Death on the Solstice

Last night's deadly tornado activity in North Dakota is hard to fathom.

The death, the destruction, maybe the single largest tornado to land in the state since they have been keeping records.    

For the small towns that were destroyed, the families of those killed, and the farmers and ranchers who were put out of business, it was devastating.

I can only pray. 

Today is the summer solstice.  The day that has the longest amount of sunlight and the shortest amount of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere.  From now until December, the amount of daylight will decrease daily. 

Today is a sad day at Pamelot.   We appreciate our wildlife and work hard to provide habitat for birds and wildlife to flourish.  Two years ago, we transitioned to different landscapes to maintain a mosaic of vegetation patches to support diverse species of birds and animals with various food and cover requirements for foraging, breeding, and escape from predators.  Yes, we have a lot of predators.

Coyotes are always here, and we hear their songs from den sites in early spring.  Bear are in the vicinity, as are fox, raccoons, opossums, snakes, hawks, owls, and they are easy to see if you look.  And don't forget cats.  Wild, tame, feral, house, they are all here doing what they do best.   

As a birder I know well the carnage inflicted on wild bird populations by cats.

Last night, we lost the second clutch of killdeer.   The first clutch had been wiped out a month ago by predators, and the parents decided to nest again in the general vicinity.  This nest happened to be smack in the middle of the road.  The birds sat for 25 days, and the first egg hatched yesterday morning.   There were 3 eggs, so we had one chick and two eggs when I checked on them at sundown last night.

This morning, in the solitude of early dawn, coffee in hand, I walked up the drive to check on the nest.  I heard nothing, I saw nothing.  There was nothing.  Gone.

Overnight, gone.  Eaten by a predator.  God provided a meal to a predator.

It's the cycle of life.