It would have been a quiet walk in the woods, but the hawk alarm was sounding.
Birds and squirrels alike were chirping, almost all frozen in place.
I paused and scanned the branches. That’s when the threat arrived and stationed itself overhead in a nearby tree.
Instead of merely hiding or freezing to keep only themselves safe, squirrels, chipmunks, and birds alert one another to a dangerous presence. As one biologist put it: “it’s not just one species yakking to members of its own kind. It’s all these different species — and not just birds, but mammals as well. And they’re all sharing information.”
That’s not simply the ability to communicate between different species; that’s solidarity.
We can learn from this.
How do we keep ourselves safe? Not “ourselves” as in the royal “we”, but we as in those who are our neighbors and also those who are not.
How do we have security without becoming aggressors?
How do we stop talking longing enough to listen to others?
Climate Possibilities is a series about climate mitigation, along with resilience, resistance, and restoration. It’s about human habitat preservation. It’s about loving nature and planet Earth, and demanding the kind of change that gives future generations the opportunity for vibrant lives. Doomers will be eaten alive, figuratively. All photographs are taken in Hartford, Connecticut unless stated otherwise.
Richard
What a wonderful article. I have noticed similar reactions in my back yard. I didn’t hear the sounds as I was in the house but all of a sudden all of the birds who were enjoying themselves in what I dub, “Suet Ally” flew off. Strange I thought as I was just out there filling the cages and leaving peanuts for the Blue Jays, and everyone had flown in for breakfast. I went out and looked around and noticed up in the large tree across the lane a hawk was sitting.
After reading your article I practiced the “Mobbing Call” when a bunch of Grackles took over “Suet Ally.” Sure, enough they fled. I tried it again awhile later when they came back, and they flew away again. How I did this is a I opened a side window around the corner from “Suet Ally” made the noise out that window and then ran to the large back windows. They were all gone. A flock of grackles like a Squirrel can eat “Suet Ally” dry in a few hours.
The Red Bellied Woodpeckers seem to be the friendliest of all the birds. I can have my back turned stirring my tub of experimental potting soil mix and they hang right behind me eating away. There is a flock of about 10 Blue Jays which come around and I have a call I use when I want them to come and get their food. All it takes is one to hear the call and then it will alert others. Such a beautiful bird.
Thanks again Kerri for another outstanding article which contains such food for thought. It is articles like this and of course the many others you write that remind me what an outstanding talented person you are.