Little Yellow Bird

I found something exciting on my recent hike. It's a new bird that I've only ever seen in pictures before. Now I got to see a real one for the very first time. I guess there is always something new to see from nature. The wonders never end.

The bird is hard to see in these pictures, but it appears to be what's called an American Goldfinch. Check out that link I just gave you. It's very informative, and it's also very valuable. You'll find some good information on this beautiful bird there, including a better look at it.

I was headed down to the lake to look at the geese when I got to about the same place where I saw the angry squirrel that I told you about a few days ago. I just happened to be looking towards the trees at the back of the park when I saw a flash of yellow fly by.

It was a bird about half the size of a robin. I saw it land on a tree branch, but I quickly lost it in all of the leaves. I had to do something, so I zoomed the camera in towards where I last saw it and began taking pictures. I was hoping I would get lucky and catch a glimpse of it in one of the shots.

As you can see, I got what I was looking for! Yellow birds fascinate me because I didn't know that any existed in North America. After getting a short glimpse of one last year, I'm finding out that not only do they exist here, but they're common and there are very many different types.

These pictures aren't really even close to the best anyone has ever gotten of one of these birds, but that's not the point here. The thrill of seeing this bird for myself, and just having that small chance of getting a picture was extremely fun. These pictures are the record of a memory of a great time.

Times Change

Just recently I told you that I had been writing this blog for one year now. That year has been an eventful one for me. I've been hiking for much longer than that year, but I never took it as seriously as I have this past year. Finding information for this blog is largely responsible for that.

The one thing I try to do here is share information with absolute beginners so they'll be comfortable enough to want to see for themselves what all of this is about. I want them to be able to understand and identify with my experiences so things will be easier for them. I want them to be able to expect to see a group of raccoons or see a garter snake eating a toad, and to know not to panic.

There's only one problem with all of this. I can only show these things through the eyes of a beginner for so long. The more I learn about nature, the more the new things become old. Getting a picture of a robin isn't quite the same for me as it was before. There's not the same sense of childlike wonder for me, no matter how much I try to keep it.

While I was writing my first Rattiversary post, I was looking back at some of the older ones. In particular, there was a post about a large flock of geese. I like geese because they are so comical at times, but I didn't know that back then. Looking at that post made me realize that things had gradually changed for me since then. The geese are fun but they're now old friends and not new wonders.

After changes like this, how do I continue to help beginners. They just may not be able to identify with some of my future experiences. The only solution is to begin to help them in other ways, as well as the stories I like to write so much. I still have to make this fun for everyone, so I'll have to be very creative about some new ideas.

I'll be making some changes here in this second year. I've already started with my hiking tips for beginners and a few other small things. There will be many more changes to come. I hope they make this place better than it ever was before. Some things will be inevitable failures and others might be great successes. I hope I have more of the latter.

As I make these changes, I'll be sure to ask for feedback from all of you. It's important that you like what happens here. While this place is here to help beginners, those of you who are much more experienced with nature are very important to me. Okay, this post has already run on too long. My next post will be here tomorrow in the same place.