Nov 5, 2011

Kensington Metropark


Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse
 
For early November, this was a fine sunny day in the 50s at Kensington Metropark, a 4,486 acre nature and recreation preserve about 30 miles west-northwest of Detroit, almost halfway to Lansing on I-96. 

Here’s what their publicity says, and it seems accurate to me (somebody had a vision, and the rest of us benefit): 

A scenic recreational facility that provides year-round fun for all ages. Its wooded hilly terrain surrounds beautiful Kent Lake. Attractions include the Splash 'n' Blast which offers two 240-foot twisted water slides and a water sprayground, Island Queen excursion boat, swimming, picnicking, canoeing, scenic drives, ice skating, a nature center with nature trails, a farm center, disc golf course and a 6,378 yard challenging 18 hole par 71 public golf course. Kensington is an official Michigan Wildlife Viewing Area.

I had the same experience at Kensington just about a year ago, including the birds. (Banjo52, November 28, 2010).

Chickadee
The titmice and chickadees don’t think twice about feeding from human hands, but the shy gold finches stayed in the treetops—so high, in fact, that I wasn’t sure what they were until I got home and cropped the photo for identification. 

Gold Finches



3 comments:

Pasadena Adjacent said...

In los Angeles an argument broke out over retaining the name Department of Parks and Recreation. Parks and Recreation lost and it became Recreation first / Parks second. We've been fighting ever since.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

Chick-a-dees over soccer fields

Banjo52 said...

PA, I worry about that. So far, so good in metro Detroit about sharing the two purposes in these areas. But I'm not used to seeing the huge white waterslides, which look like something from another planet from the hillside overlook a half mile or more away. Also new to me at Kensington was the sound of gunfire at a skeet-shooting or target practice site, on or near the park. Stony Creek metropark is also great and about the same distance from me, but I've preferred Kensington because of the sounds of guns at Stony Creek.

On the other hand . . . I imagine the decision-making meetings that must occur for the boards for these places. I can only guess they're something like a faculty meeting, and I'd rather hear guns than go through that.

Lovers' Lane