Change on the Wind

Nature Academy

The more things change, the more they stay the same, but still, one must be ready and willing to learn many new things each day.

Out in nature, you will see some of both…you will see the more things change, the more they stay the same. You have the opportunity to learn a plethora of new things each day if you have ears to hear and eyes to see. That is, if you are willing.

The wind blows from a new direction and all of a sudden the forest is alive with dozens of quick-darting migrant birds, insects and butterflies that just hatched and a new scent in the air…perhaps a fox that passed by recently. Though all pursuits are a chasing after the wind in one respect, in another way – as you find what the wind has brought and give it chase – new opportunities for learning and understanding develop. How can you not try to learn and understand more?

One interesting creature that rides the wind to Cincinnati during bird migration is the ovenbird. Below is an ovenbird, a member of the Warbler family of birds that breeds in our local woodland, that was caught by a bird bander at Sharon Woods. A small metal band was placed on one of its legs. If the band is recovered when the bird dies someday, it will help tell an interesting story about where this bird spent part of its life.

Photo by Wayne Wauligman, Volunteer

Photo by Wayne Wauligman, Volunteer

Jerry Lippert, Sharon Woods Naturalist