Magical Moments
by Matt Conner, Park Ranger White River NWR
April, 2007
Photo by Kathy Radomski
I have a collection of outdoor memories that I carry around in my mind
at all times. These are moments that I have experienced in the outdoors
that I have found to be magical and unforgettable. One of my favorite
memories was when I was working at Glacier National Park in Montana as
a Ranger and I had hiked up to the top of a ridge and sat down to watch
the sunset. I looked over at an adjacent ridge to my left, I saw a grizzly
bear saunter up the hill and sit down and look towards the sunset as
well. I sat there wondering what the bear was doing sitting on top of
a ridge like that and for a second I thought it was perhaps enjoying
the view as I was. Later someone tried to tell me that bears climb to
the high peaks like that to roll rocks over looking for moth larva and
other insects, but I prefer to believe that the bear was just enjoying
the view.
Another time I was collecting forest ecology data in northern Wisconsin and I
as I was getting a compass heading for my next research plot, I looked up from
my compass just in time to watch a large paper birch fall 100 feet in front of
me. I didn’t find this moment to be frightening, rather I was awed by the
chance that I would be standing at that exact location at that exact moment to
see a tree fall of natural causes right in front of me. There was no wind blowing
or reason for the tree to fall other than the fact that this tree’s life
happened to end just as I looked up from my compass to see it happen. The tree
was over 80 years old, but I saw the exact second when it fell.
Why is this magical? Consider this. There are 86,000 seconds in one day. Multiply
this by 365 and you see there are 313,390,000 seconds in a year. Multiply this
by the trees age (80 years) and you get 2,511,200,000 seconds. Do you see my
point? I had less than a 1 in 2.5 billion chance to see this happen and I was
lucky enough to be there at the exact time.
When I was training as a park ranger, I read a book by Freeman Tilden called “Interpreting
our Heritage.” Freeman Tilden is thought as the father of interpretation
as he was the first to define how rangers can “interpret” the outdoors
and natural process to visitors. In the book he illustrates many useful techniques
to engage a group and tell a story that is meaningful and relevant. However,
Tilden mentions in one part of the book that we should, “never try and
interpret a sunset.” Meaning, when a magical moment in nature occurs, don’t
try to explain why it is special, step out of the way and let the moment speak
for itself.
I have recently experienced a new magical moment with a group of beginner birders
a couple of weekends ago. I am participating in some courses through the “Business
of Birding” program at Phillips Community College UA in DeWitt.
The “Business of Birding” is a program designed to increase tourism
to the Delta area and encourage owners of hunting lodges to cater to birders
after the hunting season. The goal is to have year round tourism and offer outdoor
experiences to people from around the world. With the Refuge and other natural
areas, this area is an ideal place to offer birding trips using existing lodges
and local amenities.
We had a beginning birding class the evening before and we meet at the Refuge
the next morning so I could take the group to some hot spots on the Refuge. The
class instructors were Dan Scheiman, the Bird and Conservation Director for Audubon
Arkansas, and Kathy Radomski, the Director of Business and Industry Training.
They gave the group some basic birding lessons at the Visitor Center and then
we headed out to the field to test out our new skills.
We were driving down a gravel road when we say a great blue heron eating a frog
next to the road. The van pulled over and we practiced using our binoculars and
field guides to observe the bird. As we were watching the heron, Dan pointed
to another bird flying towards us. “There is a loggerhead shrike flying
towards us,” said Dan. The loggerhead shrike was about the size of a robin
and had a black mask similar to a chickadee’s markings.
Dan told the group that the loggerhead shrike was a hunter like a red-tailed
hawk, but because it was a smaller bird and had much weaker feet than the red
tail hawk, it has adapted as a hunter. The loggerhead shrike isn’t able
to kill its prey with crushing talons nor is it capable of tearing apart its
catch with its feet. But what it lacks in strength it makes up in skill and agility.
This small bird will catch grasshoppers or even prey as large as mice and fly
them straight into a thorn on a bush. The bird will impale its prey on an object
and then return to feed on it.
As soon as Dan had said this, the loggerhead shrike dove into the bushes and
jumped back on the branch it had been sitting on it. A moment later Dan noticed
there was a mouse stuck on the branch next to the shrike. We sat there and watched
the exact moment unfold that Dan had described. The bird ate the mouse as we
took pictures and maneuvered for a better view from the van we were in. We all
sat watching the bird not saying a word as we all knew we were seeing something
special that made a group of beginner birders hooked on wildlife observation
from that moment forward. Dan said he has been birding for 19 years and had never
seen anything like this before.
We spent the rest of the morning identifying dozens of birds and learning the
types of habitat that each species depends on. I was thinking about what a great
experience we had had and was filed this morning under my “magical moments” in
my mind. I don’t know how to calculate the odds of seeing a loggerhead
shrike impaling and eating a mouse, but I know the odds of seeing some type of
wildlife in the Refuge is next to 100% on any given day. Whether it’s watching
deer from a distance, looking for amphibians in puddles on the forest floor,
bird watching, or just taking a nature hike on the refuge, there is a world of
magical moments waiting to be discovered on White River National Wildlife Refuge!
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If
you have questions about our web site or about the refuge, contact Steve Reagan at whiteriver@fws.gov |
For
More Information Contact:
White River NWR 57 South CC Camp Road P.O. Box 205 St. Charles, AR 72140 Telephone: 870-282-8200 Fax: 870-282-8234 |