Nature is Changing

     Nature is constantly changing, which is good.  Life must never be stagnant.  Stagnation is equivalent to extinction. 
     Many years ago when I was a young adult in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I thought the only nearby place to see Canada geese, great blue herons and bald eagles was along the Chesapeake Bay.  I knew those species were along the Chesapeake, particularly in winter, and I wasn't seeing them here, not even in winter.  Back in the 1950's I thrilled to the sight of a few flocks of migrating Canada geese that nested in Canada honking excitedly high in a clear sky on a mid-October day as they went south to the bay.  But I saw no great blues or eagles at all. 
     Today Canada geese, great blue herons and bald eagles, all of them species of large, magnificent birds, are common in Lancaster County where I still live.  Breeding pairs of Canadas were introduced to this area in the 1960's to satisfy goose hunters.  The adaptable Canadas did so well nesting in this area that now thousands of them live here the year around.  Most every human-made impoundment and slow-moving, larger waterway has its share of Canada geese.
     Flocks of local and stately Canada geese rest on larger bodies of water here through winter, but feed on waste corn kernals, grass and the green shoots of winter rye in fields.  Late in February, mated pairs of them begin their nesting cycle, with goslings hatching by mid to late April along farm ponds, creeks retention basins and other places of water and grass.
     Meanwhile, elegant great blue herons have increased in numbers for a variety of reasons.  They are protected by law, and they have adapted to catching fish and other aquatic critters in human-made ponds, lakes and back yard goldfish ponds, as well as along natural brooks, streams, creeks and rivers.  There are even a couple of great blue heron nesting colonies in this county.  They seem not to be afraid of civilization as long as they are not directly harassed by people and there is plenty of fish for them to dine on.       
     And in the meantime, the majestic bald eagles have been protected by law and the use of DDT was banned in the United States in the early 1970's.  Meanwhile, bald eagle eggs were taken from stick nests in Canada during the 1980's and the small young raised in nests on towers on islands in the Susquehanna River in southeastern Pennsylvania.  All that increased the numbers of bald eagles until they entered Lancaster County via the Susquehanna River as pairs of adults looking for places to nest in the wooded hills bordering that river on both sides. 
     Today, several pairs of balds hatch young along the lower Susquehanna every spring and a few pairs rear offspring inland around impoundments and creeks in farmland.  Bald eagles adapted to farmland by scavenging dead chickens and other farm animals in winter when those carcasses could not be buried because of snow and frozen ground.        
     Lancaster County today has abundant Canada geese, great blue herons and bald eagles because of human protection and introduction, and the birds' adapting to changing conditions.  Adapting is a key to success.