Picture: Warta River National Park
“Every man is a product of his ancestors.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
She was my childhood nature mentor
She was my beloved paternal grandma
I very recently did some research on her life
Learning about her childhood fills me with awe
She grew up on a tiny farm near a Polish marshland
That today, has become an enormous bird sanctuary
I guess it’s no wonder, she passed on her love of birds
And discovering this about her life truly makes me merry
Throughout my life, I have often visited Wisconsin marshlands
Observing all of the glorious birds, and often thinking about her
And now, realizing that she grew up in a similar setting in Poland
Has brought me enormous joy, and now, my traveler’s soul is a stir
I would love to visit the Warta River National Park, pictured above
And wander in her childhood footsteps, traveling over the same miles
Nature, History, and Traveling have all brought me enormous happiness
And I’d bet that my grandmother now looks down on these birds, and smiles
My grandmother’s childhood home in Poland is now a part of this national bird sanctuary, and it stretches many miles across an ancient glacial river valley, close to where the Warta River flows into the River Odra.
Unique wetlands, vast meadows, and rolling green pastures here create a perfect habitat for aquatic bird species. There are 248 species of birds in Poland’s Warta River National Park, and 160 species have chosen the park’s territory for breeding purposes.
Twenty-six of these bird species are now rare or protected, and they include the corncrake, the aquatic warbler, the black-tailed godwit, the crane, and the bittern. There are also sizeable populations of grebes, ducks, rails, gulls, and terns here.
For many of them, this park is now their preferred nesting ground, and it’s also an important wintering area for whooper and mute swans, ducks, geese, and eagles.
My grandmother must be truly delighted, as am I.
©2009, Mr. Ed
Share
Print
Save
Lance
Be always safe,
Karen
Marcia
Fee
God Bless,
Lew
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tx., Karen Lynn. :D
I feel a special kinship with you: I'm part Polish, too! :)
Carole~
Great write, Ed.
Cryssa
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.
A wonderful write about your grandmother, and her love for birds. I had written a story about a bird ("Tweet") and I know birds can and are able to express emotions and render friendship to humans.
Cynthia
Your grandmother would have been so proud!
Georg