A Time Of Chickadees

I finally went back! I finally went back to Woodland Hills Nature Park where I took a tumble down a hill last winter. At first I avoided the place because I was disgruntled about having that fall. Then I didn't go back because I knew from experience that there just wasn't much going on there in the winter. It really is a dull place for me in the winter. When the leaves are gone, it really exposes the place to the urban surroundings.

I say urban surroundings but it really is in the middle of the wilderness. The urban part is a freeway that runs a little too close to the place. The leaves of the trees go a long way to muffle the sounds of all the vehicles. Somehow warmer weather also seems to help that as well. It really is one of the most beautiful nature parks I've been to.

And that leads me to what I found there on my first time back since my accident. When I got deep into the first trail of the forest I began to hear birds everywhere. This has never happened before when I was at this place. This is usually a very quiet section of the park. The best thing this time was that the birds came close.

When I got a good look at the birds I found out they were black-capped chickadees! I'm just learning about these little guys, but I know they are among a lot of peoples favorite birds. They seem to be known for their friendly demeanor, and these that I met were no exception.

I've been encountering these birds everywhere my travels have taken me these past few weeks. They always seem to come up close to me. These in the pictures got the closest of all. I saw several in a small tree right next to me. The thick tangle of branches prevented me from getting pictures of more than one at a time though.

I was glad these chickadees were there on the trail with me. They really helped change my recent sour outlook of this park. I remember now that I have called this my favorite park in the past. It is still right up there. These sweet little birds helped me greatly when things seemed bleak. I'll have to move them to my favorites list too.

And lastly, I'd like to thank all of you who visited Nature Center Magazine for yesterday's official opening. It was a huge success! I expected maybe ten or twenty visitors for that first day. The total was almost two hundred! The site is still evolving though, so the best is yet to come. I hope some of you continue to see what we come up with.

Oh, I almost forgot! It's been a busy couple of days for me so I haven't had time to visit most of your sites. I'll change that later today when I get home. I don't like missing my favorite reading, so I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say!