What compels a man to leave the warmth and comfort of his home, grabbing only pen and paper on the way out the door, and sit inside a frosty vehicle on a windy winters day on a remote wildlife sanctuary, just to capture a few random thoughts for the blogoshere?
For me, the answer to this question is simple, to experience nature. This is, in all truthfulness, the actual scenario in which I am writing from today.
The howling wind is currently rocking my small car back and forth as I sit in a desolate parking lot on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and write this blog post. Why, you ask, am I not only doing such a thing but doing it in such a remote location on such a cold, dreary day?
Simple. I love nature. I love the sights, the sounds and the smells of nature. I love the interaction between all the players in an ecosystem such as the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It is peaceful and rejuvenating.
Don’t get me wrong, however. I still like the conveniences of our modern world, but for me, at least, I find it important, no, I find it critical, to get away at times from the hectic world and decompress a bit. To sit and ponder and not worry for a while about answering emails, meeting deadlines and dealing with the noise and commotion of society.
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Nature is a part of me. It resonates within me and I find happiness while experiencing and learning about the natural world we live in. I hope it is, or, at least in some way, it will become a part of you, too.
Although, there are a variety of places I can do this, and I will utilize many of them, I confess the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is my most common go-to spot for such regeneration of the mind, body and soul.
But what, you might ask, is so special about this particular bird refuge, one I often call home, if only for a few hours a day, several times a week? If I had to pick one part of nature, one particular aspect of our ecological surroundings, to answer that question, it would be the birds which live on and migrate through this nearly 80,000 acre wildlife refuge.
Honestly, I actually cringed when I wrote that, fearing the possibility of sounding like I favor one part of nature over another. I don’t, but, admittedly, birds have interested me ever since I was a young boy and for a good reason I will get to in a bit.
I grew up raising all kinds of birds, pigeons, finches, doves and parakeets, just to name a few, and I still have some of them to this day.
But my fascination with birds would be very limited, very unfulfilling, per say, if I didn’t appreciate nature and it’s functionality as a whole. Birds are just a small part in the grand scheme of things in nature. No more or less important than any other creature, but one which has caught my attention at an early age. I am glad it did because it was the doorway into understanding and appreciating nature as a whole, too.
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is devoted to preserving and enhancing bird populations and bird habitat so, naturally, I find myself there as often as I can.
But, in all honesty, it’s not just the birds which intrigue me as I spend my time on the refuge. It’s the butterflies, it’s the plants, it’s the mammals, it’s the aquatic creatures, it’s the snakes and yes, I admit, it’s even the bugs which give me reason to visit this magnificent place over and over again.
Added up, its the interaction between all of these living things which compels me to visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge several times per week, year round.
One day, I might find a great blue heron trying to steal a meal from a merganser. On another day, I might find a bald eagle hunting pied-billed grebes for a badly needed meal. Other days, I might find monarch or painted lady butterflies softly nectaring on a row of sunflowers, readying themselves for a long journey southward.
All of these experiences, and countless more, in fact, I have indeed witnessed on the refuge. Each one bringing me peace and tranquility for a while as I observed nature doing it’s thing, being nature.
You see, the interactions in nature, and the complete uncertainty of what one may find day to day is, in itself, a most compelling and driving force for venturing out into nature. You just never know what you will experience and you won’t find out if you don’t go.
My particular journey, the one which eventually brought me here to the refuge today, actually started back when I was about nine years old. On that warm summers day, my father took me on a bird watching trip to the Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area.
Being an electrical engineer at the time, my dad had little to no interest in birds. His interests were based in more of a mechanical genre, but he saw I had a budding interest with birds so he made time to take me on my very first bird watching trip. It might have been just a few short miles from the house and I don’t remember what birds we saw, but I do, in fact, remember the trip as one of the best times I have ever spent with my father.
This is why I have such respect for him and a love for the outdoors. He took time out of his busy schedule and allowed me to learn about and get interested in something he personally had no interest in. I didn’t want to let him down for his gracious efforts so my love for birds grew and grew over the years because of this one simple bird watching trip.
Somewhere, I still have the very first bird list I started on that particular day, valiantly checking off each species I came across from that moment forth. It was over four decades ago and my dad has since passed, but I will never forget the trip and what it meant to me. Birds and nature help me remember my father and all he has done for me, including getting me interested in bird watching and nature.
It’s moments like this we all can have with others while in the outdoors. Bonding over nature is one of the simplest and easiest things we can do, in fact. Nature provides the setting and the entertainment, all we have to do is show up and give it a chance to entertain and enlighten us.
You don’t have to go with any fore-given knowledge or expertise. In fact, experiencing and learning about a natural phenomenon for the first time is a reward in itself. You don’t have to have a lot of equipment to enjoy nature. You just have to be in nature to experience and enjoy nature. Yes, it’s that simple.
Maybe you will spot a western pygmy blue butterfly, one of the smallest butterflies in the world. You might see a western grebe with a newly hatched baby riding on it’s back. You could even see a bumblebee searching a Utah thistle plant for nectar.
The simple truth is, you could see just about anything while out in nature. You can also learn something about the world you hadn’t known before. But most importantly, however, you can spend a special moment with a loved one, a father or daughter, for example, where family memories and bonds could be strengthened and cared for.
Nature is more than just a few wild things living in a distant part of the world we view on YouTube or read about in a junior high science class. Nature is a part of our world. It’s everywhere, in fact, including our own backyards, and we can find more happiness in our own lives if we experience and learn about the world we live in so we can understand it, be a part of it and enjoy it with others.
As I said before, it doesn’t take a lot of time and effort but it does take some. Me and my dad had a great experience at a local bird sanctuary over 40 years ago and I am sure you can find the same thing close by where you live. We only spent a couple hours looking for birds that day, but it is a cherished memory which will last me a lifetime and who wouldn’t want that?
For more information about the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, visit their website for contact information, social media outlets and information about the refuge and what it has to offer.
