Kid-friendly Nature Walk

American Robin and Flowering Almond 

I rode to a small neighbourhood park where migrating warblers often stop during their northward spring journeys. Last year was a good year for birding in this location, encouraging many more people to check it out this year. When I arrived, lines of people with big cameras trained on hedgerows and brush waited for their perfect warbler pictures. My grandchildren live hundreds of kilometres away, but I decided to do a nature walk as if they were with me. I focused on things that would interest a child or anyone with an average knowledge of nature. Any level of interest in the natural world is commendable.

Canada Geese and how many goslings?

When they were young, our children called this small body of water the "ducks and geese" pond. We used to ride our bikes here after supper to feed the birds. Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks are still plentiful, along with harder to spot birds like Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Pied-billed Grebes and the odd Osprey and Arctic Tern.

Red-winged Blackbird

Blue Jays and Red-winged Blackbirds are larger, easy-to-see perching birds. They also have loud, attention-grabbing calls. 

There are many woodland spring flowers, but nothing delights a child more than a field of dandelions. They are safe to pick and are even more fun in their "wishy" seed state.

Painted Turtle

Garter Snake

Several turtles warmed themselves on sunny logs. This pond has a section called Turtle Beach, where female Painted and Snapping turtles bury their eggs in the late spring or early summer. I saw the tail of a snake and had to look at least a metre forward to see its head in the grass. 

My grandson showed me the handful of wiggling dew worms he had collected from a pathway after a rainstorm. He likes bugs and creeping things like snakes, and I do my best not to show my distaste for touching reptiles.

The consistency of ordinary things is reassuring. I know the Robins will start singing faithfully before dawn every morning. Ordinary species often demonstrate the most resilience and adaptability to changing environments. I am a very ordinary human living a blessed ordinary life.

And that makes me happy.