Along Fishers Island’s south side, I often find myself sitting crouched in marshy spots among reeds, jotting down notes while mud sneaks and seeps into well-worn sneakers. I like to think I am hidden discreetly between these slats, but I also like to believe I am in the middle of it all. Here, the scent of brackish water is heavy in the afternoon sun. I hear a mourning dove’s “cooo” entwined around a red-winged blackbird’s “conk-la-ree!”

Then there is hush, while nesting mute swan minds her downy brood. Without binoculars I can just barely see nestled atop the telephone pole nearby osprey chicks’ bobbing beaks, safely walled within packed sticks and disheveled dried eelgrass. And painted turtles bask so still in the warmth of this day, only just hinting at nature’s exquisite artistry.

Justine Kibbe is a naturalist for the Fishers Island Conservancy. A lifelong environmentalist, Kibbe offers weekly wildlife snapshots from the island. She can be reached at bjkibbe@gmail.com.