Wilson's Snipe foraged in the mud, probing deeply with its exaggerated bill, oblivious to my hunkered, lurking form.  I sat in lush grasses, my feet at the edge of the mud, taking in the Autumn spectacle.  From all directions, life bustled with that nervous energy.

I wondered how the Sandhill Crane migration was coming along, and I was thrilled to hear their ancient calls echoing from the distance.  As the sun reached the horizon, wave after wave of Sandhill Cranes approached the largest refuges of flooded marsh for their evening roost.  Thousands of cranes assembled with a breathtaking din of rattles, bugles and unison calling.  Gentle, trilling calls of the young of the year blended into the soundscape, while Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, and Trumpeter Swans played the harmony.

Summer has ended.  I welcome the cold chill of evening and the spectacular skies that our Northern high pressure fronts create.  The “dog days” now gone, we can share the icy evening air with thousands of feathered travelers.  It is time to make art.

All images were made with a Canon 40D and 300mm f4 Canon lens.