WHISPERING WINGS & Other Things

Kestrel Mantling   Watercolour Painting

While working at becoming an artist, and in order to gain a bit of recognition and hopefully entice potential customers to my studio, I worked as a naturalist. To advertise my guided walks I put together a bit of a monthly newsletter, stories of nature encounters and various articles promoting birdwatching and nature in general. While recently going through a number of journals I come across  an event that took place one winter's day many years ago......

Whispering Wings 

& Other Things

February 18,1993

Nature’s Way

A cold, but somewhat clear morning, making the -17C bearable. It had snowed overnight, perhaps an inch, and as I cleared the snow away from the base of the feeders I contemplated my dilemma concerning the ever increasing squirrel and Blue Jay populations. To feed, or not to feed, that was the question? i have a soft spot in my heart for just about everything in Nature, but of late I had come to question whether it was right to promote squirrels and Blue Jays. I hated being put in the position of being somewhat God like determining who should live and who should die, but too many Blue Jays and squirrels was obviously putting a strain on the already unnatural ecosystem here in the Valley. I filled the feeders, two hanging relatively squirrel proof feeders, and hearing Blue Jays screaming my presence to the neighbourhood I weakened and spread some seed about the ground beneath the feeders. Not too much as to promote caching, or a surplus for the already too fat squirrels, but just enough to help the jays through this cold morning. Finished, I paused to survey the gathering jays, then retreated to my studio to watch the feeding frenzy which was about to take place.

Watching from the studio window I counted as many as twenty Blue Jays jostling for seed. Moments later a kind of quiet came over the flock as their attention was directed to each individual gathering as much seed as possible. A mistake, as moments later, one of the jays gave a warning scream and the entire flock took flight. At that same instant I observed a Blue Jay being pursued by a brown streak. The Jay swerved to its right into the assumed safety of the pines in front of the studio window. The move was in vain as in a flash it was struck from behind and knocked to the ground by he brown streak.As the snow settled I was greeted by the piercing gaze of a Sharp-shinned Hawk as it mantled over its screeching prey. The Jay being about three quarters the size of the Sharpy the kill would not be clean or quick had it been a much smaller bird. The Jay struggled and screamed under the sharp talons of the Sharpy. Several of the flock having gotten over the shock (of the attack) had returned to mob the Sharpy. They would fly from the branches of the pine skimming over the head of the Sharpy, but never coming close enough to strike the Sharpy. No doubt this was old hat to the Sharpy for after ducking its head once, or twice, in reaction to the Jay actions it turned its attention to the struggling prey. Slowly it maneuvered  the Jay with a vice like grip onto its back, then it began to pluck feathers from its struggling preys neck. All the while the Jay continued to scream and peck ineffectively at the Sharpy with its beak. The Sharpy continued to tear feathers from its prey, the Jays struggles becoming weaker, and weaker. The other Jays, realizing that their companion was lost, abandoned their mobbing and flew away. i could hear them from somewhere in the neighbourhood, their raucous cries announcing the loss of the member of the flock. A Chickadee landed above the Sharpy to scold and vent its nervousness at the intrusion of the predator in the relatively peaceful neighbourhood. The Sharpy went about its grisly task aware that I was watching. 

During those brief minutes the Sharpy fixed me with its piercing gaze several times seeking assurance that I was not about to interfere. I must admit that at the beginning my immediate feelings were to come to the Jays rescue, but then I realized that the solution that I had been pondering earlier had surfaced in the form of something quite natural, and that I really had no right to interfere. The Jay having all but ceased to struggle the Sharpy seemed to fix me with one last gaze then grasping the Jay tightly it flew out of sight.

In moments everything seemed to return to normal, if there exists such a thing in the natural world. The Chickadees and Finches returned to the feeders, and I had no doubt that the Jays, perhaps a bit more alert to possible danger, would also return shortly. I returned to my work with the feeling that I had been very privileged to witness one of the many dramas that are played out daily in the natural world, and with some reassurance that Nature in her own way was at work trying to restore a balance in the Valley, despite our efforts (to alter everything).

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Blue Jay    Watercolour Painting

Hawk With Prey     Pencil Drawing

Kestrel & Jay (cropped)       Intaglio (etching and aquatint) Print

Hawk On Post With Kill     Etching with Aquatint

Pencil Study for Etching Hawk On Post With Kill

POETRY: I should mention that as well as producing drawings and paintings, over the years I wrote a number of essays and a lot of poetry. Should you have an interest in poetry take a few minutes to visit my writing blog.....Who knows, you mat enjoy what you read?

https://mytimespentmusing.blogspot.com

AWENDA PROVINCIAL PARK

Over the years I've  emphasized the importance of making sketches. There are many reasons for doing so. I suppose the most important reason is to reinforce one's memory of the occasion the sketch was made, to enable something more serious to be created back in the comfort of one's studio. There is another reason, however, one that you perhaps wouldn't expect, and that's to preserve the history, moments in time, of places visited. Nature is continually evolving. Once stripped of its trees, Algonquin Provincial Park here in Canada, has seen the trees grow back to the point that once familiar landscapes no longer exist. Tom Thomson would fail to recognize the landscape that he once painted. 

Another park that I've often visited  over the years is Awenda Provincial Park, a portion of which is located on the shore of Georgian Bay. Awenda has seen the water level of Georgian Bay rise and fall over the years, from a record low to a record high. With almost every visit to the park I made a sketch, or two, and I find myself with a visual record of the park along the shoreline over a span of almost 20 years. In fact one of the first sketches that I did was a pen & ink sketch going back some 40 years ago.

First Sketch - Awenda Provincial Park  circa. 1980

Awenda Provincial Park  2005

Awenda 2008

Awenda Provincial Park 2014

Were I to do a sketch now, in 2019, the water level in Georgian Bay would be shown to have reached an almost record high. There exists very little sand beach. The water level is almost up to the tree line in some areas. The fear amongst cottage owners and businesses located along the Bay's shore is that another winter with record snow pack and snow melt, compounded by a storm surge, and there will be considerable damage to private property. Nature at its best, although some might say, at its worst.

Anyway, it's interesting, if only to me. Memories become a sort of history of time passing, and the changes being brought about by Nature.