When I can't find a way to enter a poem, I flip through Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (free online) and play with the questions. Written in 1911, the book's language often prods me in unexpected directions. I like to read the descriptions and individual studies and then play with the questions on paper, bringing my own experiences in the field to bear on the study. 

How does a hen look when standing in the rain?
Of what use is this bird to us?
Does a hawk, having lost its mate, live alone ever after?
Why do people shoot hawks?
Why is it a mistake for people to shoot all hawks?
What notes does the chick make when following its mother?
What does the hen say when she has laid an egg?
Does the chickadee ever seem discouraged by the snow and cold weather?
When disturbed does it fly up or down?
Does he sing only on moonlit nights?