DAVE WROTE: Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Something a little different. Birds of grasslands, pastures and marshes. An Upland Sandpiper a bird of open country, grass lands and open areas. A Virginia Rail a  bird of swamps and marshes. A Wilson’s Snipe a bird of wet meadows and wet pastures. We are having hot summer like weather here in upstate NY. 90 degrees F. today.   Dave 

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

06 11 2021 Dave Cesari

NOW SOME THOUGHTS ON OUR LOVE OF ANIMALS:

Why do we adult humans love to be around animals?  Some of us take care of animals. We feed them, doctor them, comfort them, memorialize them, and cry over them. 

But, more important than owning them, humans love to live among them. 

 Even in this modern world it is possible to live among animals without owning them – those animals are called wildlife. In the suburbs in this wonderful country called the United States there are hundreds of wildlife acres near-by that are government protected and, also there are large corporate headquarters with miles of hiking trails.  From my own experience, rural Texas ranch country, open ocean shores on the Atlantic, open Great Lake shores, farm land in the Appalachia Mountains, and a retirement community with the name “The Great Outdoors”, offered me opportunities to spend hours every day watching wildlife live their daily lives.  

Just this week I have spent hours living with and watching wildlife.  I have seen loons strutting on the water while fishing for their breakfast, black bear sniffing the air for dinner, crows and woodpeckers think they are stealing suet which was food that was actually put out for them, alligators crossing dry land looking for better hunting grounds (water ponds), deer searching for the sweetest grass (weed) to munch on, and the opportunities to be among wildlife without owning it goes on every moment of the day.  Some of those moments I see mosquitoes and black flies busy finding food on my bare arms. Yipes!

Oh, I forgot to say why humans love wildlife. That is because I do not know why. But I do have a few thoughts for you to ponder and get your mind thinking about it.

  1. They are cute.
  2. They offer such a change of scene – they are tiny, big, kind looking, monster looking, many beautiful colors, they have many shapes, they move with grace, jump in a split second, – Wow, the list of things to capture our attention is long.
  3. Their intelligence surprises us.
  4. The ychange our environment – even their wake in the water is a beautiful change to a flat surface.
  5. They humble us by their strength, survival techniques, etc.  We humans are often beat by them.
  6. They like us!  I know some of them do anyway.
  7. They are like use in many ways – gathering food, loving their off-springs, etc.
  8. They bring us closer to nature – look at one and the next thing you know you see others. Not just more animals but the next thing you know you see the whole environment,….
  9. They surprise us – they do things we never expected. They pop up where we least expect them.
  10. …….The list goes on — You can add more I am sure! 

What a week I have had here on Drummond Island – I lived among many animals the few days that I have been here – I hardly find time to get my chores done – I just go out hunting animals – or they just come around and I stop my chores to watch them. Anyway, I will show you a few recent photos I took (made) to record my experiences living with wildlife.

Starting my morning walk and bike ride – Loons – – I love being around those Loons. –  Their call made  goose-bumps on my whole body. Speaking of goose,  I counted 5 families of Mom & Pop Canadian geese – each pair with 2 – 9 fuzzy babies swimming in a row between them.  

This is a terrible photo but I put it here to tell the funny story about this dumb (or very smart) crow. He was too dumb to figure out how to land on the suet feeder. He would fly up like this – miss catching the feeder and fall back down to the ground. Finally he went away – came back 10 minutes later with a friend. The friend landed on the feeder with no problem. Started pecking out chunks of goodies and dropping them on the ground. The first crow got his fill and sat on the near-by rock. He sat there preening and picking his teeth so to speak – the friend then started to pick the goodies from the feeder and dropped no more – he ate them now that it was his turn. Totally like they had formed this team work before. I know I spent 45 minutes loving being around these two crows. Each of we humans need friends that we team with like that.

Just wanted to make a piece of artwork out of this Pileated Woodpecker photo. He is peering around the corner looking for a morsel to eat. I love the call of these guys as much as I do love the call of the loon – but somehow it is in a different way that I love it.

Now, here is my favorite of the week. Yes I was that close, with my iPhone, to each the bear and the alligator – obviously one in Florida before I left and the other a few days later here on Drummond – Thought it was a good idea to combine them into a single Photoshopped photo. I loved being around each of them.

As you swing thru life – I say, get out among the wild life – even if you are like me and get almost nothing else done.