Wildlife at Your Window

BY: TARALYNN REYNOLDS, GROUP FOR THE EAST END OUTREACH AND EDUCATION MANAGER

I spy… a squirrel from the window!

I observe, I watch, I listen and look for things when I’m out on walks around my home,  while out in nature, or more recently, from my window. We’ve all had to shift the way we live our lives and while I am still able to spend time at my favorite nature preserves and parks, it’s become more of a challenge with the warming weather to maintain social distancing. So, I’ve been using an alternative way to connect with the world around me…

In reality, this probably started for me when I was a child and would hear the hauntingly beautiful sound of a morning dove out my window. I was a city kid transplanted to the Island and at the time it felt like my own personal wild kingdom. I wanted to know what made that sound and so I would rush to the window and look and wait to see what it was. 

I’ve been watching wildlife from my window for a long time. In the winter you can put up a bird feeder and watch the flashes of color and sounds of the birds and squirrels clamoring without walking out your front door. You can also be a passive observer and watch wildlife interact with each other simply by sitting by a window. You can observe the seasonal changes, the first bud break in spring, the last leaf to fall before winter sets in. Questions begin to form and you’re suddenly on a quest that involves breaking out your field guides, turning to online sources, and Googling something along the lines of, “small bird, red tuft or crown,” or “butterfly with purple wings, small, on a white flower.” Sometimes you’re successful, sometimes not. It doesn’t really matter. It’s fun no matter what happens. 

I love doing this with my patio garden. Last summer, I would watch the Monarch butterflies flitter in and lay their eggs, then the caterpillars chewing the milkweed leaves, which seemingly overnight turn into bright green chrysalis. Slugs also happen to love milkweed leaves, and I was fascinated by the struggle between these two creatures. I saw a frog burrow near one of my container pots and my first and only snake slither away into a bush. I’m anticipating a great spring and am ready to plant myself by my window to see what happens this growing season.

You don’t need to be in a wild area to see life happen. I’ve sat by a window in a 7th floor, 450 sq. foot apartment in New York City and an even smaller apartment window while living in China. The best thing about this is you simply need a window. If you don’t have a view of a tree, use your listening skills. Take yourself and your family on an adventure. The world is a little quieter right now and nature has a bit more freedom to be.

If you see something and would like to share it with us, tag us at #GFEEoutside