It was a chilly December day when the bishop of the United
Brethren Church received an electrifying telegram from his sons.
The date was December 17, 1903 and Wilbur and Orville Wright sent
a telegram from Kitty Hawk, SC to their dad whose office was in
Dayton, OH. It read:
"Success/four flights Thursday morning/all against
twenty-one-mile wind/started from level with engine power
alone/average speed through air thirty-one miles/longest
fifty-nine seconds/inform press/home Christmas."
Thanks in large part to the Wright brothers, December in many
respects hasn’t been the same ever since earthbound people took
to the air. In terms of natural history, however, people of the
early 1900’s enjoyed much the same December evergreens, birds,
and observed the same wild animal tracks in the snow that we do
today, 100 years later.
The fact that winter doesn’t officially arrive this year until
3:05 a.m., December 22 convinces many people that there’s a huge
difference between the first winter day and the first day of
winter! Invariably the first winter day arrives a lot earlier,
usually well before Thanksgiving. In fact Charlotte reminded me
that we really did have a genuine blizzard this past November 24.
Snow accompanied by strong wind and falling outdoor temperature
officially defines a blizzard!
The "single" birds of December have produced in past
years a lot of exciting birdwatching. Many of these loners, such
as the rough-legged hawk, northern goshawk and northern shrike
come as complete surprises. Often they are here one day and gone
the next.
Then there are the singles that, if the food supply is
constant and fulfills their needs, may hang around for the
duration of the winter, species such as the northern mockingbird,
snowy owl, varied thrush and the Townsend’s solitaire.
Several reports have reached us already of snowy owls being
seen in the state. These largest of North American owls rank
high on the list of favorites of many birders. It was in
December of 1980 that a snowy owl arrived at Baileys Harbor, took
a liking to the shore area there and remained for the entire
winter. Hunting was obviously very good.
A phone call arrived during the first week of the following
April from our friend, Virginia Booth, telling of the unusually
early arrival of a green heron to the small creek near her home.
A few days later she called to inform me, "Guess what’s
eating the green heron – the snowy owl! That was the only time
in my life that I was able to obtain a photograph of a snowy owl,
in flight, its prey – in this case, the green heron – locked
firmly in its huge talons.
One can’t forget the Jacksonport ruby-throated hummingbird of
December, 1980 that made news nationwide. Birdwatcher’s
Digest, for example, ran my story and picture. I
photographed it on December 4 and it was last seen on the
nineteenth of that month. Records are made to be broken, and
that tiny bird unknowingly beat the previous Wisconsin record of
the last hummingbird of the year, Nov. 28, 1971, by about three
weeks.
Sixty-two years ago when I was an 12-year-old seventh grader
struggling through the formative years of adolescence and quite
wet behind the ears when the Japanese bombed pearl Harbor.
Perhaps it was that unfortunate, unpleasant incident of boyhood
that inspired me to pursue a life-long interest in the natural
world where peace and tranquillity tend to prevail. December 7
is the day I like to take a Pearl of a hike, an annual
celebration of my continuing faith in the natural world.
Even though one might experience plenty of snow this month
and, ever mindful of the intricate beauty of an individual
snowflake as best taught by Snowflake Bentley, be prepared to see
plenty of remaining greenery in the woods during your December
hikes.
Naturally the native evergreen trees and shrubs are quite
green throughout the year, some more than others, but so too are
a lot of the small plants. Several members of the heath family,
such as the Labrador tea, kinnikinick and wintergreen are about
as green as they were in summer.
Some of the ferns will display their best greens even after
the snow has fallen, ferns such as the marginal wood fern,
spinulose wood fern, common polypody and the Christmas fern, rare
in our state but nevertheless here in the county in small
numbers.
Thoreau said, "Let a slight snow come and cover the
earth, and the tracks of men will show how little the woods and
fields are frequented." He went on to say, "There is
no better fence to put between you and the village than a storm
into which the villagers do not venture out." Don’t take
his words of wisdom to heart. Take to the great outdoors and
enjoy the soft browns and tender grays of this month.
I’m convinced that there is no such thing as a disagreeable or
nasty day. Yes, there are stinging cold and pleasantly warm
days, bright sunny and gray overcast days, but there are no
disagreeable days. If controlling the daily weather is beyond
our means, we can at least rise superior to it. The sun
continually shines within the hearts of those in tune with
nature. Enjoy December – outdoors!
A female snowy owl clutches her prey, a green heron.
Wings held high, the secondary flight feathers are cupped to
catch more air on the downstroke as the snowy owl flies off with the green heron.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 12/03/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
