So there we were, lying in bed at 5 a.m. on Monday, a gentle, quiet morning, when I heard what sounded like a huge windstorm rising, or a freight train coming through our basement – and then the bed and the whole house started shaking. In five seconds the earthquake had stopped.
It was a reminder that we live on a constantly changing planet, where the life of a human is but a blip in the eons of time that created and continues to evolve our lands.
The sun rose, this star burning bright that gives us light, warmth, and energy for life. It’s only one star in our galaxy of 100 billion stars. And our galaxy is only one of – how many? Have you heard of the Ultra Deep Field study by the Hubble telescope? For ten years, it photographed a starless patch of sky the size of a pinhead held at arm’s length. Gathering distant light, it found that tiny dark patch had over 10,000 galaxies!
Estimates show there are at least 100 billion galaxies within the observable universe.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
-- Blake
I’m not changing the subject when I say that I had the chance to be a substitute bird observer in the ACFL this week. Transition Fidalgo has volunteers who count the birds along specific trails at specific times each month. One of the volunteers was out of town this month, so I covered for him as best I could.
This winter afternoon was quiet, the skies sunny, the winds light, the air cool. I started at A Avenue. The traffic noise faded the farther I walked. I followed Trail 10 to Trail 108, paused at the huge beaver dam on Big Beaver Pond, then alongside the pond on Trail 123. For a bird hike, I walk slowly, deliberately, listening and looking, almost like a hunter tracking prey. Siskens chattered away above me, becoming a backdrop for much of the hike. A bald eagle pounded the water with its wings to take off; a mate called out high above. Two joggers ran past me, talking loudly and nonstop as they ran. I waited for the forest and pond life to settle back down. A raft of buffleheads splashed and chased each other out in the middle. A pair of mallards swam by just an arm’s length away from me. Behind me, a woodpecker drilled on a tree. Nuthatches called plaintively. Kinglets chittered high above; chickadees flittered down lower.
Turning south at Little Cranberry, I picked up Trail 10 and followed the western shore of Big Beaver. I saw two ducks at the far southern bay, too far away to identify. I took a long-distance picture with my telephoto lens to identify them later.
A sparrow’s body lay on the trail. It looked fully intact, but lifeless. How did it die?
I pictured myself living out here as a duck, or a sparrow, coming out of a cold winter to see spring emerging, always looking for food, a home, a mate, and for danger: an owl, an eagle, a coyote, or a Cooper’s.
Trail 10 loops around Mitten Pond. Evening light grew. One frog, then several, then a thousand sang of life and love.
Eventually I was back to where I started. It took me two hours to walk two miles. But each flower, each bird, each sighting and song, is the world we share. Each plant and animal is the intricate web of life that connects every one of these living species. Each one of these, of us, is so tiny, so fragile, on this tiny planet in this universe.
And because of that, each one of these, of us, is so rare, so precious.
Want to know what birds I found?
Bufflehead 24
Chickadee, chestnut backed 11
Creeper, Brown 3
Duck, Wood 2
Eagle, Bald 2
Flicker, Northern 2
Goose, Canada 4
Junco, dark eyed 5
Kinglet, Golden-crowned 4
Mallard 4
Nuthatch, Red-breasted 8
Raven 2
Siskin, Pine 9
Sparrow, Song 2
Towhee, Spotted 1
Vireo, Huttons 1
Woodpecker, Hairy 2
Woodpecker spp 2
Wren, Pacific 5
Directions
Directions: Big Beaver Pond and Mitten Pond are south of Little Cranberry Lake. From downtown Anacortes, take D Avenue south past a roundabout to where it turns west and then south again, which is now A Avenue. Parking is immediately on your right if you are southbound. Trail 10 begins right here.
By bike: D Avenue has one large hill southbound from 12th Street, but is otherwise gently rolling with limited shoulders and some traffic. Taking 32nd Street would be easier.
Mobility: Trail 10 is wide as a road, mostly dirt or mud, and gently rolling. Other trails are narrow, sometimes muddy, filled with rocks, roots, and occasional trees across the trail.
Republished with permission. Read the original article.