Walking around the city

On weekends, my dad and I like to take walks around the city. We do not just admire the architecture of beautiful old buildings, squares, flower beds. We are in a hurry to meet with representatives of the fauna that live in our city.

In the hydropark, for example, you can see a beaver. We walk along the river bank, overgrown with willows and thick reeds. Beavers feel safe here, but it's not easy to see them. We sit down on the trunk of a fallen tree and wait. A strong splash. But it's clearly not a fish. Along the shore, in the water, almost merging with it, a beaver swims almost a meter long. He cuts through the water like a torpedo, suddenly dives and disappears from sight. From here, our route lies to another corner of the city.

There is a swampy area not far from the motor transport company. The marsh harrier lives here. It is a bird of prey, with grayish-white plumage. Dad says that the harrier feeds on rodents and insects. The place is deserted here, there are almost no residential buildings, so the bird feels safe. The habitat of the harrier is considered a protected area.
A large park overlooks the avenue where we live. You don't have to go far into it to see the squirrels. We bring them seeds and nuts. They say that squirrels can take treats right out of their hands, but they are still afraid of us. We put the nuts on the stump in the same place and move away.

And so, in a few jumps, the squirrel reaches the stump, grabs a nut and flies up to the nearest birch tree. Then another squirrel appears — and the same thing repeats. One day we witnessed a quarrel between a squirrel and magpies. It was not related to the food brought. It was just that the animal and the birds were figuring out something of their own.