“That’s a baby great horned owl,” my friend Craig Johnson said of the
image I’d just emailed him. “These beautiful owls are breeding in
your woods because you have good, healthy habitat. They’ll help keep
down the rodents in your garden.”
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| Bubba kept us entertained all spring. |
I hadn’t thought much about owls or even seen very many, though we
often enjoyed their conversations in the evening and pre-dawn. I just
thought the roly-poly, little guy perched on our blueberry cage was
kinda cute and goofy. He was back in the same spot the next day,
yawning, pacing, grooming his toes, and sleeping with one eye open.
Sue and I named the baby “Bubba” and watched him squawk and scream
for dinner all spring. “Great horned owls take months to learn to hunt,”
Craig said. We watched Bubba’s soft profile turn sharper as he caught
slow-moving insects on the ground and gained the confidence to hunt
small rodents from higher and higher perches. Bubba and his parents grew
tolerant of me and my camera, letting me approach as often as I liked.
As Sue and I became better observers, we delighted in the other
newborns in our woods: woodpeckers, coyotes, hawks, deer, raccoons,
songbirds, rabbits, squirrels, bats, lizards, snakes, butterflies, and
frogs. We were astounded to learn we had flying squirrels but had never
seen them because they fly at night. We became attuned to the birds’
voices, and the more we opened our eyes and ears, the more joy we took
in them. We learned that the same individual hummingbirds migrate back
to our yard every spring, and started taking special pains to keep our
hummingbird feeder fresh and clean.
We realized how poor our lives would be without wildlife, including the long-lived orcas and gray whales that visit our shores every year, and the salmon that are our icon. All wildlife need healthy habitat, and if we don't consciously preserve a place for them to live, we will carelessly destroy it - and them.
We knew we were not alone in these feelings and discovered that many
of our friends belonged to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. They shared a
passion and sensitivity that inspired us. I don’t remember even
discussing with Sue whether to join; we just did. The Land Trust was
where we belonged, and we’ve been members for many years now. Nothing
makes us prouder than to be among Land Trust people, our most cherished
friends and neighbors, at the summer picnic or on a land tour.
Decades from now, if Bubba’s offspring still live and breed in our
woods, we will know we were good stewards. We are committed to this work
not only for Bubba’s sake, but for those future generations of humans
who will spend the best years of their lives finding peace, rejuvenation
and inspiration right here at home.
Note: The woods are alive right now with returning Rufous Hummingbirds, baby owls, newborn woodpeckers and the din of chirping! Courtship is under way in a big way and it's a marvelous time. I published this piece originally on a blog of Whidbey Camano Land Trust that is no longer maintained. Rediscovering it the other day, I realized the sentiments remain more true than ever.
