In these days of computers, phones, television, cars, and other potentially morale- and morality-destroying devices, it is a soothing pleasure to go into nature's living room, to sit, watch, listen, and enjoy the performance that Mother Nature and her children can display.
Having over the years always loved the outdoors, be it the fields or the woods, I have become acquainted with, and very fond of, the many sounds and senses that nature provides us. It is all free to experience and enjoy.
Not far from my home there is a stand of towering old pine trees, many as straight as an Indian arrow. In a light breeze, what more pleasing and welcoming sound could one ask to hear than the whisper of these pines? It is one of my favorite sounds of the forest.
Let us proceed on down nature's footpath and come upon a small stream, with its clear water running swiftly over the rocks, creating a soft bubbling sound. Deeper into the forest of mature oaks, hickorys, beautiful beech trees, sweetgums, and others, we find a nice place to sit on nature's cushion and quietly watch and listen as the animal world reveals its play. The little feathered chickadee, the wood thrush, the wrens, the woodpeckers, all demonstrate their survival skills while singing their songs and giving their calls.
One of my favorite birds to observe and hear is the large pileated woodpecker. It displays its beautiful plumage of red, black, and white, moving from tree to tree with its up and down flight pattern, all the while giving its loud, shrill call. Often its mate, far off, will answer back.
For another of my favorite sightings I arrive at a special place and quietly seat myself before daylight, in order to witness a flock of wild turkeys coming off their roosts at daybreak. They sail to the forest floor, one or two at a time, running a few feet to a stop, looking around. Then, when all have arrived on the ground, they begin their turkey talk to each other, I suppose also greeting the new day. It is surprising how many different yelps, clucks and other notes they produce as they begin their day's activity, scratching the leaves aside in quest of food. What a magnificent experience!
As the day wears on, by late afternoon I have worked my way to a swamp bordering a sizeable creek. Here is where the beautiful barred owl makes its home. At times, even before night, it will give its loud seven-noted call. What a treat to hear, but I am sure all the field mice and other rodents dread that sound! If a person has not previously heard a barred owl, it is difficult to believe an owl could make such a sound! Another species, the great horned owl, is not as vocal in the late daytime as the barred owl. It seems to prefer the fall of the year and darkness to give its eerie call of “who who whoooo.” It is hard to detect the location or the direction from which the great horned owl's call is coming.
A night bird one hardly ever hears anymore is the whippoorwill. Many years ago the whippoorwill's call was a common sound in the early part of the night, calling “whippoorwill, whippoorwill” over and over. It is an elusive bird, nocturnal, roosting in daytime on the ground, as the woodcock does. I personally have never seen but two whippoorwills, and I never even hear them anymore, sadly. What has become of the whippoorwill? Like the bob white quail, it seems to have all but disappeared.
To my way of thinking the mockingbird is our best songster. It imitates other bird calls, and in the late spring or early summer, especially on a bright moonlit night, I have heard their singing outside my bedroom window in the big cedar trees where they roost. I once heard one mockingbird give twenty-seven different bird calls without stopping, and one was the call of the bob white quail! What a treat that was for me! And let's not forget the special performance on a summer night of the many hundreds of lightning bugs, blinking their lights as they drift slowly through the night air. Their silent light show seems almost symphonic. What a sight for human eyes to behold!
Nature is so fascinating to anyone who will take the time to listen, to see, to enjoy God's creation!
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