With just 43 species identified from the hundreds or thousands that live in my yard, already I am able to take the knowledge I've gained by taking the time to learn about these creatures and apply it as I walk through my yard.
Instead of just walking past and thinking what a beautiful dragonfly and wondering what kind it is, whether it bites or stings. I know what species it is and I think: What a beautiful adult male Twelve-Spotted Skimmer. Looks like it's out hunting for flies. It must have hatched last fall down in the wetlands at the base of the valley. Most likely, it will return there to breed as well. I know how to hold it carefully in my hand for closer examination without harm to either it or myself.
Or I can hear a birdsong and know that the sudden stop to the whip-poor-will's song will probably only last 10 or 15 seconds as it moves to another spot around the perimeter of its territory and resumes singing. I know what nights it is more likely to sing and what time of the night I might expect to hear it. I know where it nests and how it feeds.
All of that is really the reason that I started this blog and this project in the first place. I wanted to understand more about the world in which I live. I wanted to know how the creatures that live in my yard interact with one another and how my presence here affects them. I wanted to know what I can do to make sure they stay and thrive here and to make sure that I don't do anything that inadvertently renders this habitat unsuitable for them.
I may not ever be as knowledgeable as some of the experts I have met over the last few years, but I certainly know much more than I did, and I'm learning more every day. I know who my animal neighbors are and how they're doing by watching their behavior and the state of the "neighborhood" in which we all live. I am not just leaving a footprint on this five acres of land, but becoming a part of it and the community that owned it long before I did.
Instead of just walking past and thinking what a beautiful dragonfly and wondering what kind it is, whether it bites or stings. I know what species it is and I think: What a beautiful adult male Twelve-Spotted Skimmer. Looks like it's out hunting for flies. It must have hatched last fall down in the wetlands at the base of the valley. Most likely, it will return there to breed as well. I know how to hold it carefully in my hand for closer examination without harm to either it or myself.
Or I can hear a birdsong and know that the sudden stop to the whip-poor-will's song will probably only last 10 or 15 seconds as it moves to another spot around the perimeter of its territory and resumes singing. I know what nights it is more likely to sing and what time of the night I might expect to hear it. I know where it nests and how it feeds.
All of that is really the reason that I started this blog and this project in the first place. I wanted to understand more about the world in which I live. I wanted to know how the creatures that live in my yard interact with one another and how my presence here affects them. I wanted to know what I can do to make sure they stay and thrive here and to make sure that I don't do anything that inadvertently renders this habitat unsuitable for them.
I may not ever be as knowledgeable as some of the experts I have met over the last few years, but I certainly know much more than I did, and I'm learning more every day. I know who my animal neighbors are and how they're doing by watching their behavior and the state of the "neighborhood" in which we all live. I am not just leaving a footprint on this five acres of land, but becoming a part of it and the community that owned it long before I did.
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