Write it Down: Nature Journaling

BY: STEVE BIASETTI, GROUP FOR THE EAST END DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Some of Steve’s nature journals from the past three decades

From the vantage of 2020, I guess you could say that those three little words made quite an impression on me. It was June 1989 and the speaker was Dick Follett, author of Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The abridged version of his talk was: “Write it down.” Those three little words…

We were about to explore the northwestern corner of Wyoming on a three-day field seminar entitled “Life Histories of Yellowstone Birds,” and Mr. Follett was extolling the virtues of keeping a daily nature journal. At the very least, he instructed, put down the essentials: identify the animal to species, estimate the number of individuals observed, and mark its location. If possible, add descriptions of the creature and its habitat, as well as any behaviors of note. He even handed out small waterproof field notebooks so we could start “writing it down” right away.

The wildlife-viewing experience was spectacular during those three days: coyotes howling in Lamar Valley, two bald eagles on an elk carcass at Slough Creek, a porcupine climbing a tree near Shoshone Lake, sandhill cranes bugling in a wet meadow, a yearling black bear ambling upslope, yellow-headed blackbirds cackling away at the edge of a pond, bison everywhere including in the middle of the road, harlequin ducks riding the rapids by Tower Falls, a moose cow and calf in shallow water…

I can recall all of those observations now because I wrote it down then. In fact, I haven’t stopped writing it down. At present, I have three decades of notes, recording all of my nature observations through the years from near (Long Island) and far (North America and abroad).

Those journals preserve records of memorable experiences through the years, some of which I will share in future blog posts. The thirty years of notes contain a wealth of information about local fauna as well. When do eastern woodchucks emerge from their hibernating burrows? When do prairie warblers return from their tropical wintering sites? When can I expect to see monarch butterflies on eastern Long Island?

None of these questions have simple answers. The natural world is more complex than that. But there is solid evidence in all of those notes. Those three little words – “Write it down” – from three decades ago have served well to inform me about local wildlife. I don’t plan on stopping the practice of nature journaling anytime soon.