The Birds Were Always There

Pileated Woodpecker (my photo)

For years, the Pileated Woodpecker had been my Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and Loch Ness Monster, all rolled into one elusive, personal cryptid. That changed last month. During an outing with my friend JF Alberson at Camp Serene, north of Noti, I finally saw one. In fact, we saw three. Two appeared to be a pair tending a nest in an old tree. The third may have been one of them, or possibly another bird entirely. Either way, the cryptid had materialized.

That sighting was part of something that has been happening more often lately. I’ve lived in Eugene for a long time, but I haven’t always paid close attention to the places I move through every day. I walk often—sometimes with my wife on familiar in-town routes, and sometimes with friends like JF and Dave Guadagni on our weekly circuits. Over time, I’ve come to recognize the birds that regularly show up in those places.

Fern Ridge Reservoir is different. It isn’t part of my daily orbit, and I only visit occasionally. A couple of weeks ago, JF and I walked along the east edge of the reservoir. He’s an experienced birder; I’m not. My interest has always been casual.

Fern Ridge supports a wider mix of species than the places I usually walk, and that becomes obvious once someone who knows what they’re looking for starts pointing things out. That morning, I saw birds I had heard about for years but had never noticed in the field—Black Tern, Dunlin, Common Tern, Redhead, Black-necked Stilt, Cinnamon Teal. None of them is particularly rare, apparently. I had simply never taken note of them before.

There were others I’ve encountered only occasionally—Killdeer, American White Pelican, Marsh Wren, Western Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Violet-green Swallow. And of course, the birds that are almost always present: Bald Eagle, Osprey, Red-winged Blackbird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, American Coot, along with robins, crows, starlings, Canada Geese, and the various sparrows I still can’t reliably identify.

What stands out to me now is how much more becomes visible when I slow down and pay attention. The birds were always there. I just wasn’t observant enough to notice them. That seems to be changing. I’m moving through the same places I always have, but now I'm seeing what was there all along.