Category: Birds
Last time I posted something it was early fall. Now it is a New Year, and my whole family has the day off, and we are watching cardinals in a snowstorm.
It has been warm lately, but the waterfowl seem to think we are moving into an early fall. The Canada geese and the Mallards are starting flock together. Maybe this is the time of years they always start flocking together, but it still feels early.
Shortly after writing about how I almost never see gulls in my neighborhood, we went on a walk across the street and found a field full of gulls. It has been a very wet summer in Michigan. This has caused the soccer and football fields a crossed the street to flood. Apparently the gulls have found a feast in this new marshy land.
If you had told me as a kid in northern Michigan, that one day I would miss seeing gulls, I would have told you that you were crazy. Growing up on a farm just inland from Lake Huron, I can remember my Father plowing a field, and Gulls being so thick that it looked like they sprung from the ground. We mainly had Ring-billed gulls, and Herring gulls, but it was not unknown to see other species too.
We went on an adventure to Kensington Metropark this week. The kids wanted to go back to the farm to see how all the babies were growing. Not surprising, they were bigger. We had a lot of fun exploring, even just watching a duck having a bath in a clean pool.
I love looking at birds, but sometimes it is hard to get away. So I often have to settle for a little birding around the house. Where ever we go, the kids and I keep our eyes out for birds. While on a family walk yesterday we found a nest that fell out of a tree. Then we saw a few duck fly into a little pond behind the neighborhood school. Then when we got home we checked out the birdfeeders. We saw all of the local suspects, but the male Ruby-throated hummingbird stole the show.
A few days ago I said in a post that the turkeys kept a respectful distance while we were walking. Today we went on a walk and the turkeys go up and close. This was exciting because they are one of my boys favorite birds. While this might sound silly if your only reference is the bird on your plate at Thanksgiving, in person they are amazing. They are large, and there feathers have iridescent blues, reds and yellows.
My children love birds. My love of birds has probably helped that along. While I have never tested them, my guess is that all three (aged 3, 4 and 6) know many more than your average adult. It actually surprises me how many times they can spot something on the wing, and how often they can identify it.
We are lucky enough to live minutes away from a 4,481 acres park that not only offers wooded trails to walk on, but also a little farm. Now that the weather has broken, we try to go there as often as we can. One day this week my daughter only had a half day at school, so we took the opportunity to pack as much adventure into the day as possible.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Our beautiful refugee
Jewel in vacant lots
