Trees, Lakes, Herons, and a Milan

this post belongs to the Festival of the Trees #63: "How animals and other wildlife interact with trees", which is online in the Slugyard University (!) - lots of fascinating links there. make sure to visit the tree art classes, entomology, religion, science..

The Bird Trees
There are some small lakes, not far from the town I live. They belong to the river valley. Next to them, a highway was built, the closeness dictated by the valley's geography. A bit further, there is a larger recreation zone, with a lake for fishers. Another group of people who regularly comes to the lakes is: birdwatchers. They are the ones who told me the story of this place: a story of survival.


I had come there just for a short walk, on the way back from town, and saw them standing there, in small groups, pointing and talking. Curious, I tried to figure out what they came for, and notice a group of trees with huge bird nests in their top areas. I stand and stare, but can’t figure out to which birds they belong. My curiosity wins this time, and I approach two birdwatchers with binoculars who sit on one of the benches, and ask them about the birds. “Grey herons,” one of them tells me. “They are survivors.” Then they tell me the herons’ story, which is also the story of the lakes:

For years and years, the lake area was a test zone for the Mercedes Benz - their factories are just some miles further, in the industrial area of Stuttgart. Mercedes isn't only into passenger's cars - they also build other vehicles. Transporters, jeeps, and military cars, like the Wolf. That's the cars they tested there. They drove them, into the lakes. Through the meadows. Past the trees that held the nests of the grey herons. And it was those grey herons that made a difference. Bird-lovers came from far away to see them, as they nest only in a few places. Then one year, only four herons were left. Someone contacted the newspapers, and the articles put pressure on the majors of the region and caused concern. So the area was turned into a wildlife reserve.

Wilderness Returning
And it's not only the herons who survived and returned, here and in other places. In the last couple of years, you could see the Milvus / Red Kite return: a large bird of prey. ("Milan" in german). It never ceases to amaze me, the way it appears from the wilderness, circles the gardens here, then disappears again.



Other birds that returned include the Common Kestrel (which wasn't so common here anymore), the Sparrowhawk, and the Northern Goshawk. One of the sparrowhawks even visited the garden here.

And last week, an article in the newspaper said that the "Wildkatze" (Wildcat) is returning now, too, in this region. There probably are other returning species, unnoticed yet. Which makes me sometimes wish the trees could talk, and tell their tales.  Same goes for birds, of course, and their migrating journeys. Every spring, I am fascinated when the first birds return. Just as i am fascinated by trees, and the metamorphosis they go through during a year.

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more trees in this blog: life as a journey / trees
and more birds: life as a journey / birds