Exploring Nature with an Open Mind

    One of the assignments for my ecology lab class is to keep a natural history journal of observations at the Bernard Field Station, and it’s been one of my favorite parts of the semester so far. I had done a little nature journaling before, for a class in middle school. I’d always really enjoyed it, and I love spending time outdoors in general, but it’s easy for things like that to fall by the wayside during the busy school year. So I’m grateful to be taking a class which has given me the opportunity to start making natural history observations again!
    For my first few journal entries, I already had a plan for what I wanted to observe when I headed out to the field station. Usually my topic was a particular species or community of plants, since plants are relatively easy to find, and they hold still while you draw them. I really enjoyed zooming in and exploring the minute details of the plants I observed; for example, I had never noticed before that the stems of mustards (Brassica sp.) have a visible seam where they branch, or that fiddlenecks (Amsinckia intermedia) have older flowers towards the outside of their spirals and newer flowers towards the inside. I also liked getting the chance to practice sketching! I’ve never been much of an artist, but I enjoy it, and the format of nature journaling is very forgiving because I can add words to explain ideas which might not be clear in my drawings. I found the process of closely observing and sketching plants to be very relaxing and meditative, and I was proud of the aesthetic I created for those pages.

[1] Natural history journal page about mustard (Feb. 15)

[2] Natural history journal page about various wildflowers (March 8)

  

    However, there were also times when I felt like already having a plan in place prevented me from noticing everything else along the way, or I would stumble upon something interesting but couldn’t pursue it because I was already committed to journaling about something else. For example, once I was listing plants near the lake at the field station when I realized there was a snowy egret (Egretta thula) in the water only about 15 feet away from me. I wished I could spend more time photographing and observing the egret, but I felt like I needed to focus on completing the list I had already started, which was frustrating.
    Because of that, I started entering the field station with a more open mindset and waiting to see what I found before making a decision about what to study. I found that this strategy allowed me to take in my surroundings and enjoy the whole experience more, and I almost always came across something interesting and unexpected. One highlight was a damselfly (Zygoptera) near the lake which perched in one place for about 20 minutes, giving me plenty of time to observe, draw, and photograph it. I was able to take note of the pattern of blue bands along its abdomen and watch it rubbing its legs over its head to clean itself. Another cool find was an empty bird’s nest on the ground, about 7 cm across and made of twigs, grass, and fluff.

[3] Natural history journal page about damselflies (Feb. 20)

[4] Photo of bird’s nest found at the field station (March 8)

    One especially striking experience was discovering the body of a dead barn owl (Tyto alba) on the ground at the base of an oak tree. I had just been looking for a shady place to sit and certainly wasn’t expecting that. It was very sad to see, especially since I know owls often die from secondary poisoning with rodenticide, and I wondered if something like that had happened to this one. However, it was also a really unique opportunity to see an animal up close in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if it were alive. I felt grateful to have that chance, and spent a long time examining and photographing it. I also got in touch with a professor who collected the owl in order to test it for poison, so I was glad that at least some potentially useful information could be gained from its death.

[5] Photo of dead barn owl (Feb. 28)

[6] Natural history journal page about barn owl (Feb. 28)

    Overall, I’ve found the experience of natural history journaling this semester to be enjoyable and educational. Exploring the field station with the open-ended goal of finding something interesting to observe is teaching me to more actively engage with my surroundings and appreciate the beauty in the small details of the natural world. I hope to extend this practice to my other outdoor activities beyond this assignment in the future!

Media Credits:

[1] Photo by author
[2] Photo by author
[3] Photo by author
[4] Photo by author
[5] Photo by author
[6] Photo by author