Why We Do It, Part I

Celebrations in Waves of Biodiversity                                       23 May 2013

For nearly a week, the Saint Croix River valley has been bustling with the activity of thousands upon thousands of migrating songbirds, most of them Neotropical migrant birds arriving on territories and passing through, on to destinations further North.  They move in waves, in great mixed flocks, more than a dozen species rich in each and every small cloud of birds.  They adorn grasslands, fields, and prairie marshes.  They comb the trees and understory to devour forest insects, busily occupying different feeding niches, darting out to the ends of branches, fluttering upside down for an instant to pull a caterpillar away from a leaf, sallying out over open water to pull a midge fly from the air.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Magnolia Warbler

Most people don't know these birds exist. The subtle buzzing "chip" and "zrrrrt" sounds go mostly unnoticed.  Without taking the time to visually comb the baby green leaves of Spring forests and stiff stems of a prairie remnant, the majority of these tiny birds are invisible.  For the few of us, the sounds are a gently exciting secret that beckons binoculars into the leaves.  Colors await, a feast for the mind, a celebration of biodiversity that is there for the prepared.

American Redstart, female

Veery

In today's day and age, secrets aren't so good.  Long ago, keeping secrets was part of keeping a good fishing hole or a favorite spot to pick berries.  Today, keeping secrets keeps others from learning, from loving, and ultimately from passionately protecting the spectacular living beauty that moves in seasonal pulses all around. We must share it freely.  Pass it on. Pay it forward. Walk the walk while holding a hand.

Savannah Sparrow

Black-and-white Warbler, male

Biodiversity.  The variety of life on earth.  Shape, color, essence, and personality.  Meaning and purpose in being, each species and each contributing member of every population plays an intimate part in the telling of Earth's natural history.  For those of us that go relentlessly afield with binoculars, cameras, sketchbooks, or hunting boots, biodiversity is equal in simple importance to water, shelter, and food.  It is a passion that runs deep in the genetic memory, connecting today with all that has ever happened.  This is why we do it.

Savannah Sparrow

All images were photographed in the spare moments of a busy teaching day, photographed with a refurbished Canon 7D and Canon 300mm f4 L IS lens.