It’s been quite some time since I’ve written in my Forest Park journal. It's not because I haven’t been there. In 2006 I walked in Forest Park more than 200 of the 365 days (in addition to walking quite a few other days in other places).
Since my last note I have added the hobby of bird watching, but that has been mainly watching birds in my back yard and I even now have a small mailing list for people interested in those notes.
However, I decided I would start taking my binoculars with me and see what I can see and log for 2007 in Forest Park. I won’t work on this project so seriously EVERY TIME I go to the park. But as often as I can. My exercise minimum for each day is 4 miles of walking (I seldom bike anymore, mainly walk). But, if I am going to bird watch, then I think I will have to walk a minimum of five miles since some of the walking is too slow and stopping and starting, to count that toward my exercise.
Today however I not only saw some birds, but the very first snake I’ve ever seen on my own (that is since I’ve been an adult – lots of them when I was a kid). One day Shawn Clubb, the reporter for the South City Journal walked with me and he pointed out two different snakes to me. Today I saw the first one on my own. I was no more that 3 feet from it and followed its quick movements for about 6 steps and then it simply disappeared. I have no idea where it went, I guess into some hole I didn’t see.
Then on the way home I saw a coyote (at NOON!!!!!!) I was on my way home walking toward the Tamm Ave. bridge on the walking trail west of the zoo, and right alongside of Hwy 40. I was about 2/3 the way from the zoo toward Hi-Pointe and Skinker Blvd, and fewer than 30 yards from the highway. There is a rather thick and isolated woods there.
The coyote was standing on the bike trail, I was on the walking trail. It was a female and give her swollen and extended teats she must either have recently given birth or is about to, though she didn’t look pregnant. I stopped, and had my binoculars (though we were only about 20 yards apart) so I really got an excellent look at her.
If I’m right about the babies, then the park must have a male too, and will, evidently, soon have more coyotes.
I’d never seen one in this area. I’ve seen a coyote in two other areas many many times.
The first such area is around the art museum, especially along Art Hill and the woods between the Grand Basin and the zoo. The other is the woods just immediately west of the Jewel Box and on Triple A golf course, especially up near the Jewel Box.
I saw quite a few birds today and had my note pad. I saw:
Those are all birds I know well from my backyard where I have about 17 to 20 different birds visit every day.
I’m extremely unskilled in this sighting. Today was warm but overcast, thus the world was all grey, black and white and I had a very hard time finding birds whom I could hear calling out in the trees, but I just couldn’t find them.
And if they are not among the 25 or so I know from my backyard, then I won’t even know what they are.
Over by Steinberg Rink in the wet lands there are just all sorts of different ducks and geese. I’ll wait until I get a nice warm day, and hopefully SUNNY and then go there with my binoculars and bird book and take the slow time I’ll need to do some identification.
I curious to see how many birds I will be able to identify in the rest of 2007.
Any of you interested in such bird watching I would HIGHLY recommend the area between Skinker (from Hi-Pointe down about 3 blocks along Skinker) and then east. One would have the golf course on the north, Hwy 40 on the east and one would eventually dead-end at either the art museum or zoo.
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