Warmer weather means we can finally get back on the
nature trails at Kensington Metropark, one of our favorite Detroit-area walking areas.
April and May are especially interesting for
birdwatchers. The park’s Wildwing Trail is a 2-1/2 mile that skirts the lake
and includes a boardwalk that allows you a glimpse of the blue heron nesting
area seen in these photos. The trail also tracks past an osprey watch area and
a variety of wildflowers.
We were out in the park a few weeks ago, but the
nature trails were still quite muddy and it was too cold and windy to linger
for a long time near the lake. So, we opted for a shorter walk along a portion
of the park’s 8-plus-mile paved hike/bike trail circling Kent Lake.
I suspect it won’t be long now before we take to the
nature area trails and revisit Wildwing to see how our feathered friends are
faring this season.
Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for
creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts
across the Web.
© Dominique King 2009
Wild flowers and birds! What I wouldn't give to see them now. It's still cold and wet here as well. That nesting area looks full of anticipation.
Posted by: Fly Girl | March 27, 2009 at 06:13 AM
Great macro! This looks like a great spot to explore.
Posted by: Peace Mitchell (Australia) | March 27, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Spring is coming! I used to live in the midwest, so I understand your desire to have the warm days to explore the outdoors again ;-)
Posted by: Lisa Overman | March 27, 2009 at 01:26 PM
Amazing to see the birds nesting in the tops of the trees on that last photo!
Posted by: Lorraine Akemann | March 27, 2009 at 09:21 PM
I hope it warms up soon!
Posted by: globalgal | March 27, 2009 at 09:50 PM
Fly Girl-These photos are from last season. The park was still pretty barren and cold a few weeks ago, but I'm thinking we should start seeing signs of life like nesting birds out there before too long.
Peace-It is a great park--especially being so close to metro Detroit and heavily urban/suburban areas.
Lisa-The crocuses are finally starting to bloom in my yard, so I can finally believe spring weather may be just around the corner!
Lorraine-Spring is a great time to walk Wildwing Trail because of all of the opportunities to see the birds birds nesting...so much easier to see because the leaves are not on the trees yet.
globalgal-It looks and feels pretty nice out there today :)
Posted by: Dominique | March 28, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Ah, spring! Great pictures!
Posted by: soultravelers3 | March 29, 2009 at 09:19 AM
Thanks for the inspiration! I've heard about this park and have passed it before (I'm relatively new to the area, so stop rolling your eyes out there about the guy who's never been to Kensington!) but never made it there. Now that the weather is starting to get better, will have to head out there to do some running!
Posted by: Brandon | March 29, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Soultravelers3-Thanks for stopping by! I felt the need for a little spring here, so I posted these photos.
Brandon-Kensington is definitely a great place to walk, run, inline skate, ride bicycles, picnic, geocache and just generally chill. I like the fact that they left plenty of area undeveloped, so there is also a lot of backwoods-type areas frequented by birders and nature photographers.
You do need to make it out there at least a couple of times before your move!
Posted by: Dominique | April 02, 2009 at 08:57 PM