Open Your Ears

A walk at the Cedar Bluffs Natural Area

Every morning that it doesn’t pound rain hard or snow so much that my old pickup can’t make it through the drifts, Violet the Dog and I drive about five miles to the Cedar Bluffs Natural Area to take a nature walk. Since neither Violet the Dog nor I sleep well, the walk may begin anytime between 1:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. When it’s dark, I wear what my sister calls a “nerd light” on my forehead so I don’t trip and fall into something I would rather avoid, like a snake pit, a cactus, or a porcupine. I also wear it in case there’s a Mountain Lion wandering about that might be puzzled enough that when it sees the light, out of caution, it doesn’t eat one or the other of us.

Or both.

Mountain Lions aren’t a genuine concern, but Violet the Dog and I both wear red reflective vests because some days there are hunters out and about, and we would like to avoid getting shot. It would ruin our day, as well as the hunters’ day, and all of our loved ones. Still, even with the hunters, it’s safer in the timber at Cedar Bluffs than in a Texas shopping mall.

The trail takes us about an hour to walk, and there are some steep enough hills that I get a workout, but I don’t have a heart attack. However, Clay Township Fire and Rescue know that if they get a 911 call in the early morning at the recreation area, it’s likely me and that I can’t think of a better way to go than on a walk in the timber, so they don’t need to feel sad when they find me. They know to take Violet the Dog home.

I’ve been a bird watcher all of my life. Grandpa Leonard taught me a lot about birds, including some colloquial names for them, which I have almost all forgotten, except for two. Grandpa called American Goldfinches “wild canaries,” and “Mourning Doves,” “rain crows.”

All of us are drawn to the beauty of bird calls. Back when glaciers were receding and I was young, I bought records that played bird songs and tried to memorize them, but I wasn’t any good at it. Sure, I can identify the songs of Robins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Turkeys, Canada Geese, Bob Whites, Crows, Grackles, Cowbirds, and maybe a few more, but that’s nothing special. So can almost anyone who lives anywhere where the Earth’s surface isn’t totally paved.

But now, since we have the greatest invention ever since beer, bread, the printing press, the Internet, and pockets, in the app for your phone called Merlin, I’m a bird call expert! Merlin identifies bird songs! Charity Nebbe told me about it, and it’s changed my walking habits in a very positive way. Every morning, two or three times along our walk, I stop and take out my phone, poke at the Merlin app on the screen, and watch with amazement as it identifies the birds by their calls.

Our first stop Sunday morning was at the pond above when the moon was setting. The frogs were so loud the app couldn’t identify any birds. Take a listen to this, and you will immediately want to join us on our walk one morning. Please do!

There was a fog advisory, and here is a shot from the overlook down to the junction of Cedar Creek and the Des Moines River.

Below are the birds we heard at this spot. Each recording lasts about three minutes. The red dot means that the species is rare, and the orange semi-circle it means that it’s uncommon at the location and date selected. A species might be common in the summer and rare or uncommon in winter.

Our next stop was at a creek. You can see Violet the Dog in her vest in the distance. Below are the birds we heard. Actually, that I heard. Violet the Dog is deaf, which is a story I told here.

I have to be in the timber every morning. It heals me; it soothes me. It lets me think, ponder our existence and my place in it.

Come and walk with me wherever you are, whenever you want. I’m going to start writing more like this about our walks, but I don’t want to tip the balance of Deep Midwest, so I have started a second Substack should you like to learn more about what we see and hear at Cedar Bluffs. Click here to subscribe to Cedar Creek Nature Notes. I’ll repost this there to provide a solid foundation. Thanks!

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