Mountain Hiking

Walden Ponds

As you follow Boulder Creek east of 55th Street, it is hard to imagine the land as it was only 50 years ago. Then, the creek flowed through prairie (and farm and pasture). There were grasses and shrubs—no marshes, ponds, or reservoirs. Now, there are bodies of water by the dozens, of all sizes, cheek to cheek, one after the other, down the shallow valley. 

Walden Ponds, just north of Valmont Drive and west of 75th Street, were shaped out of old gravel pits that had been excavated to provide material during extensive road building that occurred during the 1950s and '60s. The basic structure of these ponds is not natural, with squared corners and straight dikes in between, but the years have softened the edges with wetland, trees, and myriad wildlife.

 From the trailhead at the southeastern edge of this area, about 3 miles of trails and boardwalk let you wander around and among five ponds, with marsh at the edges, little gravel bars in the shallow depths, and a few larger islands. 

Apparently, on the day we visited, it was Migration Day, and birders were scattered all along the shoreline, even in mid-afternoon. We were thumbing through our guidebook looking for a nervously skittish, sandpiper-like bird when a nearby watcher whispered to us, "Try Wilson's Phalarope." 

We heard others talking about an unexpected Northern Phalarope, Shovelers, and an Osprey. We saw Common Grackles, Canada Geese, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Avocets, Gadwalls, Blue-Winged and Cinnamon Teal, Barn and Tree Swallows, and a Least Tern that dove and hit the water with a splash. At one point, I found myself at eye-level with a Red-winged Blackbird about ten feet away, perched on a reed. He trilled his liquid warble and vibrated his closed wings. His "shoulder" patches quivered bushy and bright scarlet. I thought, yes, that could be intimidating.