Look Up

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

• Parking: On site
• Washrooms: In the Nature Center
• Paved and dirt path

The path circling the pond.

A deer met me in the parking lot this morning - how welcoming!  I circled around him, and began the most relaxing walk so far.  As I followed the path through a meadow and around a pond, the storm clouds of these last couple days broke up, and I witnessed the transition from completely overcast to a clear summer sky.  I would have missed these amazing clouds if I hadn't been staring up for most of the walk, searching for all those birds.  I could hear them everywhere, but only caught glimpses of their silhouettes flying against the sky.  Next time, I'll bring my binoculars!

Looking up between the branches.

The Sanctuary is a beautiful place, though, and there is so much to see.  Calgary Parks reports that there are over 270 species of birds, 21 species of mammals and 347 species of plants in the area.  It's been closed for over two years as they've worked to restore the site after the floods of 2013, but the section that re-opened this summer seems to have regrown beautifully.

Remnants of last night's storm.

After completing the circuit, I sat on a bench by the pond and closed my eyes.  I'm no ornithologist and I have no idea which bird was making which sound, but it was fascinating to really listen to the calls.  I know we celebrate "bird song" as pure, natural music (or at least a good background for meditation) but not every call was a pleasant one.  But these chirps, peeps, caws, screeches, and yes, even some lovely warbles and trills, made that sunny bench my new favorite spot to rest my tired walking legs!