Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

One of the more awe-inspiring moments one can experience while young is being in the presence of a bird of prey. While many have certainly been fortunate to see a soaring Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) or Turkey Vulture ( Cathartes aura ) o'er a sunny field or along a highway; an up-close and personal encounter with a raptor tends leave a more distinct impression. After coming to the United States, my interest in birds was a burning ember wishing and wanting to gain the fuel of knowledge and oxygen of experience that would drive me to seek out the birds I so desired to see. While I was only seven or eight years of age, I could recognize the commonest birds like no ones business. Jays, cardinals, titmice, robins, and nuthatches flitted through my world and I sought them where ever my parents brought me. I would seek out sparrows in the parking lots of supermarkets, listen for chickadees and nuthatches at nearby Drumlin Farm, as well as seeking out the birds of prey that lived...

All stories have a beginning and this one begins in my parent's back garden, in a little house called Dinas-Powas in the southeast portion of Wales. I was about four and had gone into the garden to explore and walk Sammy, our Welsh Springer Spaniel for a bit. Having been so long ago, I remember little of the day itself, but I do know that I was wearing wellies and that the sky was its typical stone grey with a few white wisps of cloud. The garden was a typical British one, huge for a four year old, but contained by high garden fences with a border of decorative plant life surrounding the lawn in the middle. The plant border was made up of flowers, small trees, and shrubs that bloomed beautifully in the warmer months and defied the gloom that almost always hung over the Welsh countryside. As I walked around the garden, a small dark shape caught my attention. A Eurasian Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) digging for worms and other invertebrate life in the soil. Its black plumage and cont...

On the wing is made up of the various thoughts, memories, experiences, and impressions that birds have had on me in my life and my perception of it. Birds are an extremely important part of my world ranging from the first time I saw one take flight (Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula ) to the imposing, yet studious glare of hawks and owls to the seemingly more mundane species that we see everyday in our travels through this world. I can only hope that I can convey the same amount of enthusiasm, joy, and awe that these birds have inspired within me and share those feelings with the wider world.