Tranquil Spring Escape: Birdsong and Wildflowers

[@hikingoutdoorfamily]

I especially enjoyed seeing the racoon sleeping in the hollow tree. Spring is such a wonderful time to be outside!

[@HikingWithKathleen]

I totally agree with you - I love spring...my favourite season. I too, get a kick out of seeing an animal hiding in a cavity. Thanks for watching!

[@claudibiscotti4710]

Ooo the Killdear, with its neck stripes and reflexion in the water❤️, nice lens✨✨✨

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Thanks Claudi...I was lucky with that one since it stayed around long enough for us to have a good look! I'm glad you enjoyed that.

[@tammywilliams4958]

What a tranquil hike ❤always excellent therapy for reflection ❤--- Amazing! Thank you so much for all the wonderful clips again this week , so peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Take care ladies and have a great week ahead ❤🌻

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Thank you Tammy. We always appreciate your kind feedback. It means a lot that you get so much out of our videos. Stay tuned to hear a shout out in next week's video...it's just uploading now.

[@tammywilliams4958]

You are so very welcome , my pleasure. It is always so nice to see such amazing natural beauty, always refreshing. Thanks again, see you next week ❤️🌻

[@cal4625]

Enjoyed the hike very much and thanks for sharing. From Southern Indiana, USA.

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Good Morning Cal, Thanks for tuning in to the Channel. So glad you enjoyed my hike. Hope you drop by again, new uploads every Tuesday morning. I like that you mentioned where you're from...I like to know my audience.

[@flynorthproductions]

I just downloaded the Merlin app myself, it's great. The Poison Ivy we have up here looks a little different than the one you featured, interesting. Loved the Raccoon shot. Another excellent video, Kathleen. 👌👍

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Glad you enjoyed it Daryl...and good to hear that you too are using the Merlin app...it's a great cheater method to pick up subtle sounds for me, that I don't even hear! Good to know Poison Ivy and its variants...grows as a vine too. Raccoons in the woods are very interesting to see...not so much in our backyard...haha. Thanks for watching.

[@isleofbutebyjohnwilliams6783]

Kathleen 😍 What a glorious springtime hike. The tranquil music, birdsong and light throughout this video were absolutely joyful. So gorgeous 😍 the nature footage you capture is exquisite. So many beautiful birds and wonderful wildlife spotted this week 😍 I love how unruffled birds of prey look while being mobbed by smaller birds, like they're saying "meh whatever" 😂😍 the wildflower and butterflies are absolutely gorgeous here at the moment and it's so lovely to see yours are too 😍😍😍 I know I've said before but I'm so excited at the prospect of potentially seeing a Turkey Vulture. What a magnificent looking bird 😍😍😍 not so excited at the potential temperatures and bugs though 😂 we were 18 degrees Celsius at the weekend and it felt too hot 🤣 but seriously very excited 🥰 Thank you so much for another wonderful hike Kathleen. An absolute pleasure to join you as always 💚 x

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Great to hear from you John! Glad you enjoyed stepping into our spring...wow, if 18 degrees is "hot", hang on to your hat with what you will experience here on your visit next month...might be a wee bit hotter, say 25 or 30 degrees! Yes, birds of prey seem to take it in stride when being mobbed...seems to give satisfaction though to Blue Jays or Crows when they "win" and the bigger bird flies off. I hope you get to see a Turkey Vulture. They're very common here. Most likely you will see one soaring in the sky, wings in a slight V shape, riding the wind thermals in search of dead stuff to eat. Thanks for joining me on this hike John!

[@isleofbutebyjohnwilliams6783]

@HikingWithKathleen I'm going to melt 😂 so excited though 😍💚 x

[@HikingWithKathleen]

@@isleofbutebyjohnwilliams6783 By the way, a great profile photo of you for your Channel. That's some serious camera lens you have. What camera are you using John?

[@isleofbutebyjohnwilliams6783]

@HikingWithKathleen I use the Nikon D7500 with the Nikon 200-500mm lens. That's been my bird and wildlife kit for quite a few years now. It's intermediate level but I do ok with it. I've always been happy with the results 😁

[@Rlaplante73]

What an awesome video for this week! The scenes were so tranquil and the quality of the camera lens showed the detail and beauty of everything. Poison Ivy, ooh the memories. I did a lot of hiking in my teen years and I contracted it once with a pretty serious reaction...it was miserable :( The music added in by Shannon set the mood perfectly, thanks!

[@HikingWithKathleen]

I'm glad you enjoyed this week's video and the images through the camera lens. It feels good to know that it fairly adequately captures what I am admiring in-person. Yes, Poison Ivy is definitely worthy of our attention so an allergic reaction doesn't join us on our outdoor adventures! Shannon was delighted by your enjoyment of her music tracks. Thanks so much for watching Richard.

[@susanjones161]

Loved, loved seeing that Blue Jay scare away the hawk. But why? Was the Jay protecting a nest and the hawk couldn't be bothered putting up with his shenanigans? Thanks for the poison ivy lesson...best one I've ever seen. I feel a lot safer now.

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Thanks Susan, for your kind comments. Glad the Poison Ivy ID was helpful and meaningful. For those who are allergic, it can be quite unpleasant. As for the Blue Jay, mobbing behaviour takes place to drive away predatory animals...birds or others...so they are not threatened. Likely it was the Jay's territory and potential predators are not welcomed there. Thanks for watching.

[@claudibiscotti4710]

Where is this, the forest is inviting, love all the different green colours, I’m in Toronto 🌞🌻surprise ending, love the grandness of the Turkey vulture ❤️

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Claudi, I hike about 3 or 4 different trails for each week's video, to be able to capture the wildlife and beautiful scenery you see. All of today's trails were in the London, ON area. Thanks for sharing where you are watching from. I just love Turkey Vultures and their piercing glances when I stop to film them...haha.

[@claudibiscotti4710]

@@HikingWithKathleen Thank you🌞, I’m in Toronto, and when I go to Rockwood, Guelph area, I see Turkey vultures in the conservation area and on the highway. In downtown Toronto I have a birds eye view from my balcony of some beautiful hawks and tons of sweet friendly pigeons. I just ordered some Binoculars for bird watching, thanks for the adventures.🌞🌻🍎

[@HikingWithKathleen]

@@claudibiscotti4710 That's excellent that you are getting binoculars. From your balcony, I bet there will be so many more birds you can now admire in the treetops and on buildings. Guelph is a beautiful area. We're lucky in ON, we have so many natural areas to visit...but it's getting harder and harder to find ones away from the sound of traffic. Thanks for watching!

[@birdwatcherjean6293]

Beautiful walk today :) and yikes "poison ivy" - I got it bad in Pinery and for the following 7 years afterwards (Dr says it was from breathing the poison ivy pollen from the forest behind my home every spring after having it so bad in Pinery). Then all of a sudden it stopped, thank goodness, maybe I built up an immunity? Love the spring flowers and plethora of bird songs. Thx for the tip on the app. Have a great week.

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Yes, Pinery has lots of PI for sure. Our body's physiology changes which may be why you no longer are allergic...yay! Glad to hear you enjoyed the sights and sounds in this one and the Merlin app is always on hand for my hikes. It's so helpful! Thanks for watching Jean.

[@Susanking484]

Lovely video and hike. I was just thinking to myself the other day….I wonder if Kathleen will describe the identification of poison ivy and here it is. I’m highly allergic to poison ivy and I didn’t know about the identifier with the 3 stems off the leaves. Very helpful and thank you.

[@HikingWithKathleen]

Hi Susan, Glad you enjoyed that video. One thing I forgot to include about PI is that our body's physiology changes over our lifetime...so folks like me, who've never been allergic should not keep testing that theory because we could become allergic to it one day. So I would think the same may be true for those like you, whereby your allergic response may wane over time...but again, I wouldn't test that theory. I hope we can all avoid contact with that plant, this growing season!