Small Town Wildlife

Little tired bird tucked his head
in, then eventually fluttered into
a nearby tree.

I've been enjoying spending more and more time outside. I tend to forget that I like being outside when so much of my time is spent indoors staring at a book or a computer. Although I still feel slightly stressed out (because I just wouldn't be me if I didn't feel this way, just a little) I am also feeling the benefits of spending time away from work and school. I'm trying to get into the routine of being outside, and taking time apart for myself this summer in hopes that it will stick once things get roaring again in September.

Yesterday we went for an afternoon nature walk (I call our park walks nature walks because they aren't really long enough to be hikes, and walks for me are more like "on a sidewalk"). Anyway, we went to a local park with some grassy paths and listened to birds and looked at the plants. And pointed out all of the poison ivy. As we were returning to the car, I happened to look down on the gravel/grass path and jumped up, grabbed Kevin's arm and backed us away all the while saying "baby bird, oh, oh oh." A small fluffy young bird was sitting in the middle of the path. We looked at it for a while, he winked and closed his eyes, then tucked his head into his shoulders. We walked around looking for a nest, thinking maybe he fell out or took to flying too soon, because he was still a little downy. Finally, we decided to try and put him off to the side, at least closer to the tall grass away from the main path so he wouldn't get trampled. And just as Kevin began to gently nudge him with the palm of his hands, the little bird finally fluttered up to a low branch. Relieved, we walked back to the car.