The Sharpening of one's Senses
By Dave Hanks
How many times have you been startled by a snake, that you didn’t know was there, but almost stepped on? Or been distressed by finding a tiny bug crawling on your clothing? There are so many small, quiet species (and even some large ones) that you could bypass and never know they are near. Big predators make a habit of silence to enable them to stalk their prey. What slips so quietly through the habitat as a Mountain Lion? Forest employees in fire lookout towers have reported watching grizzlies move off a trail as hikers pass by – oblivious to the bear’s presence. The bear then returns to the original spot and continues its foraging.
A small, quiet bird that most would never notice is the BROWN CREEPER. It is a well camouflaged bird of woodlands. Resembling a small nuthatch, it flies to the base of a tree and then moves up the trunk in a spiral movement picking off invertebrates as it goes. Its movement is the opposite of nuthatches, which move down the trunk headfirst.
Brown Creepers build a hammock-shaped nest behind peeling flakes of bark. This is a common species, but one would hardly guess it because they are so small and silent. They rarely call, but when they do, it is a piercing sound.
There are so many insects, reptiles, rodents, and birds that move so quietly - that the quantity and variety that is going unnoticed is surprising! Many folks are missing out on a world of intrigue, because they have yet to become aware of what’s underfoot or partially hidden in the vegetation.
The quiet things are all around – But we don’t notice, there’s so little sound.
But oh for him whose ears are keen – A rich reward, things seldom seen.
So when you’re about ‘mongst shrubs or wings - Take time to notice the quiet things!
(A tiny Brown Creeper moving up the tree trunk)
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