*Male hooded merganser at Silver Lake Park.*

About a quarter mile away from where I live is a park called Silver Lake. Being a scientist, naturalist, outdoor enthusiast I was uncharacteristically snobbish about this place. Walking with a quick pace, I would mumble under my breath about the trash caught in the weeds, the fishing lines hanging from trees, dog waste not being picked up. NO TRACE means NO TRACE. It is so unlike the woods I grew up in, a forest so quiet I can hear birds in the underbrush or pecking on dead wood looking for larvae. Silver Lake Park is everything that represents societal connection with nature, and why these pockets of green space are so important. Instead of up turning my nose, can I make a small difference, while appreciating what is right in front of me?

What duck is not like the other? Second to the left is a northern shoveler and can often be found mingling with the residential mallards. Overwintering grounds along the eastern shore and will migrate as far as Alaska for breeding season.

Right after a snow fall, I decided to take Ralphie on a quick walk at this park. I was so surprised with how quiet it was. My pace of walk is usually quick, but I slowed down to watch the birds excitedly dart from the birch trees to the red maples that border the creek fed by the lake. I had this quiet moment of realization after six months of not just being a visitor, but a beneficiary to what this scrappy park has to offer. I quickly went back home, leaving Ralphie in dismay as I put my muck boots over my PJs, and grabbed a hot thermos and my camera, and raced back before the morning bird activities slowed down.

Northern shoveler with a red-bellied wood pecker. Red-bellied woodpeckers are exciting to watch as they climb rotted trees pecking for insects. They are pretty vocal, with what I would describe as a nasally brrrrrrllllll. Made the mistake of calling them red-headed wood peckers in Ornithology and got a stern disappointing look from the professor.

I had the privilege of staying at Silver Lake for three hours, before Sunday duties called me back. Often times, my peaceful quietness was disturbed by ambulance or police car wails. Momentarily, my negativity about this park came back to the forefront. As my teeth clenched, I noticed the birds and the shovelers had no issue with the noise, it was only me. I uncovered a little gem, and now I have this innate responsibility to take care of it. In the meantime I have come up with the following excuses on why I shouldn’t do anything about the trash in the park:

I pay taxes, the city of Dover should clean the park up.
Hear me out, people should pick up after themselves. Why does it have to fall on me?
Someone else will clean it up.
People will never just care enough to do the minimal.

*Blue Jay grabbing a drink. Don’t worry, I picked the trash up after taking this shot.*

All those excuses that I carried around are no longer valid to me. I am not looking to be a lorax, just to make enough of a difference in hopes someone is watching. I call it the shade tree, or as Mary Oliver puts it, the “useful little nail” effect. I just want to make an impact on what is around me. With green space, like Silver Lake Park, at the mercy of urban pressure and mismanagement, the future is pushed further away from any form of natural connection that used to be so readily found.

This sassy and territorial belted kingfisher was super hard to get a picture of. The only way I was able to grab this picture was by playing another kingfisher call on my phone to lure them out. The call is a high shrill rattle.

Working at Delaware Nature Society (I will probably mention my experiences a lot here), I was teaching children 20 years my junior. One day my job was to catch frogs and talk about them, and than allow the kids to roam up and down the creek having their hand in frog catching. Little fisherman tale, I caught a bullfrog the size of a dinner plate, that weighed 2-3lbs. The kids were pretty upset when I told them the frog was probably eating the baby ducks in the pond. Anyway, it was quite shocking to know that almost all the kids I encountered never touched a frog. I grew up with frogs in my dress pockets. Is it because we just aren’t curious anymore? Lack of natural space? If I had any kids, would I let them catch frogs in a park that has signs posted saying, “no swimming”? With fishing hooks and broken glass bottles everywhere? Maybe not. But seeing these kids faces, as they held their prized catches, change from fear and astonishment to bravery and curiosity was an absolute reward. Because catching frogs is not easy, patience and light feet is a must. The benefits of frog catching and other outdoor shenanigans for children will have to be in another post, so be patient!

*The residing heron. I think of him as a grumpy old dinosaur. Usually he can be found perched in a tree, bending the branch with his weight, or under the bridge.*

It is a never ending cycle. Why have a connection to a place that we don’t value? Why value something that we don’t have a connection to? I can only speak for me. What I care deeply about might not be the same for you. But at one point in time, we have all shared a connection to a park, backyard, giant oak tree, stream or a field trip catching frogs. As we get older, and our lives are so fast paced, we don’t realize how deeply we are removed. The benefits of being outside is very well studied, and its not inclusively just children (later, I promise). If this backyard or park is all we have, are we willing to do what we can to bring a bit of peace to ourselves or the next generation? Having a clean and safe park could make a world of difference for a child or a curious adult. It could mean opening a door to knowing and caring about trees, insects, plants and birds or being able to read water quality based on insects present. It cannot be all doom and gloom. There is much we can do, from little actions like picking up litter to large projects of joining the “No Lawn” movement.

What I am hoping to achieve is to find a way to remove the fishing lines so birds do not get trapped in them, remove trash from the bank beds before it reaches other water ways, and learn more about the plants and animals at Silver Lake. In return Silver Lake will become a useful little nail to her natural visitors. In the meantime, practice appreciation and gratitude to the park right around the block from me that holds beautiful bald cypresses, a cranky kingfisher and a heron that I like to greet every morning. In hopes of someone seeing and becoming a little nail as well.

“May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful.” - Mary Oliver

*Northern shovelers skimming the surface for food. Often found hunting together to stir up small invertebrates below the surface.*

Thank you for reading my first blog post and my connection with Silver Park! If there are any misidentification of birds, please email me. My bird knowledge range is expert at bird feeders and amateur in the field.

“Useful Little Nail”