Nature Connection: The Trouble With Teenagers

 As I write, the month of July is already a third over, and by the time you read this it will be closer to half over. Summer flies by in spite of the heat and crowds and traffic and late sunsets. 

 The mid-summer flowers are blooming: the coneflowers, bee balm, mints of all kinds. These keep the bees, wasps, flies and butterflies happy by day, certain moths and other insects happy by night. 

 If you garden at all you know things are hopping in the garden, including grasshoppers and leaf hoppers. My yard birds seem to take care of the worst of them. They eat most of the slugs and earwigs as well. There are predatory insects that eat some of the worst offenders as well, and when all else fails I can handpick the pests and either toss them to the birds standing by or place them in a jar of water with soap suds which usually gives them a quick end. I’m fortunate to have eager praying mantises helping me out. These efficient hunters get bigger each day, so I know they are successfully doing their part.

 The baby birds are mostly teenagers now and in many ways aren’t all that different from our human teens. They are no longer helpless but they’re not quite ready for the big world on their own, though they aren’t convinced of the latter. This is true of many of the young mammals we are seeing out and about as well whether they are squirrels, rabbits, foxes or coyotes.

 Part of growing up is learning from the examples your parents set as well as the lessons they teach more directly. If you pay attention when out and about you may hear the scolding that goes on. Squirrels and chipmunks are notorious for their bombastic corrections when their young disobey or wander off course. They’re not wrong to do this of course, but it also alerts nearby predators to their location so it’s tricky and probably scary for them as well.

 As parents we try to protect our young from making egregious errors in judgement, especially ones that can lead to their deaths. This is true for all species that nurture their young. Baby turtles, crabs and fish are sadly on their own and as a result many don’t make it to their teenage phase at all.

 Those species that do make it to that glorious and dangerous age face many challenges. Baby birds follow their parents around for a few weeks, demanding food and watching behaviors. Slowly they begin to find food on their own though they will still beg for handouts when given the opportunity. You may see gulls, crows, grackles, robins, blue jays, even hawks doing this. After a while the parent simply walks away, leaving junior to fend for themselves.

 Sometimes the young hang around together, egging each other on, learning as they go. This may last for the rest of the summer, but at some point, birds will all go their own way, some even launching into the air to migrate to a place far away they’ve never seen.

 These days my yard and neighborhood are full of teenagers, both the bird and mammal variety. They are noisy, careless and demanding. Some are shy but many are cocky, trying to figure out life in the fast lane. 

 Squirrels must learn to climb and leap so they can travel through the trees without touching the ground. As you may imagine, these are not easy things to learn, and there’s a fair amount of trial and error. They must learn how to judge branches that will hold their weight as well as the distance they can safely jump. Many fall as they learn, but mostly they catch onto another branch on their way down and continue on their way as if they intended that all along.

 Birds learn to fly and catch their food in a similar manner. Baby hummingbirds try to nectar everything they can fly to before learning that blossoms have nectar, leaves and tree bark do not. Young hawks need to catch their prey on the wing or on the ground, prey that is quick and smart and much harder to catch than their parents made it look.

 If you’re feeding orioles and catbirds, you probably have a lot of teenagers bickering over your offerings. The parents are still feeding a few but most of the young seem to be on their own now, learning how to catch bugs, find berries and own the feeder when given half a chance. They are full of bravado and they make me smile.

 Life is tough. Those of us of a certain age have been through things we probably never imagined, including this present government anomaly. We could tell the teenagers to be careful, to not expect too much, to watch their backs, to prepare for betrayal and difficulties and illness and loss. Why would we do this, though? They’ll learn in their own ways, just like the young blue jay that barely escaped the pounce of the neighbor’s cat. It lost a few feathers, but it learned an important lesson that no amount of parental warning could assure. It’s more cautious these days, but it still has its sense of wonder and adventure, as it should. 

 Every year at this time of youth being let out into the big crazy world I find myself worried but also proud and happy for all of them. I hope they embrace it all. Like the baby herring facing a gauntlet of hungry herons as they make their way to the sea, these youngsters must navigate the world as best they can. Some may perish but others will find the salty sea and swim free.

 Now, if only we could teach young squirrels to look both ways before they scamper into the road.