As the weather is warming up, we’ve been hitting the trails more and more.  Of course, we hike all year round, but it’s certainly easier to get boots on the ground when the weather is nice.  But I’ve been getting a little tired of hitting the same old spots over and over again, so we’ve been on the hunt for some new haunts – and that’s what led us to check out Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge a few weeks ago.

It was a relatively short drive from our new place, but not short enough – the power of the car nap is strong with this one.

Once we got the littles loaded up in their respective carriers, we found the trailhead easily.  Green grass and some buds on the bushes was a sight for sore eyes!

The focal point of the wildlife refuge is a big expanse of wetlands – my favorite!  We enjoyed seeing the migratory birds who are already beginning to arrive for the season, including crowds of red-winged blackbirds.  I love them, not least because I can identify them easily.

I pulled out the big camera and the zoom lens and tried to do a little birding.  Alas, I didn’t get any really good shots.  But we did see the aforementioned blackbirds, and some gulls, ducks and geese.  We were really hoping to see eagles, since Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is an eagle habitat.  We saw one structure that we thought might be an eagle’s nest, but the tree in which it was perched was all the way across the wetlands, so we weren’t close enough to confirm.  And no eagles – bummer.  Guess we’ll just have to go back.

We had a lovely morning exploring the wildlife refuge.  As we were winding down our hike, we started seeing more and more people on the trail, mountain biking, jogging and walking – which I love.  It’s always good to see others out enjoying our beautiful natural spaces.

We loved Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge!  It was a great, flat, scenic hike – as family-friendly as it gets.  I think that as the weather continues to warm up, it will only get better, with more and more birds and animals coming out of hiding.  Expect to see more visits chronicled here in the coming months!

Anyone else been hitting the trails recently?