Let's Stay Here and Look Around for Awhile!
By Erica Ostlander
November 2022
During my first bird walk in this project I was told that birds make a habit of returning to the same place throughout their lives– often territorial over their little patch of land. My first and likely naive thought was about the possibility of making some wild acquaintances by returning to the same location every day. I thought of it as an interesting counter to the explorative type of birding, where I can instead use my budding skills to become increasingly in tune with one specific landscape. This way I can become a familiar visitor to the land like the migrating birds themselves. I later strengthened my reasoning with something more practical in nature; to practise my identification skills consistently by observing a similar group of birds in my daily routine. I chose a humble beach covered in fly infested seaweed tucked underneath an aquarium. I returned there like clockwork throughout the week to see if I could recognise the same birds on every visit.
The aquarium during a beach clean!
The first birds I noticed besides the abundant herring and black-headed gulls were pied wagtails, a black and white bird which unsurprisingly, makes a habitat of wagging its long tail. They clustered around the aquarium walls and strutted their way around the decaying mounds of seaweed, doing what I can only assume to be the skilful hunting of small molluscs, worms, and larval insects. They were always there to greet me around noon and visiting them was a consistent highlight of my post-morning expeditions.
A rock I found on the beach that looks just like a herring gull’s head!
The next bird introduced to my routine were starlings. Despite how common they are in St Andrews, it was a bird I never noticed nor paid attention to before birdwatching. However, looking at them on the beach, I was able to quickly produce a reason for why they would be called starlings, as their iridescence and star-like splattering of speckles definitely came across as cosmic to me. These details are best seen when you examine them closely, preferably through a pair of binoculars, as through one quick glance you risk missing out on its celestial charm. Finding them perched high up with their backs to the sun was a brilliant sight, as their glossy green and violet plumage can be on full display. Although the name Starling originates from how their short wings make them look like a four-pointed star in flight, I believe my deduction conveys their beauty much better!
A binocular photo of a starling!
If there was one singular bird I searched for on the rocks out towards the sea, it would be the grey heron, whose still stance almost allowed it to fade into the scenery. There was always one that would be standing tall among the masses of waders and gulls, not being disturbed, or disturbing anything around it. I cannot say for sure that it was the same bird every day, but the more optimistic side of me likes to think it is. This is a bird I would like to talk to if I could. If I could allow myself to judge them based on their appearance, I know they would be incredibly wise. The heron and its air of Zen are always a welcome addition to frantic walks between lectures and the library.
Another binocular photo of my favourite grey heron.
A few weeks in on my journey surveying one patch of land, I noticed my beloved pied wagtails’ fading presence. They say it is important for people to have things that remind them of the passage of time outside of what may be on their own schedule, like daffodils growing in the spring and apple trees bearing fruit in October. Through this birdwatching journey, I can say that birds became integral to my natural clock, allowing me to experience the passing of time outside of the confines of my calendar. I am not an expert on pied wagtails nor the seasonal habits of birds, but I believe that they may be deciding to leave the seaweed patch due to the incoming winter. As they are local residents they should not be travelling far, but possibly they are in search of better food on more abundant land or are avoiding aggressive migrating birds homing in on their territory. Although it is a loss to see a dwindling number of these stark looking birds on my commute, I am happy to be able to notice something like this.
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Birds, like all wildlife, are attuned to the land and as an example, they know where to find food and when to go in search somewhere else. For someone like me to be able to understand nature on such an intrinsic level, I would not only have to study endlessly but I would have to consistently learn from wildlife through my own observations. To understand seasons beyond whether leaves are still on trees, one can turn to birds to witness the passing of time through their eyes. After noticing the pied wagtails, I saw an uptake in the presence of bees– could it be possible that buzzing noise deterred them or was it more likely the foreboding threat of being stung? These are just a random string of my observations, whether any of them are connected I cannot say, but I am happy to be noticing these small interactions and details in nature.
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Through my fascination with watching one small fragment of land, I recently started putting bird cams on my computer while studying. It truly is exciting to be staring at a stationary bird feeder for 30 minutes and to be suddenly greeted by a bright blue jay. I frequently watch one set up by a birdwatcher in Ohio, U.S, and it has the most cardinals you can see on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtGUTs_HgcE). These types of small additions to my daily life remind me just how much peace bird watching can bring me!
Birdwatching is more than looking at birds, as I find it to be an effective gateway to embracing the complexity yet simplicity of nature through my own observation. By standing in one place, I can not only notice the birds, but also how the landscape evolves through the interactions of all the organisms which rely upon it. As another organism relying on my landscape, I hope to continue full force in my journey of birdwatching and build on my relationship with the natural world.
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