In an effort to check out another state park that offers the use of the all terrain wheelchairs, I attended a spring bird watching event at Radnor Lake early one Wednesday morning. They typically last from 7:30-11:30 and folks can come and go at their leisure.
What types of birds might you see while you’re there? Here are just a few of the possibilities:
- Acadian Fly Catchers
- Eastern Wood Pee Wee Birds
- Eastern King Birds
- Red Summer Tanagers
- Blue Herons
Another interesting thing I learned on this outing is if you hear a bird sing but you don’t know what kind of bird it is there’s an App for that called Merlin!
I also learned that I can take a picture of a plant or a tree with my phone, then hit the little leaf symbol and my phone will identify the plant! Now that’s what I call a “smart phone!”
Sadly, even with binoculars I didn’t see much of anything. Thankfully there were others who did, and they were more than happy to share their photos with me — people like Lorraine Brown.
Harold Abromowitz shared a picture of a Blue Heron (it looked like something out of National Geographic) with the stipulation that I not take credit for it. I assured him that no one who knows me and my abilities with a camera would EVER believe I took that picture!
Another young man (I didn’t get his name), shared a picture he’d gotten in the past of an eaglet at the waters edge. Sadly the most recent eaglet eggs failed to hatch.
As usual, I met interesting people along the way including Fred from Florida, Jerry from the Massachusetts/Connecticut area who upon seeing the all-terrain wheelchair was on the phone with his local government officials saying, “We’ve got to find a way to get these in our parks!”
Lane, a local guy, was also impressed by the wheelchair asking if he could take a picture. I thought, hey, isn’t that my line?
He went on to say his dad, a true outdoorsman, had suffered a stoke and was depressed because he couldn’t enjoy the outdoors like he had before — problem solved!
Other locals include Steve and his lovely wife who was filming for Nashville Public Television (NPT). They told me about their friend Will Ferrell (not the comedian) who also used these special wheelchairs. In fact, he was coming the very next day!
John Noel is on the Board of Directors of TruGreen, the company that sponsored a hike-a-thon I wrote an article about in this publication, and ultimately what’s led to my exploring the parks that offer the use of the all-terrain wheelchairs.
I even met a young man from Israel! He is here for work to install some type of sensors for Labcorp.
All that being said, my initial visit DID NOT initially go as planned.
Early on in the excursion, the wheelchair I’d come to check out kept malfunctioning eventually requiring that it be pushed back to where I’d started the day with me on it. How embarrassing!
Thankfully they had another all terrain wheelchair available for me to use. This one had tires like a tank!
After a much needed break, and a mini meltdown in the ladies room, I once again attempted to explore the park.
My next stop was the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center, where they care for injured birds with the ultimate goal of returning them to the wild. However, some have sustained injuries that prevent that, therefore the aviary is now their permanent home.
So what will you see there? Currently it is home to a Great Horned Owl, a Red Tail Hawk, a Black Vulture, a Bald Eagle and a Golden Eagle. (Occupants subject to change.)
It is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. The walk up is quite a trek, even able-bodied individuals were eyeballing the all-terrain wheelchair, making comments like, “Man, I need that!” or “I’m going to need that before I leave from here!”
Knowing I wasn’t having the best day up to this point, the park rangers started getting the birds out of their enclosures so I could get an up close and personal look at these magnificent creatures, and a few pictures too. Now that was super cool!
If you get a chance, you should come and see this place for yourself, then spread the word. Tennessee State Parks have a lot of fun things to see and do, so if you can’t get to this one, then find one near you!
*It should be noted that ALL of this was made possible by the hard working employees who went above and beyond to make sure I had The Best time on each of my adventures while at their facilities! Thank you SO much for ALL your hard work!