the Way of the Turtle

BEES & BIRDS
1.6 Mile Walk Along the Erie Canal
Sunday, May 23, 2010

After breakfast Ann and I headed up to the Greece Canal Park for a short walk along the Erie Canalway Trail. When we got there we were surprised to learn that there's a new dog park (a fenced off area where dogs can run around off-leash) right near the spot where we parked. Wandered over to take a look and it's fairly cool... lots of space for the dogs to run, a water station, and a few big logs for the dogs to climb on and walk through. I initially thought it was unfortunate they used a stone dust surface for the dogs to run around on... but after doing a bit of reading up on it, apparently that's one of the best choices (I would think grass would be better but that's probably a lot of upkeep.)

Along the canal two things stood out. The locust trees were all blossoming - very pretty - and as we got close to them the buzzing of the honeybees was incredible. And all along the path there were birds, birds, and more birds. We were surrounded by constant bird songs... catbirds, cardinals, and a whole slew of calls I didn't recognize. We spotted several bright orange orioles flitting about and also a rose-breasted grosbeak, plus a number of birds neither of us could identify (in the end, we're both rank amateurs when it comes to birding.) All in all, despite the heat it was really nice just to have so much living, active nature around us.

While we were walking we also spotted a number of turkey vultures soaring overhead... toward the end of our walk we were surprised to see that two had landed on a big cell phone antenna across the canal. Still, I suppose when they don't have a cliff or a high hill to launch from, a tall antenna makes a reasonable substitute...

JMH