Learning About Nature

[TedB]

Did you do anything specific to learn about nature before starting your thru hike or section hike or other adventure?

In preparation for my thru hike, I wanted to spend some time focused on nature study to add some interest to my experience. Well time passed quickly, and in the rush to get ready this idea was dropped. I decided to just relax and enjoy what I saw, knowing that was the best I could do.

I think I needed the Cliff Notes.

[DebW]

As I hike, I often wish for my field guide collection. However, I've had good success by photographing a flower and looking it up later. Have also been able to write descriptions of birds in my journal which helped me to identify something later. Sometimes it's more exciting to learn about something after you've seen it -- it seems to mean more that way. For example, see efts while hiking, then go home and read about their lifecycle. I've sometimes wished for a high-tech solution: see something on the trail, pull out a wireless palm-pilot type device, connect to a library and look through pictures of flowers until the right one shows up, then download the info about it.

[MOWGLI]

If you want to read a good book about nature observation, Tom Brown has several good books.

One thing you might want to focus on is birds & bird song. Peterson makes an audio guide to bird song for the Eastern Region. Here are some birds you might want to focus on for an early start;

Black Capped Chickadee
Titmouse
Pilleated Woodpecker
Barred Owl
Hairy Woodpeker
Downy Woodpecker
Brown Creeper
White Breasted Nuthatch
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
Raven
Red Tailed Hawk
American Robin


A little later on in the Season, a whole variety of new birds will migrate in from the tropics. Starting around Mid-May you'll start to see & hear new species every day. A few of the more spectacular ones to focus on are;

Yellow Billed Cuckoo (probably won't see this one - but you'll hear it nearly every day)
Wood Thrush
Veery
Scarlet Tanager
Rufous Sided Towhee
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Phoebee (will nest in rafters of shelters)
Great Crested Flycatcher
Indigo Bunting
Rose Breasted Grosbeak


There are so many more including about 25 species of Wood Warblers that you'll encounter in May, but thats a good starting list. Have fun.


Little Bear
GA-ME 2000

[smokymtnsteve]

the early spring is prime wildflower season...

did you know that some early spring wildflower can be used as a deadly poison??

I like to take a wildfloewer guide with me,

[Jumpstart]

If I did it over, I too would learn more about the wildflowers. We saw SO MANY gorgeous flowers in Virginia, and luckily had the advantage of hiking with Ertman for a day or two (he knew all their names) so i learned a lot on the way. Next time I would bring some sort of guide...

[TedB]

Ideally you could carry an entire library on your back, and maybe technology will provide a mechanism to do that some day. In the mean time, I think it would be interesting to have a "pamphlet" which could give a few starting points. I like the idea of photographing or journaling what you see and researching it later. Maybe have a field guide in a drop box, or check the local library when in town or back at home. You could add sketching and a few other skills to the journaling toolkit.

So what would a good pamphlet contain which was also hiker size, say the front and back of a 8x11" sheet of paper?

Perhaps clues to helping you record the important features required for identification. Basicly a tool to improve your journaling and feed your curiosity.

For birds this might be things like:
Size? - ex. medium size
Beak? - ex. thick and heavy and short
Markings? - ex. mostly bright red
Behavior?

For wild flowers this might be:
(something similar to the identification key from Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, I just purchased this book yesterday and think I like it)
Flower symmetric? ex. Yes
Number of petals? ex. 3
Leaves alternate, opposite, etc? ex. whorled, in groups of three
Color? ex. white
Habitat? ex. damp, north slopes

For tracks this might be:
Size? ex. size of a quarter
Habitat? ex. muddy stream bank
Number of toes? ex. 4
Claws? ex. No
Type of gait? ex. alternating gait (walk/trot)

Other topics:
Insects...
Motorcycles...
Trees...

Other ideas?

[Redbeard]

I did see some motorcycles on the trail. I tried to ask them what they were doing there but they spoke some unintelligible dialect, I think one said something about crosst'holler...

[PushingDaisies]

Originally posted by Redbeard
I did see some motorcycles on the trail.

Are you sure you weren't seeing things? Lack of adequate food and water sources does that some times.

[Redbeard]

Nope, real, I thought real hard about jacking one to get up the rest of the hill...