Recently, I took Clara on an educational (and frugal) field trip to Hawk Mountain, a wildlife sanctuary open to the public year-round. It was a fantastic way to spend a beautiful Autumn afternoon! There is a modest trail fee, which is totally worth it, but Clara was free since she falls into the 3 years old or younger category — an added bonus!
We packed up a picnic lunch, binoculars, camera, reusable water bottles and a few snacks, and set off on our bird-watching adventure! The two of us enjoyed all the different lookout points along the trail. It was so scenic, and we started to spot birds almost immediately after starting out on the trail!
We hiked all the way to the top of the mountain!! Here we are not even close to the halfway point…
For a three year old, this trail is quite rugged, but Clara was totally up for the challenge, and could not wait to see what the view from the top would be like!
View from the top…. Right about here was when Clara declared, “This is totally awesome!!!!”
…and then we were treated to mother nature’s air show!
We spotted SO many awesome birds! Clara could not WAIT to tell Mark and Emily all about it, ((Emily was soooooo jealous!) and Clara was SO proud of herself for making it all the way to the top and back — so exciting!!
Bird-watching is such a fun, frugal, and very educational activity to try with the kiddos. In some cases, it’s great exercise too!
