Birds,  Kids and Nature,  Landscapes,  Walks,  Woods

Tanglewood Trails

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We hustled through our schoolwork in the morning and drove to the Tanglewood Nature Center in Elmira yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we took the trail up to an overlook over the Chemung River Valley.

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We spotted two redtails circling over the river, but by the time I got my camera back out, they were high above us.

We ate our lunch there, and I enjoyed reading about Mark Twain’s thoughts on such an experience, posted nearby:

Twain

On the way back down we paused at this lower point, and a juvenile eagle soared past at eye level. No pics — but a grand sight.

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Of course there were many beautiful perspectives on the trail. We passed through yellow sections, red sections, and conifer sections. I was partial to the golden yesterday — even though “nothing gold can stay.”

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The reds were lovely too.

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I commented on these bi-colored yellow/red maple leaves, and the kids proceeded to gather specimens.

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There were apple trees, and faded pearl crescent butterflies.

apples

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We enjoyed the many fossils seen along the trail, too.

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When we got back to the bottom, we rested a bit…

pond

…and saw several bluebirds. They were perching in a walnut tree, then swooping down to hawk insects near the ground. It’s always a treat to see our state bird.

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I was surprised to see red-winged blackbirds too, plucking and eating the keys from this tree.

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On the whole it was a grand way to drink in the sights and smells of autumn.

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