The world feels upside down. Our lives, as well.
We search for normalcy, but cannot find it.
We desire plans for the future — anticipation of good things to come — but cannot see when those plans will ripen.
Some of us just seek to get by. One day to the next.
We crave solace. Comfort.
Deep within our animal selves — however much forgotten — is a relationship with nature that cannot be undone.
An appreciation of beauty.
Of wonder.
Of peace.
Solace does abound.
It calls to us from atop a decaying tree.
It sings from our parks.
We need to be there.
To gaze. To listen.
To breathe the moment in.
It will refresh us. Inspire us, even. (How could it not?)
To create more parks. More trails. More trees. More birds. In all neighborhoods.
Ensuring all people have access to the wonder of a spring warbler.
There are few birds of the Chesapeake watershed more beautiful than the Prothonotary Warbler. The ones in these photos are recently returned from wintering grounds in Central and South America to Governor Bridge Natural Area in Prince George’s County, Maryland. (Photos: clandestine wren photography)
Prothonotary Warblers breed in southeastern and mid-Atlantic North America. They are considered “at-risk” species due to habitat loss, principally of forested wetlands in their US breeding grounds and of mangroves in their southern wintering territories. Prothonotary populations declined by 42% between 1966 and 2015. The global population is estimated at 1.6 million, all of which spend at least part of the year in the United States. Restoring natural flood regimes in forested wetlands, retaining standing dead trees, and providing predator guards at nest boxes have proven to help increase populations in local areas. Conservation works.