I’m lucky enough to work at a place where there is a small wild area with a circular trail running along the outer edge. The entire tail takes about five minutes to walk, but at least it’s something.

For such a small area, there are varied habitats such a meadow, woods, thickets, stream and a very small pond. I’ve seen wildlife such as deer, garter and water snakes, wild turkeys, Canada geese, hooded mergansers and a variety of songbirds. I’m sure there are otters, minks, muskrats and plenty of other critters that I haven’t been lucky enough to see yet.

The other day, I took a short break and visited the area. I heard a yellow warbler in the thickets, and a few goldfinches flitted among the meadow. Then I heard a song I did not recognize in a tree overhead. I launched my Merlin app, and it identified the songster as an orchard oriole. That made sense because I have seen orchard orioles in the area before.