The Way of the Wild (Hawkes)/Bright Eyes and How to See With Them
It is one thing to have bright eyes, or seeing eyes, and quite another to see with them. A boy or girl may have the keenest kind of eyesight and yet miss half that goes on in field and woods. This is both because they do not know how to see and also because they do not know where to look for the wonders and mysteries of nature.
The animals and birds have a way of blending with the landscape that is baffling to any but trained eyes. This is very necessary for them, as they depend upon this fact to shield them from their enemies.
From the moment that the first bluebird perches upon the top of the old elm and announces that spring is coming, until he flies away in the autumn, there is always something interesting to see in field and forest.
But the wonders of nature do not cease even then, for the winter also has its woodland secrets, many of which are most interesting.
It is a very pleasant pastime to keep a bird calendar and notice each new arrival. This keeps one always on the lookout, and before you know it, you have gained a great deal of knowledge about our little feathered friends.
Most of the common song-birds can be observed in villages or near houses, as the birds seem to consider themselves the friends of man.
For the thrushes and the bobolink one will have to go further afield, but he will be well rewarded for his pains.
An old apple orchard is also a good place to observe birds and there are several species to be found there which do not frequent the village street. Barns and bridges likewise attract swallows and fly-catchers. It is a very easy task to identify seventy-five of the more common species of birds between March first and the middle of May without going far afield.
After identifying each species, it is well to note the difference between the markings of the male and the female. As a general rule, the male bird is more gorgeous than the female. In the human species, the female wears all the fine feathers, but not so with the birds where the males wear the fine feathers and also do all the singing.
Many of the birds may be told simply by their flight when they are so far distant that one can barely see them. Thus it is that the woodpeckers gallop, the hawks sail, the swallows skim and dart. So it is often a very slight thing that gives the clue to the identity of the bird.
It is very pleasant to know all the bird songs. Here a single note will often betray the bird, although he may be hidden away in the deepest thicket.
Squirrels are harder to discern among the tree tops than are birds, for their neutral-tinted coats blend readily with bark and foliage. The squirrel has acquired the trick of keeping perfectly still if he knows you are searching for him and that makes him much harder to discover.
A rabbit is also hard to see because he is brown in summer and autumn and white in winter, so he fades into the landscape perfectly.
This is nature's special care for him, for he is the most hunted little creature in the great woods.
Partridge, quail, and woodcock also call for a trained eye in order to get a good view of these shy birds. But if you were to start out to locate them you might tramp for half a day without seeing them.
The same rule of bright eyes applies to the fishes and other creatures in the water. One boy can spot a pickerel in the pickerel grass where another will look for several minutes before he sees it, even after it has been pointed out to him.
Hiding by this simple means is a fine art and all the wild creatures have it to perfection.
Usually the mouths of the burrows of foxes, rabbits, and woodchucks are carefully hidden, although the woodchuck is not so particular as
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the others. The chipmunk is very foxy about his burrow. He will dig his burrow under the roots of an old tree and make a second door coming out under a root or under a convenient sod. Then he will carefully close up his first door, and use only the second.
If you wish to see things in the woods, the very best way is to sit perfectly still and let the wild kindred come to you. If you go blundering along looking for them, there are ten chances to one that they will see you first and when you do appear, they will be cleverly hidden so you will not see them at all. So go into the woods and sit down under a tall tree and look and listen.
If it is in the squirrel country and in the autumn, presently you will hear the squirrels dropping down maple seeds, or perhaps nuts. Soon you will see a quiver along the limb, and Mr. Squirrel will run the length of the limb, and jump to another perch.
You may hear a soft pitter-patter in the dead leaves and a rabbit will come hopping shyly along. Or even a cock partridge may strut into view. These are rare sights, but there are countless shy curious little birds who will come flying from tree to tree to inspect you. They are half afraid, yet very curious. You are a stranger in their woods and they want to know who you are and what you are doing.
Boys often call the crows about by imitating their calls. Thus they can often call dozens of these shy rogues into the tree tops above them.
The barking and scolding of the red squirrel may be imitated by placing jmur lips on the back of your hand and blowing and sucking rapidly. In this way, one can also imitate the squeak of the field-mouse.
In the winter time, there is not so much to see, but the telltale tracks that the wood folk leave in the new snow are most interesting. I have often read strange tragedies in the new snow. Stories that were just as plain to my trained eyes as though I had seen the action.
Thus the bright eyes seeking after woodcraft, soon learn to tell the two-by-two track of the squirrel, the I shaped track of the rabbit, the businesslike straightaway track of the fox, the scraggly track of the partridge, and the tiny lace-like track of the wood-mouse.
The winter sounds that you may hear when the weather is clear and warm are also interesting. Two or three species of woodpeckers winter with us, and their clear nasal "snip" is often heard, as well as their "rat-a-tat-tat," whacking upon dead limbs. The call of a jay or cawing of crows often breaks the winter stillness, while at night, the barking of a fox or the hooting of an owl gives an eerie sound between the moaning of the wind and the creaking of great branches upon the leafless trees.
Thus each season has its pictures and its sounds. It only remains for us to see and hear them. It is a great art to possess the seeing eye, and a boy who can see things afield is always admired by his fellows.
To see the wild kindred and to know them when you see them; to love them and protect them, these are among the great blessings of boyhood. So keep your eyes open, boys and girls, for all are learning woodcraft in these days of Boy Scouts and Camp-fire Girls. Keep your eyes open and your hearts as well and you will be richly rewarded for your study of the great book of nature.