Nature Connection: Staying Vigilant

 There’s a red-tailed hawk in our neighborhood that has several favorite trees where it perches and looks over its territory, taking in the sun, watching for its next meal. Some days it may hang out for an hour or more, ever watchful, but also ready to move at a moment’s notice. 

 In winter it is easy to keep track of this hawk. It tends to sit high up in a leafless tree, a dark dot in the distance, usually unnoticed by the neighborhood watch group of crows and jays. It sits close to the trunk of the tree, almost blending in, especially for the casual onlooker. Some days it chooses a tall Norway spruce, and it is harder to distinguish the shape of the bird from the sweeping branches full of needles and cones.

 Hawks are not the only vigilant watchers in nature. The cardinals feeding in my yard as I type are always alert, always on the lookout for danger. This is true of all the birds, really. They are hyper aware of their surroundings, noticing even the smallest changes as possible warnings they will heed instantly if they must.

 I’ve been thinking about vigilance a lot over the last few months. There are a lot of changes about to take place in our government, and many of them will threaten the health of our environment, which will affect all of us. Those who have chosen money over clean air, water, and safe food won the election. The rest of us must be like the hawks and rabbits, keeping watch. We must also be like the jays and crows calling out our warnings as well.

 The relentless greed that has taken over so many of our fellow citizens must be kept in check if we are to survive, and without rules, that will be harder and harder to do.

 Humans have lost a lot of their natural observation skills. We’ve gotten soft and haven’t needed them as much in our suburban and urban environments. Our communities have felt safe with rules and regulations, but it behooves us to sharpen our senses once again and be vigilant for the well-being of all. 

 The wildfires in California should remind us that all is fragile. All can be lost in an instant, whether due to a catastrophic weather event, civil unrest, or war. Here on Cape Cod, wildfires are not as much a threat as hurricanes and other fierce storms. We are also susceptible to flooding due to climate change, and many of our towns are struggling with ways to keep up with the increased rates of erosion and rising sea level that we are already seeing here.

 They say animals and birds seem to sense disasters coming, even earthquakes and tsunamis. They flee ahead of the impacts. In the case of fires and floods, many do escape in time, but not all. Many thousands are lost each year in extreme events around the world.

 Sometimes being aware of their surroundings and being prepared simply isn’t enough. This has been true throughout human history as well. Things happen. Unexpected things, things that change us and change our world as well.

 The crows are on the job today, but it isn’t the red-tailed hawk they are after. It’s one of the neighborhood’s active Cooper’s hawks. Cooper’s hawks generally catch and eat other birds, but have been known to grab a mouse or even a rabbit if hunger strikes them. In our yard, mourning doves are often the target.

 If you have a flock of mourning doves that visit your yard often, keep an eye on them. A few may be very alert while others feed and move about on the ground as if they don’t have a care in the world. More than once I’ve seen a flock of doves take off, spreading out in several directions which is a strategy that confuses possible predators. They don’t go far, usually hiding in nearby bushes to keep an eye on things.

 Somehow, one dove always seems to miss the memo to get out and hide, and not surprisingly that dove ends up as a meal. Why didn’t it pay attention? Why didn’t it go with all its little dove friends? All I know is that it paid for its inattention, and I think it’s a good lesson for us at this time.

 I hear people say they want to hide for the next four years, and although I understand the sentiment, I also think we need to borrow a page from nature’s book and stay on top of things. Perhaps we can channel our inner blue jays and crows and be the ones who keep watch and put up warnings. Perhaps we want to be more like the rabbits that lay low and quiet and hope the hawk doesn’t see them, but let me remind you that doesn’t always go well for the rabbit. Eventually it has to resume moving about and feeding, and well, you know how that story can end.

 Nature offers us many lessons, but over the last century we have stopped listening. Not everyone, of course. Some of us are out here doing our best, but most days it feels like we’re talking to ourselves. For now, let’s take the lessons to heart that the hawk and cardinal are offering. Stay alert and informed, don’t get fooled by fake news, and don’t give up.

 When I start to feel really discouraged, I read about or listen to the people in California and North Carolina as they face losing all their belongings and their homes. Somehow, they are finding the strength not to just carry on but to help their neighbors as well. This is the American spirit I think we all want to cherish and keep alive. 

 Stay vigilant, my friends. Nature, but also humanity, needs us.