On Listening to Birds at Dawn

May 13, 2011 By John Soares 10 Comments

With the longer days of late spring, I’ve been taking dawn walks down to the shore of Lake Shastina with my morning coffee. Recently, as I stood watching the lake, the birds, and the mountains, I was struck by all the different wildlife I could hear at one time:

Canada goose
Mallard
Gull
Redwing blackbird
Bluejay
Coyote in the distance

I turned away from the lake to see a motionless jackrabbit and four deer eating green grass.

I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to create a life where I can live so close to such natural beauty. I know that’s not possible for everyone, but I think it’s an important reason why we hike: to get back to nature, to connect with the wild things.

And now Stephanie and I are off on our hiking adventure in southern Utah.

Share on Facebook

Comments

Jeff Clark says
May 13, 2011 at 6:50 am
Have great fun on your trip John, and of course, be safe.
Reply
- John Soares says
  May 13, 2011 at 7:17 am
  Will do Jeff. Thanks!
  Reply
Ray Anderson says
May 13, 2011 at 6:00 pm
A nice post. Somehow hiking always circles back to nature.
Reply
- John Soares says
  May 15, 2011 at 6:26 am
  I think I started hiking as a boy growing up outside Anderson, California because I wanted to be closer to nature.
  Reply
Eric Soares says
May 13, 2011 at 7:43 pm
That was nice, John. As a guy who loves birds, I was particularly happy to wake up this beautiful morning to see and hear black-headed grosbeaks in our ponderosa garden.
Have a good Utah trip. There are a lot of nifty birds there, so bring the binocs and the bird book.
Reply
- John Soares says
  May 15, 2011 at 6:20 am
  I’ve got both with me.
  We’re in Provo, Utah right now, and so far the coolest wildlife sighting so far was a group of four wild burros.
  Reply
Gambolin Man says
May 14, 2011 at 10:33 am
Nice musings, John. Indeed, we are all lucky to be able to share in and witness the daily “prosaic” miracles of nature! When I was doing a two-year stint in Osaka, Japan (teaching English), I was going crazy for lack of access to nature, when I happened to cross paths with a Comanche medicine healer who was “on tour” there (in full native regalia!), and he taught me that the single little lonesome flower growing up out of a crack in an alley sidewalk was sufficient beauty and presence of “the Mother” to sustain him.
Enjoy Utah! I’m envious!
Reply
- John Soares says
  May 15, 2011 at 6:24 am
  Great point Tom. I’ve been fortunate to live most of my life in rural areas or small towns, but when I have been in big cities, I try to focus on what is natural and beautiful.
  When I was younger I could easily get distracted about what wasn’t “natural” wherever I was — buildings, pollution, etc. — but as I get older I can better focus on the nature and ignore the rest.
  Reply
Camper Glamis says
May 25, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Wow. What a photo! Looking at that scenery must have done something to your mind and soul that morning, something wonderful! Really, really wonderful view. Thanks for sharing.
Reply
Tebor says
May 29, 2011 at 11:59 am
Beautiful pic. Makes me miss California.
Reply

On Listening to Birds at Dawn

Related Posts:

Click the covers to see the books on Amazon

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Hiking Redwood National & State Parks

Day Hiking: Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps

100 Classic Hikes: Northern California