On mosts days throughout the summer, I start my day with a walk at a local nature preserve. It's a scenic route that winds along the edge of a 115-acre lake—a lake that only a few decades ago was the site of a massive gravel quarry. Now after meticulous restoration, the abandonned quarry is a thriving blend of habitats that provides much needed space for the area's wildlife. Generous rolling hills covered by native prairie grasses and wildflowers frame the lake. In the distance, the grasses melt into a mixed decidious forest of oaks, maples, and the occasional birch.

I usually walk the same direction around the lake each day to minimize the time spent squinting into the rising sun. If I take an easterly direction, a conveniently placed ridge of hills hides the sun from my eyes as I turn into the rising sun on the last half of my walk, a benefit I miss out on if I take a westerly route. On a normal day, I can guess what wildlife I'll encounter based on where I am on my route. A pair of eastern bluebirds is always near the nestbox located at the far northeast end of the lake. A great blue heron is usually standing motionless in the reeds near the bridge, just beyond the bluebirds. And the grasshoppers are always popping off of the path as I round the northern edge of the lake.

But today everything was different. I arrived at the lake in the late afternoon. The sun was sinking in the sky so I decided to walk around in the opposite direction. I was surprised at all the wildlife I had been missing. I spotted a cluster of turtles piled on a rock warming themselves. Fish flopped in the shallow water at the edge of the lake as they captured their dinner. A female bob-o-link stared at me from a clump of asters that had recently started to bloom. By simply changing my perspective and walking the same route in a different way at a different time of day, I was able to look at a familiar landscape in a slightly new way.

So if (like me) you have been looking at the same old spot of wilderness day after day and haven't seen anything new in a while, you may consider trying a few simple things to gain new perspective and possibly spot something that you haven't noticed before:

• follow a different route
• visit at a different time of day
• visit at different time of year
• explore just one square meter of habitat
• take along a pair of binoculars to scan a large area
• take a recording device to capture sounds you may have been missing
• if you usually watch birds, look for insects or plants or mammal tracks

Do you have any recommendations for ways to look at familiar habitats in new ways?

Photo © Laura Klappenbach. The female bob-o-link I spotted on my reverse-route walk.