Through The Fog And To The River We Go

It was a foggy morning at the Wangunk Meadows along the Connecticut River in Portland. 

The fog slowly dissipated as the sun peaked through and reflected off of a spider web.  

Birds like this Lincoln Sparrow seemed to descend from the sky and land in bushes right in front of me.

By the time I reached the Connecticut River the fog was mostly gone. That is Gildersleeve Island on the other side. It's a popular place for Bald Eagles to nest during the winter.

Birds Raise Questions Of God And Science

 

When I'm all by myself birdwatching my thoughts tend to jump from wandering to wondering.When I look at a bird I think of things like God, science, and nature. Like many people I have contemplated the existence of God, the origins of life as it relates to the big bang theory, and the theory of evolution.

The theory of evolution was always easy for me to wrap my mind around because it is a theory that makes sense to me to some extent.

Without saying what my religious beliefs are or are not I can say that I've always questioned what is in the bible. What is real?, what is history?, and what parts are just stories meant to explain things or convey and idea?, and the big one-Is there a God? If I used logic alone I would side with science because it does not fit together in an easy to understand format like the theory of evolution.

Then there is the big bang theory that says life was created from particles gathering together and eventually forming atoms which were building blocks leading to the existence of life. 

The big problem I have with this theory brings me back to birdwatching. When I look at a bird and see that it finds a mate, builds a nest, gathers food, communicates with other, and on and on a really big question comes to my mind. WHY? What is the purpose of living beings going though all they do to survive and procreate? It takes intelligence and motive to do this. It just doesn't add up. These are questions that I'll never have the answers to in my lifetime but it gives me something to think about while I'm out in nature.

Birds Like A Gallunile Don't Come Along Often

I was kind of excited when I read on e-bird that there was a species of bird called the Common Gallunile reported in my area that I had not seen before. When you've been birdwatching for a number of years you don't often see life birds in your immediate area.

I went out to preserved area that was mostly made up of overgrown habitat that was once the site of a Golf Course called Pistol Creek. There was a split pea soup looking pond not far from that site.

I spent some time checking in all the nooks and crannies of all the broken sticks. There was lots of Wood Ducks, a Sora and then finally...

a Common Gallunile which is a lifer for me right in my own county. Those don't come along too often!