Nature on the Edge

Finding animals in nature is not like walking around the zoo. When kids visit the wildlife sanctuary where I work and they ask what animals they will see, I usually start off by telling them that large animals like deer and coyote aren’t often active at ten in the morning, nor would they tolerate the large and noisy group of children stomping through their home.

However, if they pay attention, they will see lots of insects, see and hear birds, and see (and perhaps hear) frogs. Quite often we get to see red and gray squirrels as well as chipmunks. On occasion, deer (usually yearlings or mothers with fawns) hang out alongside the trails. Sometimes a mother turkey (once with eleven poults) will claim the fields along the most traveled trail for her territory.

Sometimes, it is a matter of looking carefully. Children will often see snakes that I just walked by. My movements probably cause the snake to move, so those children behind me get to see its response. I once saw a ribbon snake clinging to the side of a yellow birch, sunning. I wouldn’t have expected to catch a snake there, I’m glad that it caught my eye.

Where I live, the backyard doesn’t go back ten feet before turning into an edge habitat - tangles of shrubs and weeds, rocks and fill. Beyond that is the neighbor’s backyard from the next street over. A narrow wooded area runs between the backyards from the two streets.

Here I have watched gray squirrels, rabbits, and a groundhog. Last year I was highly surprised to watch a long-tailed weasel dash from my front yard across the street. Earlier this spring I watched a hawk land on a branch and stare at the scruffy edge at the end of the lawn. Within minutes, the hawk swooped and returned to the branch with a shrew. This past weekend I saw a deer meandering in the woods.

What I’m saying, is that you have to be willing to see what you see. You can’t expect a certain animal to appear when you want it to. Whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural area, take the time to look out the window throughout the day. If you and your children are outside, you may disturb the animals, so this is an odd case where you need to be indoors to see what is outdoors. Look outside before the sun is up, when it first rises, mid-morning, afternoon, mid-afternoon, dusk, night. Don’t just glance outside, gaze.

You can encourage children to look out their bedroom window throughout the day. Set a journal beside the window so the child can record what they see and when they see it. This requires some patience, days and days could go by without spotting a squirrel. But, the day the child notices a hawk in the tree in the front yard, it will be worth the wait.