on East Ship Island, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, one of the barrier islands protecting the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. First job was to unfurl the 15 mist nets placed across the island. Every half hour we would walk the path taking us by the nets seeing if any of the returning trans-Gulf migrants got tangled in the nets. First bird of the day was a feisty White-eyed Vireo. Carefully removing its legs, then its wings from the fine cotton mesh, it was free of the net and now in my hand. I could feel its fast heartbeat in my fingers. To hold a bird which had just finished a non-stop, overnight journey across the Gulf of Mexico, orienting itself by the stars, or if cloudy, perhaps the earth's magnetic field, and after losing half of its body weight, is an awe-inspiring experience. Some writers are able to put pen to paper to capture some deep meaning about birds and nature from what they experience. Their observations and reflections need to be shared over and over because we have not learned well. I believe the following two quotes are worthy of our reflection.

Man's relationship to Nature is explored in John Burroughs, The Gospel of Nature. Started as a sermon in 1912, Burroughs expanded it to a collection of 5 essays. His knowledge and love of birds is evident in most of his writings. Many consider Burroughs to be America's greatest Nature writer.