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Originally published on PrimitiveSkillsLinks.com
There is a place I go walking, its my "walking spot". Sometimes I walk slow, sometimes, I walk fast, its my walking spot and it's at the local park. On the face of it, most people would tell you that there isn't any wild life there. The interesting thing is, I've seen more wild life there than when Iím way up in the mountains. Let me tell you about my wild adventures at the local park.
This is your usual park, its about a square mile of woods nestled in the middle of suburbia, it has a lake, a nice asphalt walkway that goes all the way around and there's also a baseball field , some kids play equipment and picnic tables. Wal-mart and Home depot are on one side, a college is on the opposite with housing estates on the other two sides. My favorite part are the other trails that there way through the rest of the woods to the surrounding estates.
My walks generally take quite a long time, thereís so much stopping involved, hear a bird call there or a flash of something traveling just out of perception over there.
One time I was walking past the place where the frogs are always making noise and just up the track there was an almighty screech and great whooshing of wings and rustling leaves. Adrenalin instantly flooded my system and not wanting to miss anything I went charging through the bushes in the direction of the commotion. At the time I was a little worried about scaring away the show but at the same time I knew it would be over fast. All I knew at this point was that it involved a bird and something else.
So I crash my way right to where I believed the noise was coming from and sure enough. Nothing. I was feeling a little disappointed right about then so I relaxed a little and as I spun around using my owl eyes, there it was, perched atop a maple limb under the forest canopy, an Owl. Staring at the owl I found myself in complete awe, but when it spread its massive wings and silently glided through the trees I was in complete wonder.
I have two theories as to what took place causing all the commotion, either the owl just had a meal with a creature that wasn't quite cooperating or a Stellars Jay was getting a little too annoying for the owl and the owl acted out. I will never really know but its fun to try to recreate what happened.
This brings me to the time when I was stalking a deer, granted I never did get real close but the excitement was awesome. So here I was walking up a new road that cuts through to the college. Up ahead a dear slowly meandered its way across the road and went into the woods on the opposite side. I ran as quietly as possible up to just about where it entered the woods and began to stalk.
Turns out that it had taken a well traveled animal trail thru some tall grass. As I advanced towards the deer in total excitement and concentration I hear to my right the unmistakable tapping of a woodpecker! So thereís my dilemma, do I continue stalking the deer or do I watch the woodpecker? Just as the thought crosses my mind the deer gets spooked, most likely from me and bounds off, leaving me, to my satisfaction, to study the woodpecker.
If you want to observe animals at your local park, the trick is to go, go often, walk or sit quietly and make sure to visit at different times during the day.
Michael Beckett runs a primitive skills online directory called PrimitiveSkillsLinks.com.
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