There is a temptation, when it’s cold outside, to remain indoors. Far be it from me to argue against the joy of bundling up in comfy clothes and curling up with a good book. But there’s something special about braving the outdoors even as the temperature plummets and the skies turn gray. Though the Pine Barrens are the dominant ecosystem for Long Island, and though this ecosystem is named for and dominated by evergreen trees, there are enough deciduous trees to fill in the gaps, and allow us to experience a full four seasons. While locales further south and closer to the equator experience seasons, they’re not quite the same as the four that we experience here, often consisting of a wet season/dry season dichotomy. With four seasons, there is a more gradual change, and it’s that change that makes hiking worthwhile year-round.
At a glance, one might think that the four seasons embody a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Fall certainly seems to be a time for dying, as the trees offer a last gasp with bright colors, then fade to brown and gray with the coming of winter. And when it snows, all is blanketed in a cold, ominous white. There is an eerie silence in the hours after a heavy snow, and one might be inclined to think that there is nothing alive, nothing at all. But this isn’t true. Far from it. Trees which lost their leaves are not dead, but dormant, waiting for the coming spring, when they’ll show off with new leaves.
Beyond the trees, though, seasonality brings with it migration. Long Island is in a remarkable position in that it is the site of not one but two major bird migrations. As spring turns to summer, many songbirds (largely of the warbler family) arrive here from the south to breed. Some of these species remain throughout the summer, while others continue northward after only a few weeks on the Island. They then return as summer turns to fall, after which they, and all the summer residents, return to the south. At the same time, many other species migrate south from up north, and they remain on Long Island throughout the winter. Many species of sparrow, such as the White-throated Sparrow and the Dark-eyed Junco, are among this group, and though they’re less visually exciting than the kaleidoscopic warbler family, they’re no less important to the greater Pine Barrens ecosystem. From a birder’s point of view, this quirk of Long Island’s latitude keeps every season fresh. Spring and summer have a very different feel to them compared to fall and winter, and that keeps the hobby feeling fresh and exciting.
So too, can a photographer find many interesting visuals in the fall and winter. Fallen leaves of various colors make for interesting perspective shots if you crouch down, and of course, the untouched, silent snow is incredibly striking. Other hobbies like biking are just as good a workout in the winter as in the summer, and all you need to do is wear some warm clothes.
Change is an inevitable part of life. Living in a place with such distinct seasons makes that fact more visceral than it might otherwise be. Yet change is not something to be feared, but embraced. If you think you won’t enjoy a trip to the Pine Barrens in the winter, take a chance, bundle up and go out for a walk. Ride your bike, take your camera, study up on the local birds, pay attention to the details. With careful observation you can see when each season gives way to the next, when the migrations occur, when the buds appear on different trees, and so on. To embrace only some of the seasons is to reject the whole of the Pine Barrens. And it’s only in understanding the whole that you can appreciate it entirely.
By Travis Cutter, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
