6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 30 April 2007

What a windy day! The wind didn't stop four Nature Strollers families from hitting the trails, though. Heather and Harry; Donna, Phoebe and Thornton; Laurel, Sebastian and Acadia; and Kat, Ian, Lily and Penelope set out to see what was waiting for us on our first outing at the sanctuary this spring. The winds didn't stop the wildlife from showing itself, either. Almost immediately after starting out, we saw Yellow-Rumped Warblers flitting from tree to tree and painted turtles basking in the sun. We spotted a Canada goose on her nest, trying her best not to give herself and the location of her nest away. Up high, we saw a large soaring and hovering bird-of-prey, noticing the distinct gull-like angle of its wings as it flew. Through the binoculars, we identified this bird as an Osprey, the only bird-of-prey who almost solely relies on live fish for food. We were able to get a few photographs of the bird as it searched for it's dinner.

Walking along, we spotted a muskrat eating it's own dinner. Acadia got a great look at it, commenting, "It's eating the plants!" That reminded us all that it was dinner time, so we headed back to the cars. On the way back, we took Lily and Penelope out of the stroller and they walked along the trail with Thorton. We flushed a Great Blue Heron from it's favorite spot on the stream, and as we packed up our cars, we spotted an Eastern Bluebird overhead. It was a perfect walk!