Silence Sweet Silence

I visited a somewhat overlooked State Park today, called The George Dudley Seymour State Park. The land used to be part of the estate owned by the Clark Brothers.The family tried to turn it in to a resort around the time of The Great Depression but the business failed. It was then purchased by the state with the help of George D. Seymour.

The entrance to the park is at the end of a dead end road. There are three giant cement blocks that barricades a bridge leading to an abandoned road. Once you cross that bridge everything changes.

The road follows a stream that flows thirty feet below the road. Walls of rock surround you on both sides. Large trees converge overhead to create a tunnel effect. I could feel the temperature drop significantly as I continued further down the rapidly declining hill. Something else happened too. I started to hear the sound of silence. All I can hear now is a babbling brook and birds singing. The effect this has on me is sudden and powerful. My breathing slows down and gets deeper. My mind is free and clear.

I was hearing some familiar songs around me: Baltimore Oriole, Black-throated Green Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Scarlett Tanager, Eastern Wood-pewee. and Wood Thrush.

Suddenly I heard a powerful sound echoing through the woods. It was the sound of an owl-but which kind. I've rarely seen or heard any owls while birding other than the Great horned Owl. I started to remember that the Barred Owl has a "Who Cooks for you?" call that seemed to fit what I was hearing. It was very close, and I loved hearing the sound of this owl's call echoing through the woods. I climbed the side of a large rock and entered a little further in to the woods until I saw a pair of big eyes staring at me.I took a couple of pictures, knowing that my camera does not take good pictures in poor lighting. I filmed the owl as well, but seeing the finished product would give you motion sickness. I spent about half an hour watching the owl. Several times it was mobbed by Jays and other birds.
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I thought about calling it a day. I figured that nothing could top my excitement of seeing the owl but I continued on as it was still very early. I exited the woods and entered the portion of the park which is comprised of fields and swamp bordering the Connecticut river. A seemingly distressed Great Blue Heron passed overhead making very loud squawking sounds. Two immature Bald Eagles landed in a tree at the far end of the field. That's good to see-not all the eagles are adults.

I came to a point where the grass was high and wet.That meant I would have to get wet if I wanted to continue through the fields.-Is it worth it?-I thought to myself. probably not, but what if there is a rare bird at the other end of the field? So I continued on.

Tree Swallows,Yellow-billed Cuckoo-nothing rare. Now the bugs were starting to get hungry, even willing to eat through deet. I was getting a bit agitated. Sometimes when bugs are bothering me, I write an imaginary letter-so I started one:

Deer Flies, Please get off of me. What have I ever done to you?

After stopping for breakfast (Texas French Toast with strawberries and bananas)-I went back to the spot where I thought that I heard a Kentucky Warbler yesterday. It wasn't there.

I did see the above flowers growing in the middle of a farm field. Does anyone know what it is?

So today, the magic moments came as I traveled though the silent tunnel. Once I got to where I was going, I turned around and went back. Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.-Don't you think?