We have a nature preserve basically in our backyard and in the almost year we’ve lived here I have never been down there. One of my co-workers has been there a lot bird watching and taking photos. He had been there and told me he saw a fox and a beaver. So the next day I headed over there to finally check it out.

I got down there and it was pretty cool! I saw a lot of birds. There was a lot of chirping. I saw a lot of geese and ducks. On the other side of the reserve I saw some swan but couldn’t get around there in time as the sun was setting. I took a few pictures of some of those birds and then took a few pictures of the foliage.

I decided to head up the hill and go to the spot my co-worker said he saw the fox. I stood there for a while and the sun was about to set. I turned around to head home and out of the corner of my eye I caught something on the path. And sure enough it was the fox! He was right in the middle of the trail and the sun was just beaming orange on him. I had a chance to snap off a couple of photos and then he slowly turned around and headed down the hill.

I went back the next day to see if I could get closer to the swan. It was pouring raining but I went anyway. Jaelee came with me. We saw the swan and luckily they were pretty close. I got a few pictures of them and after we were soaking wet we headed home.

I went back a week later with my co-worker and he let me borrow a lens of his. I didn’t get any great photos but we had a lot of fun. There was about a dozen other photographers there taking photos of birds. Most of them had some serious equipment. We had lens envy. They were all so friendly though. We talked with most of them and they were all really knowledgeable about the birds. It was fascinating and something I could see myself getting into.