A walk in the park or at a public lake is all you need to enjoy a vast amount of wildlife. Just the other day, we went on a walk along a trail that runs just inside the woods along a lake shore. People were walking back and forth along this trail when we arrived. It was a beautiful day, and our expectations were set for a nice walk in the shade of the trees.
Encounter with a Gray Squirrel
As I closed the door on my pickup truck, a gray squirrel ran up a tree in front of us. The trail went around a bend and over a very nice bridge that spanned a backwater slough. We stopped on the bridge to enjoy the beautiful water and shoreline.
Turtle Sighting
The bank had several trees that had fallen into the water, and each tree had an assortment of turtles sunning themselves all in a row. We walked along the trail into a wooded area and heard the unmistakable sound of a pileated woodpecker.
Spotting the Pileated Woodpecker
We stood really still while searching the canopy of the tall assortment of trees. After a few minutes, we spotted this woody woodpecker-looking giant hopping upside down on a branch, looking for bugs to eat. He finally spotted us and flew to a different part of the woods.
White-Tailed Deer Encounter
We moved on and decided to take a trail down toward the lake shore. We hadn’t gone very far when the sound of something running just a few yards in front of us surprised us. It was a group of white-tailed deer that had been drinking at the shoreline. We watched them as they tried to figure out what we were. They didn’t seem too spooked, so it was fun to see them interacting with each other, trying to figure out what the danger was.
Observing Small Birds and the Great Blue Heron
Small birds flew in and out of the cattails and lakeshore brush, most likely to their hidden nests. Next, we came to an open area where we could see the lake clearly and spotted one of the greatest fishermen to ever live. The Great Blue Heron was standing on a hummock, patiently waiting for an unsuspecting fish to come within his spear-like beak.
This walk was less than an hour long, and we were able to enjoy all of these creatures very close to neighborhoods and people who had no idea what they were not seeing just off this heavily used hiking trail. You can find an adventure in the smallest places if you just take the time to look.
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