A fishing companion, an experienced hunter I call Hawkeye, spotted an adult whitetail deer in brush along a ridge 150 feet above the fern-covered floor of Youghiogheny forest in western Maryland. The deer stood still as a stone and yet my companion said he could see the animal’s head through trees, rhododendrons and brush.
“There’s actually two deer,” Hawkeye said. “There’s another one just to the left.”
He told me where to look but I could see nothing but brush and trees. I thought Hawkeye might have been messing with me. Of course, in the next instant, the ears of both deer twitched. Then their heads moved. Then they darted away.
I am nearsighted and need glasses to see things at that kind of distance. Even so, I have pretty good eyesight. But I am not in Hawkeye’s class; never developed the hunter’s eye. His ability to discern the deer in thick brush on a ridge really impressed me. Hawkeye had a career in the outdoors; he worked for the state of Maryland in natural resources, and he’s been a hunter and angler his whole life, since he was a kid in central Pennsylvania.
And that might explain his keen vision. NPR recently had a report on the significant rise in myopia among children, and research showing a connection between time spent outdoors and superior eyesight. Turns out, kids who spend at least two hours a day outdoors could be less likely to develop nearsightedness. You can read the NPR report here.
Dan Rodricks 