Do your best to continue on with the daily core routines of visiting your nature sit-spot (even a back porch or a window side seat works!), and writing in your nature journal.

Remember you can use the Core Journaling Prompts or write/draw whatever you like- its your journal!

This week we will be exploring the creatures which fly and crawl in the natural world around us.  Just like last week, this is a rather broad focus area, yet there will be one invitation for each major category.  You don’t have to do all of them, just select one (or maybe two) that interests you.

Basic Information:

Birds are a gateway species to nature journaling.  The colors, behaviors, songs, visibility, and likability of birds draws us to want to learn more. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has documented over 240 species of birds, with 60 species being year-round residents, 120 species breed in the park, and many others use the park as an important stopover during migration. With such a diverse selection of birds in our region, you can start with the ones you see around your house and sit spot. To inspire you in journaling and sketching birds, Jenny deFouw Geuder has created a beautifully illustrated book, “Drawn to Birds: A Naturalist’s Sketchbook”, exploring 60 different bird species with step by step guides for drawing, painting, and inking your own pictures.  Amy Tan has just written and released, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles”. The book is a compilation of Amy’s daily nature journal entries, questions, and beautiful original sketches. A wonderful narrative of the birds in her backyard, a step above just casual watching. I highly recommend both of these if you are a “bird nerd”.

According to the NC State Extension Gardener Handbook website, “insects thrive in more environments than any other group of animals”. This includes air, on and in soil, and in water.  It is estimated there are 100,000 different insect species in North America.  Your typical backyard contains 1,000 or more different species. So, what do they do? A lot.  Here is just a short list: (1) aid in the production of fruit, seeds, and nuts; (2) consume dead plant matter; (3) can prey on harmful insects; and (4) some produce products for human use such as honey, wax, silk, and dyes. Butterflies and Moths are classified as insects.

Within North Carolina, 177 species of butterflies have been recorded. Within Jackson County, there are 79 species.  NC Parks’ Biodiversity project has been compiling a list for 30 years. Butterflies are important pollinators, although they are not as efficient as bees, they compensate by visiting a larger number of flowers over a wider range. This extensive movement allows butterflies to encounter and pollinate a diverse array of flowering plants.  Butterflies and their caterpillars play a critical role in the food web for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and rodents.  They are also highly responsive to fluctuations in climate, habitat quality, and availability of food plants, which makes them excellent bioindicators.

To observe moths, you may think you have to venture out at night, which is true for some.  Yet some species of moths are diurnal and can be active during the day. Moths are important pollinators, and they are also part of the food chain for birds, bats, and other insectivorous animals. When their numbers drop, it is an early warning sign that an ecosystem is in trouble. Moths are closely related to butterflies and are members of the same order, Lepidoptera.  They go through a complete metamorphosis. With the caterpillar stage being the longest part of its life.  North America is home to more than 12,000 species of moth.  There is even a cryptid* based on a moth, the Mothman, a humanoid creature reportedly seen in Mt. Pleasant, WVA in the late 1960’s. There is a museum, bookstore, café, statue, and festival which celebrate the moth cryptid.

*Cryptid: an animal (such as Sasquatch) that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist.

More information and interesting facts about birds, butterflies, moths, and insects will be presented during the online class session and our in-person field trips.  We also encourage you to explore and research what you observe on your own.

Resources for the Information Section:

Burrack, H., & Bertone, M. (n.d.). 4. insects. NC State Extension Publications. https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/4-insects

 Butterflies of North Carolina. (n.d.). https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/nbnc/a/accounts.php

 Fallon, C. (2021, July 14). For the love of moths. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

https://www.xerces.org/blog/for-love-of-moths

 Geuder, J. (2022). Drawn to Birds: A Naturalist’s Sketchbook. Adventure Publications, MN

 Insect Lore. (2024, July 24). Why butterflies are important to the environment.

https://www.insectlore.com/blogs/butterflies/why-butterflies-are-important-to-the-environment?srsltid=AfmBOoq2c3RUwYECntDgj-4MNlrNM5ZSHtAkhip2Gu1HIBrf0EiFiq0l

 Tan, A. (2024). The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Alfred A. Knoph, NY.

 U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Birds. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/birds.htm

 Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, September 27). Mothman. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothman

As you start this week’s invitations, perhaps start with a slow, mindful walk in a natural space or to and from your sit spot with the intention of noticing the birds, insects, butterflies, and moths who make this space their home. 

To assist you in identifying what you find, you can use phone apps such as iNaturalist, Merlin Bird Id, or iSeek; field guides; or ask your friendly neighborhood science nerd. Additional identification resources can be found in the “resource section”.

You may choose to explore each of the invitations below or pick one that sparks your interest to complete.

Hope is the thing with feathers-

That perches in the soul-

And sings the tune without the words-

And never stops- at all-

-Emily Dickinson

 Over the course of several days, visit your sit spot or nature-based place or even set up near a birdfeeder, and notice the birds that appear around you.  Try choosing one bird to watch closely from day to day. What are you noticing? Close your eyes and listen to the songs and sounds of the birds.

Use your journal to document your observations, make sketches, ask questions, note songs, describe their behaviors. Get to know your bird.

At the end of several days, reflect on what you noticed and felt during this invitation.

Supplies Needed for this Invitation:

1. Piece of string or rope or measuring tape about 5’ (60”) or long

2. Magnifying glass and/or bug viewing jar

3. Small, clear ruler

4. Journal, pen, pencil

Bring the supplies with you to your sit spot or other nature-based place.

Select a spot and place your string on the ground in a circle.  Sit quietly. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. After a few minutes, open your eyes and begin to observe the space within your circle.

What are you noticing?

Record your findings with words, pictures, and numbers.

What questions arise from this exploration? 

When you are back to your homebase, perhaps research the answers to your questions and record them in your journal. Reflect upon what you noticed.

For this invitation, find a nature-based place near flowers and blooming plants that attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.  This may be in your sit spot or garden, or you may have to venture to another space.

Walk slowly in this space and notice the beings that are visiting the flowers and blooming plants. Perhaps find a spot you can sit and quietly observe for a while. What are you noticing?

Use your journal to document your observations, make sketches, ask questions, describe their behaviors.

When you are back to your homebase, perhaps research the answers to your questions and record them in your journal. Reflect upon what you noticed.

This invitation is a little different than the ones we have suggested for other beings.  Most of your nature observations have probably been during the day.  For this invitation, we encourage you to venture into the twilight or night to observe the flying friends who may show up.

If you have a bright outside light, turn it on. Then simply wait to see who shows up. If you stay up until past midnight or later, you may see members of the Saturniid family (aka: Luna Moth), some of the largest and most colorful nighttime flying moths.

Or…If you have minimal light pollution, you can set up a white bedsheet by hanging it between two trees or on a clothesline. Then shine a flashlight at the sheet and wait. Who will appear?

When you have completed your nighttime observations, record your findings with words, pictures, and numbers.

What questions arise from this exploration?

Perhaps research the answers to your questions and sketch your observations in your journal.

The British Environmental Artist and Photographer, Andy Goldsworthy is quoted as saying, “We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.

We are nature. As Rosalie Haizlett remarks in her book, Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains, “Talking about our experiences in nature can help us become more awake to the nonhuman world and can even promote collective stewardship of our planet.” (pg 229)

For the final reflection, write a narrative on how you can share the gift of paying attention to nature and sharing the spark of nature with others. To put it simply, “Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell About It.”- Mary Oliver.

Thank you for being an engaged, creative human during this course!