Selections from my Observations of Nature, Entry 1

Although I am not a naturalist or biologist, I have become increasingly more fascinated by the natural world over the last few years. Growing up in rural Texas may have something to do with this interest. I always try to look around as much as possible when I am outside, even in the mornings when I leave for work. One morning I saw a decollate snail moving underneath the passenger tire of my car. The decollate snail was quite fascinating to watch; it really had to stretch its body to move, almost to where it looked like the snail’s shell might come off its body.

I adore birds and see and hear various species on a daily basis. Lesser goldfinches often serenade me on my walks, and blue jays are very distinguishable with their loud squawks. I also see a lot of barn sparrows; they like to make their nests on the apartment patios in my complex. They tend to work together to ensure the safety of their young. Last June, some of the sparrows seemed very nervous because they were flying in these erratic formations and making more noise than usual. The commotion was justifiable, because a large gray predator bird suddenly appeared, flying very low through the trees. I’ve never been up close to a predator bird like that, so close that I could see its eyes were intensely focused on hunting.

It is spring after all, and I have come along several bird nests with baby chicks! One of my mom’s hanging baskets has a pair of baby wrens inside, and I watched the parents dart to the nest and back to feed them while I was at home recently. There are two pairs of house finches that have made nests on the building where I work. One female has been on her nest for a while, and I have not yet determined if her babies have hatched yet. However, there is another pair on the other side that has four babies! I heard some excited chirps during lunch one afternoon, and I discovered the nest while their mother was feeding them! With binoculars I confirmed that there are four adorable fluffy finch chicks, and it’s very entertaining to watch them go absolutely berserk when their parents arrived with food.

I cannot end this entry without talking about bats! I believe there is a new group of bats that are flying over my apartment in addition to the others that fly over in large continuous swarms. This group appears smaller and does not seem to travel in such a congested group. When I saw them, they were flying quite low and I could see their bodies better. They were honestly quite cute, ferociously flapping their wings as they flew over my head. Even with the city noise pollution, the bats were close enough to where I could hear them chirp on occasion.