Storm’s
coming.
And
sure, no surprises there. Weather section of the local news broadcast
told me. Weather apps on my phone had the details. Even the weather
report trigged by clicking the icon on my computer delivered the
same information.
Storm’s
coming.
The
thing I found fascinating though involved the animals.
In
the backyard area of our apartment, and honestly, all over our
yard and neighborhood and city and state, we have those small
lizards that everyone in Florida knows all so well.
(Side
note: Those small Florida lizards? Most of them are likely to
be either Brown Anoles and Green Anoles. Fascinating stories about
them, as the Brown Anoles are not native to the state. Sources
I found say they arrived from areas of the Caribbean, and some
have been witnessed as extending their range into portions of
Georgia. Of Anole species, only the Green Anole (or, again from
what I was able to find, the Carolina Anole) is native to the
United States and, apparently, can change its colors and occasionally
be brown.)
Watching
these lizards and seeing their activity change based on the weather
is a strange combination of obvious and educational. For instance,
when it’s cold out, they’re not out. Lizards hate the cold though,
right? Pretty standard and unsurprising stuff there. What is surprising
is how quickly they show up again when an unexpectedly warm day
arrives in the middle of several colder days. And check out how
they know where to take positions in the sunshine, or to duck
and take cover in fences or rocks or other assorted natural formations.
Their appearances and movements and more can be fascinating.
On
this particular morning, with strong winds already picking up
strength and whipping around the area as the center of the storm
neared, there were no anoles of any kind to be seen.
I’ve
spoken before about how some migrating birds have demonstrated
that they will adjust their schedules based on approaching weather
issues. As an example, several types of birds have migrated earlier
or later than usual depending on the hurricane season being stronger
or weaker than normal.
Think
about that for a moment. Research has shown that some birds, specifically
the Veery Thrush, will shorten their breeding season and migrate
earlier than normal in order to get ahead of a strong season of
hurricanes. Over the past two decades, they have often been more
consistent and accurate than any computer model of forecasting
the strength of the hurricane season.
How?
No one truly knows. Plenty of hypotheses, but only basic details
proven. At the heart of those thoughts, however, is this fact:
they are sensing something, observing something, recognizing something
that is clear to them but as readily detected or interpreted by
us or our fancy equipment.
Which
brings us back to the weather and how wildlife seem to know what
many can’t avoid.
Is
it as simple as being better at forecasting? Perhaps.
But
I would contend—despite the sighting of a bird or two in the sky
as the winds swirl—that man is more often just dumb. We tend to
shrug off what we don’t understand if as individuals we’re not
interested in the information. We have representatives in our
ranks that will grab surfboards and race to coastlines while most
are putting up plywood and heading inland.
(We
are, frankly, too stupid and stubborn for our own good. Our survival
instincts questionable.)
I
always love saying that I’m just sitting over here, on a bench,
taking things in and observing the world as it passes in front
of me. It’s a nice thought, thinking of myself as an observer
of the world. Turns out though, rather than sitting on the bench,
the best view might be found on a branch next to a Veery Thrush.
(I’d
probably be safer there as well.)