Snowshoeing and birding at Gilsland Farm

On our adventure to the Audubon Center we decided that snowshoeing is really just a means of transport. It's not really the adventure itself. Given the choice, my crew would much rather have the speed of cross country skis because snowshoeing is just not that ... entertaining. Plus the fact that even though each of us has a different brand of snowshoes, we always seem to spend way too much time adjusting the bindings on them while we're on a trail (the strap around our boots constantly falls off). We do however have a few ideas to deal with this that require a few minor adjustments (and some old shoelaces) for next time. But the girls are still certain that cross country skiing is always the method of choice for our winter adventures. Even with the less than exciting snowshoes, we had a nice hike around Gilsland Farm. It truly was a glorious afternoon (we went last Thursday).

And as L. often does, she made our trek through the fields a lot more interesting. There was a bit of hill rolling and snow angel making (with a bit of snow eating thrown in from G).

Snow angel making, with a twist (the end of this video is the real gem)


 

Hill Rolling in crusty snow not so easy, but G. says it tastes good



After our walk through the woods and fields, we didn't have much luck spotting any birds (it's hard to be stealth on a pair of snowshoes) so we headed back to the bird feeders behind the Visitor's Center and parked ourselves in the snow. We saw plenty of birds there and L. had her Bird Identiflyer (I explain the Identiflyer here) and Peterson's Guide to help her identify the various birds. G. didn't care so much about identifying the birds as she did about photographing them (I know I'm her mom but I think her developing photography skills are coming right along). About an hour later, with soaking wet snow pants and frozen butts, we called it a day.  

Birding


 

Gilsland Farm is a great place to take little ones on an adventure in winter (or any time of year). The trails are well marked and the Visitor's Center offers snowshoe rentals for kids and adults ($3-5) so it can make for a nice introduction to winter (and early spring) hiking - and birding - for families with young children.