About a Bird and a Geocache...
The sun greeted a crisp morning and frost covered Pheasant Branch Conservancy. The sparkle and dazzle didn't last long as thawing rays crept across the prairie. Lugging my tripod, scope and camera up Bellefontaine Hill, I listened in on the choir of birdsong for recognizable themes...sparrows, warblers, flycatchers and finches were present.
I could hear White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Phoebe, both kinglets, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers and more. Buzzy calls, trills, seeps, chirps and chips – from birds that were probably on the move during the night. Though I'll bet many lingered, fattening up before their next leg of migration.
I am the visitor. I enter the fields and prairies at dawn – birds near the trail flush deeper into the grasses as I walk past. It takes a few minutes for the birds to relax and get back to things they should be doing. This morning I didn't know I would walk away with such precious images of a Lincoln's Sparrow. I thought about a bird before I took it's picture, my sujet du jour, and now wonder about this bird as I write and admire its pictures...what's it doing right now?
I stumbled upon a geocache – it was sort of out in the open along the trail. A friend of mine searches for them so I know a little bit about geocaching. I believe the idea is to take something, if you like, but then add something to the cache. I decided to remove the entire contents (mostly petroleum-based trinkets, toys, beads, polished stones and pencils) and spread them out in order to take this picture. Afterwards, I placed the contents back into the geocache.
I didn't have anything new to place inside the box, but I thought about writing an entry into the logbook (I didn't, though). I read some of the entries and only a few commented on the spectacular view from the hill. Yet, in looking over the contents of the cache, I felt a peculiar sense of diminishment regarding the conservancy and its critters – are there people who rush up the hill only to find this box? Surely, one would visit the conservancy on the merits of its splendid natural beauty, right? I think I'll make a print of this Lincoln's Sparrow and add it to the cache.
All images © 2006 Mike McDowell
posted by Mike McDowell @ 12:54 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I can tell you if I found that cache, your lovely bird photo would be the only thing of interest - looks like a pile of junk to me!
Incidentally, I came across your blog while looking for a good bird identification website. I'm completely ignorant about even some of the most common of birds. If you know of any good websites for looking up birds by region, please visit my blog and let me know! Excellent blog you've got, here!
In complete agreement with toesies--what's with all the plastic crap? It's a shame if people only come up there to put more plastic things in the box and then leave, without having realized that the box acted as a means to enjoy the beauty of their surroundings.
Evening Mike,
This post is chirping for a comment. Geocaching is what got me to this location, Pheasant Branch Encampment, actually shanty did, who posted this location as part of the Aldo Leopold series. I think toesies and dguzman have the right to their opinions, I'm certainly not one to judge others. As in birding, each individual gets something different out of the experience. For some geocachers, the cache and trinkets is what geocaching is all about, for others, it is about the location and the reason that geocacher wants others to see that location, for others it is the whole experience of trinkets and location. It is a great way for families to get their kids, moms, dads, grandparents, brothers, sisters, off the computer, away from the tv, and away from video games, and experience nature and their surrounding communities. As a side note; to Lincoln's Sparrow, who Audubon named after his friend, Thomas Lincoln, I like to call the one in my yard Mike. I'm not into classifying birds, same way with people, I like to invite them into my neighborhood, by giving them names, so they become part of my family. Enjoy your blog and again your love of nature!
Mike, My husband and I started the geocaching thing this summer. For us, we enjoy finding new trails and places to explore, and will take the time needed to do that. There are others, like you say, who are totally in it for the hunt. I noted on the Geocaching site that a group of cachers "hit" many of the same ones we found last weekend on a three state trip to get FIFTY in a weekend!
We did one cache last weekend that was bird oriented. All the thingies were bird items, and I left one of my handmade bird cards. The weekend before, I lured my husband birding with the promise of some caches on the way home, and got FIVE life birds in the process! Many of us see this as a little twist on enjoying the natural environment we already treasure!
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