Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

To say that I'm a skeptic would be an accurate statement. And yet, I often catch myself looking to sources of inspiration within nature itself. If I wasn't so fastidious when it came to what and where sources of knowledge and accurate facts came from, I'd probably be more spiritually attuned to nature and what I perceived as being the messages and lessons I could derive from it. While I find watching birds to be physically and mentally uplifting, if I were to choose one as a representative totem, it would either be a crow or a raven. Crows and ravens have always had some mystery or dread applied to their blackness or raucous cries. They have always been seen as some sort of ancient deathly hallow or representative, but were also recognized for their intelligence. I see them almost as kinfolk. A species that because of its intellect and social structure mirrors certain behaviors that we would find to be anthropomorphic and almost human in nature and behavior. Recently I...

This blog entry will be shorter than most as I've injured my knee, thus preventing me from birding and updating the blog more regularly. I'll be better by next week and I hope to be able to provide a better feel for what's good for birding into the early fall. With that out of the way, I can explain the title. "Norn" is simply a corruption of the word "northern" and can be best heard through a Northern Irish accent. Therefore "Norn Flyers" refers to something northerly and with the ability to fly. While many "northern" breeding species are coming from the Arctic and northern Canada to migrate along the food rich coasts and store the vital supplies needed to migrate to their winter homes further south, the bird I'm speaking of is by no means a migrant, but does wander great distances to find food, shelter, or simply just to soar. The bird I'm referring to is the Common Raven ( Corvus corax ). Several have been spotted over Mi...