So, a nonbiking outing, can you believe it? Time to break in the hiking shoes. On Sunday, my sister came over so we could go birdwatching at the nature preserve we stumbled on that is near our house.
It was kinda early – around 7 am. Eeek! That is a good time to go out to see birds, though. Actually earlier probably would have been better, but I have my limits. John actually came along as well. At first he said “I am going to stay and sleep”, but then after I was up he ended up changing his mind 😀
This preserve is only 1.5 miles from our house.
It’s much bigger than we expected. I thought it was mostly the grassy area, but it went into the woods as well with clearly marked trails.
We passed by this stand of trees and could hear a ton of different birds. My sister is quite good at identifying birds by song and sight, so really helpful to have her along to tell us what something is 🙂
Then we armed up with bug spray before heading into the woods. Mosquitos were out!
There was a map showing the trails. This was what suprised me about this place.
It really sits right next to a golf course and a housing development. But this is a nice slice of nature that will remain forever wild.
I saw my first Jack in the pulpit in real life!
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My wildflower ID skills aren’t very good. I need to get a guidebook or something.
Anyway, we went around to the perimeter. The problem with birding at this time of year is that you can hear the birds in the trees, but the leaves block the view 😀 My sister is staring up into the tops of the trees trying to find the birds.
It was really a beautiful day. It started cool, but then got really nice.
We stopped at a river’s edge and there we saw birds that could be identified.
We saw the Common Yellowthroat. A pair of them flitting around.
That was a new bird for me! We also saw the usual suspects of cardinals, red wing blackbirds, blue jay, etc.
This is defintely a place we will come to again to explore. It will be nice on a hot summer day to escape into the wooded area and explore more.
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Well marked paths and some signs around with information. Just a cute place. We probably did a couple miles of walking. After this, we went out for bagels and coffee, which I forgot to take a picture of. Oopsie. It was good to have sister time and to do something different than the usual ride! I guess this counts as a hike, right?
Birding, biking, and blooms. I love your blog!
Thanks! It’s quite a change from the winter blogging LOL!
What a nice day trip! And extra special to have your own bird whisperer along:)
My sister is awesome!
Definitely counts as a hike! What a great park and so close to home. Think it’s also perfect for a short evening walk on a Summer day.
I have no knowledge of birds but I love seeing them. At the moment we have a lot in our garden every day. In the forest I usually don’t see them. Because Bella is always with me, she scares them off before I even see them. Birds and dogs are not a good combination 🙂
I really like birding, but most times it just is part of wherever we happen to be biking and not an activity unto itself. I wish I knew the songs better. I know some. We actually have recordings to help identify them, but I just haven’t taken the time to listen to them long enough.
I love finding places like that close to home and easily accessible. And yes, that counts as a hike!
There are actually a lot of trails around here. We just need to get off the bikes 😀
How beautiful Lori & so glad you got time with family!!!
Can your sister come spend the night and ID some of the birds I hear every morning please? I have recordings too, but they overwhelm. Maybe I just need to pick one likely bird and work on calls one at a time. My binocular skills are sadly lacking too. But isn’t it fun to spot a new bird? You really have some nice areas near you to explore.
What a beautiful place for a hike!!! Thank you for taking us along with you through your photos!!!
The nature paths are only 1.5 miles from my house too, and they have the trails really well maintained and marked – even showing which trails you can walk with a horse on!
What a fun outing – love that it’s so close to you. I can see you and John doing a spur of the moment quiet hike there this summer.
You got some great photos! What a pretty day to explore nature in.
oh I love how relaxing this is simply reading and looking at it.
apparently I need more nature.
What a lovely spot of paradise so close to home!
Beautiful! I love hiking but haven’t been able to go for quite some time.