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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

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!

17 comments:

  1. I too like chickadees. Even the name is fun to say.
    Congratulations! Because I so enjoy reading your site every day, you have been featured as Nature Center Magazine's Site Of The Week.

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  2. Those little ones are so cute. I tried for some pix of ones here yesterday, but they were too nervous. I got some pix of bare branches instead!

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  3. Hmm, I think of the wilderness as a place that is at least 50 miles away from towns and roads.

    Bill

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  4. Chickadees are definitely a favorite of mine! They are so bright and fearless -- bursting with life in such a tiny frame. Thanks.

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  5. I love chickadees, I just think they're cute.
    Not only did I visit your other site yesterday but I am following also. Congrats on the successful first day.

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  6. I am so glad those cute chickadees made you like that park again. They are very friendly birds and I love having them around here. Have a great day.

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  7. Oh those are cute chickadees, Ratty! Beautiful photos too..

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  8. Great photos! I love those little birds. I love to hear them calling each other.

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  9. Congratulations Ratty on the great (deserved) response to your new blog..I know it took a lot of hard work for you to set it up.I love the little Chickadees, too...but they are skiddish for me, they fly away whenever I try to get close to get some shots.

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  10. Dear Ratty,
    Sounds like you have made some new friends. :)
    Happy that you returned to this spot, to reconnect with them.
    There is always surprises around the corner.
    Congragulations on the response to your new site 'Nature Center Magazine' and it's opening.
    I was one of the first people to check it out, and nearly submitted some photographs myself.
    I shall look forward in returning, as its a site I'm deeply drawn to as I love nature and like sharing beauty captures with others.
    Thank you so much for all your work on it! :)

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  11. Ratty, those chickadees are just adorable. They would certainly brighten my day as well. Fantastic photos through those branches. Congrats on the visitors to your new site. That is awesome!!! I will be contributing soon.

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  12. Beautiful Chickadees. It's hard to take picture of the bird.. especially when they are flying here and there.

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  13. i love watching birds, too. i love to hear them chirp

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  14. See? The park felt bad about causing your fall, and in the end, made it up to you in an awesome way :)

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  15. I slipped and fell off my human's desk the other day. But, just as the seasons changed the terrain that caused your fall, my human rearranged the offending papers and now it is safe to explore again. I think there's a lesson in there somewhere, although I'm not sure.

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  16. A lovely post. I enjoyed a visit to the magazine as well. I added it to stumbleupon to share with friends.

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  17. What delightful little birds, Ratty. I'm sorry about your tumble this winter but these guys should make you forget all about that!

    Congratulations on the great success of the new site.

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