On January 5 and 6, 2016, I briefly visited two public parks to look for obvious flocks of birds, the first day in Northeast Maryland, and the second just outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was looking for wintering species anyone could experience, and gain inspiration from, on the spur of the moment, without trying and without binoculars. I had been to those parks before in winter, but wanted to verify the birds were still around them, as they had been in the past.
When I drove into the community park in Northeast, I saw the three major species of common birds that winter there right away. They were masses of ring-billed gulls, hundreds of Canada geese and scores of fish crows.
Hundreds and more hundreds of ring-billed gulls were standing, resting in a huddled, light-gray mass on a short-grass lawn by the broad Northeast River, which is a northern extension of the Chesapeake Bay. Hundreds more of these common gulls were concentrated on a mud flat near that lawn, and scattered in the air and on the water just off the lawn and flats. Once during the short time I was in that park, most of the gulls lifted off the lawn, water and flats, which they do when spooked by a bald eagle. The gulls appeared to be a blizzard in the sky for several minutes before coming down, a few at a time, to rest again on the lawn, flats and water. Though I looked, I didn't see any eagles. But those gulls in the sky were an inspiring spectacle.
The Canada geese were grazing on the short grass of the same lawn the gulls were standing on to rest between their feeding forays. The geese walked along slowly in a wide front while plucking off blades of grass as would sheep. I must say though I've seen and heard the stately Canada geese hundreds of times, I never get tired of experiencing them. Those geese, too, took off in flight with a roar of wings and much bugling when the gulls did, but landed on the Northeast River only a hundred yards away.
The fish crows stayed in the trees mostly, where their nasal cawing was incessant. Some crows, however, were on the ground looking for tidbits of food. Gulls and crows both are great scavengers, possibly competing with each other for food of almost any kind. Though they were "just" crows, their numbers and unending calling along a shoreline habitat that they usually inhabit were interesting to experience. They are a major part of coastal environments the year around.
Late in the afternoon of the sixth, I drove into Long's Park, a city park of many large trees and gray squirrels. I was looking for the masses of American crows that often gather in the park's treetops before going to their nightly roost on the roof of nearby Park City, a large shopping center just outside Lancaster City. Hundreds of Canada geese floated peacefully on the two acre lake in the park, but I didn't see any crows. But as I exited Long's Park, I saw masses of crows in a line of trees on the eastern border of Park City.
Driving into the huge parking lot of Park City, I could see thousands of crows ahead in the trees. For some reason unknown to me, those crows suddenly rose up from the trees with a great shout and masses of them floated and wheeled in the sky, cawing loudly all the while. But soon many of them landed again in trees on the eastern border of Park City and in tree tops in nearby Long's Park.
As I left Park City to go home, I could see thousands of American crows perched on trees and hundreds more still circling high in the sunset. And, suddenly, there were the Canada geese low against the sunset, flock after flock, as they left the pond in Long's park and were flying out to feed on corn kernels in harvested corn fields. With the crows floating high in the sky and the geese powering and honking low before the sunset, the area around Long's Park, Park City and Route 30 that runs between them were suddenly wilder places in spite of the development and heavy traffic.
Nature can not be completely ruined or run out.
These are only a couple of places where people can experience and be inspired by nature. There are many more such places on Earth, perhaps some near your home.
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