On a cold December afternoon Rich bundled up, drove to a friend’s farm, and lugged a lawn chair and hunting gear into the woods. He settled into the chair and sat motionless for nearly two hours. His reward of stillness and dark discoveries was quiet interactions with nature.

Wildlife Carried On

No deer came by but he was thrilled to watch two brown creepers climb up the rough bark of a hickory tree only six feet away. “They didn’t know I was there and I could clearly see them use their tweezer-like bills to dig tiny insects from deep in the bark’s furrows, ” he said.

Minutes later a bluebird perched on a branch around 20 feet away and a gray squirrel scampered within inches of his boots. Chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers went about their business as Rich sat motionless.

He came home without a deer but declared it an outstanding afternoon and a successful “hunt.”

What Stillness Does

Still

Sitting quietly is one of the best ways to enjoy nature. We do it often, but usually, it’s not in the woods. We sit very still on our back deck, especially during pleasant weather.  More often our sitting is at our kitchen table, where we watch our resident wild turkeys and deer prance around the yard, and songbirds snatch seeds from our feeders. Once we watched a squirrel approach with a walnut in its mouth. Just outside our window, it buried the nut.

Animal Senses

The senses of wild animals vary.  For example, the turkeys who visit our yard have superb eyesight and hearing but a poor sense of smell and taste. In contrast, deer have relatively poor eyesight but outstanding senses of smell and hearing.

Even animals with poor eyesight notice and react to movement. A deer might stare at an immobile person for some time trying to catch a scent, but at the slightest movement, the animal will bolt.

Stillness

To see the most wildlife, rule out fidgeting. Sit still. To observe the widest range of species, sit very still downwind so any scent wafts from the animal toward the person rather than vice versa.

Rich can sit nearly entirely motionless for long periods. Here are his tricks for being still:

Tips for Stillness and Dark Discoveries

• Have a comfortable seat. He finds sling chairs easy to carry into the woods and comfortable to sit in. Sometimes he just brings a foam rubber pad that’s even easier to carry and insulates his posterior from cold and wet ground.
• Dress extra warmly. Movement causes muscles to work and generate heat. Sitting requires warmer clothing than walking on an equally cold day. In the winter Rich wears these items:

1. Layers starting with a base layer. We once called them Long Johns. Over them goes a pair of pants and over them goes insulated bib overalls. For his upper body, Rich wears a t-shirt, base layer long-sleeve shirt, light fleece jacket, and, finally, a winter coat.
2. Warm footwear. Feet get cold quickly but winter footwear helps keep them toasty. Rich wears a pair of wicking socks under wool socks that fit loosely within his “Pac boots”. These high-top boots have removable felt liners.
3. A thick wool stocking cap keeps the noggin warm and a pair of thick mittens does the same for the fingers. When it’s super cold Rich sometimes wears light wool gloves and then slips his hands into mittens, creating a double layer.

Other Comforts for Stillness and
Dark Discoveries

Another useful comfort help is the many types of hand warmers on the market. Some are rechargeable electric devices while others are pouches of material inside a plastic container. Rip open and shake the container. Oxygen reaches chemicals in the pouch, creating heat. Some are made to slip in boots. Others fit inside gloves and some large ones are perfect to stick under clothing to keep a sitting person’s back warm.

Sitting inside and watching wildlife out the window eliminates the need for warm clothes but usually lacks the intimacy that sitting within a prairie or woods provides.

Other Aids

waiting

A pair of binoculars helps view wildlife, but the movement to raise them to the eyes sometimes scares away animals. Rich often wears his hearing aids to accentuate sounds that add to the experience.

Remember the Wonders of Darkness

At Winding Pathways, we sometimes sit outside after dark. As soon as our eyes adjust to low light, we occasionally spot deer, opossums, and raccoons prowling in the yard.  The best wildlife viewing is when the moon casts some light. However, the best star viewing is during the moon’s dark phase. That comes with a bonus. Since the stars aren’t spooked by our movement we can make all the noise and motion we want and they stay majestically above us.

So, here’s our suggestion:   Go outside and embrace the stillness and dark.