Close encounters on a cold day

It was exactly zero degrees when I arrived at the park this morning and I really wasn't expecting to see much. I'd brought my snowshoes with and planned to just carry them with me until I reached the north east side and look for antler sheds. I'd only walked about 500 feet down the paved trail when a jogger tipped me off to a Coyote that was just inside the trail. I chatted with him for mere seconds before parting ways in hopes of spotting him. I decided to keep going until I hit the next wood chip trail where you can see out a bit further. There I spotted him moving off in the distance and immediately got out my camera. He was quite far away and moving, and suddenly I lost him. I began taking long distance pics right where I'd last seen him and upon looking at the preview on my camera screen, realized he was still there -just sitting motionless on his hind legs. After a minute or so he trotted out into the field, presenting a few more good photo opportunities whenever he wasn't blocked by Cattails. He made his way into the next section of woods on the south west side, so figured I'd cut through there on the next wood chip trail. I was still carrying my snowshoes when all of sudden he darted right out in front of me across the trail! He circled half way around me in the thick brush, then stopped abruptly and went back the same way. By this time I'd chucked my snowshoes on the ground and had my camera ready and waiting. I was focusing on the trail about 50 some feet ahead of me, and luckily he popped out again, crossing in nearly the same spot heading the other way. It was quite exciting, being one of the closest -and definitely the longest- encounter I've had with a Coyote! When I finally got to the opposite side of the park, I strapped on my snowshoes and walked up the drainage ditch where I've seen so many Deer this season. The furthest side of the ditch has these enormous trees that had been toppled by strong winds years ago and pulled up huge chunks of earth in their roots. It's kind a sheltered, low place which is probably the Deer are attracted to it. It wasn't long until I spotted a couple of Deer, then more, then more and more. Before even getting to the end, I'd seen 12 of them! Most had white faces from searching for food under the snow. The snow flurries in the air were also picking up and coating their backs as I was taking photos. As I hiked back on the frozen ditch itself, there were groups of deer up on either side of the bank staring down at me. I felt like I really invaded their territory as probably not too many people venture into this area -except for maybe in the winter. Of the 12 deer I saw, not one of them had antlers -and some of them really looked like they might be a Buck. In this last photo, see if you can spot the fourth Deer!

Large Hawk and Eleven Deer

I used my day off from work this Tuesday to get in an extra park visit this week. There was a fresh new 8" of snow on the ground from Sunday & Monday and the temps had also dropped again. There was also evidence of some strong winds as a large dead tree had snapped off and crushed part of the chain link fence surrounding the baseball fields. The first thing I noticed though was a large Hawk perched high above the open water on the south west corner. He seemed to be watching the Mallards below him but I'm not sure if it was out of hunger or what. He was certainly large enough to take one out if he wanted. He had to be near 2 feet tall which is one the main reasons I think it's a Red-tailed Hawk. I'm a bit unsure so if you disagree please let me know. After crossing the bridge on the north side I spotted four Deer way off in the distance near some townhomes. They were busy searching for food and were mostly spread out until three of them came closer together. This would be the first group of many more that I'd spot as I made my way around. On the north side I spotted two more, a Doe and a Buck -STILL holding on to a nice set of eight points. He stayed real still back behind some thick brush as the Doe went about her business. Upon glancing over my shoulder, there were five more on the other side of the trail! I turned by interest to this group who upon seeing me gathered momentum and quickly darted across the trail away from me. I tried to get some pics of them in mid-air jumping over the high snowbanks but they were already too far away.

Startin' to snow again

Once again, all the talk has been about how much snow we're supposed to get in the next couple of days. And as usual, the predictions just keep increasing. The last one I heard before arriving at the park today was 13 inches! The paved trails were still clear and dry but the overcast sky certainly did look like change is on the way. On the west side there were lots of Cardinals bouncing around in the trees. I love how bright red they are -especially on days like today- so I'm constantly trying for a better photo of one. They were pretty active today so the best photo I got was this one from the back. When I got to the north side, the snow started falling lightly but gradually picked up as I went on. The park was quiet all around until I heard a familiar sound of a Pileated Woodpecker on the north east side. The more times I hear them, the more I think of a Chicken or Rooster or something. Maybe I'm just imagining that. I finally did spot her, quite far away and high up in a dead tree. It's hard to tell from this far but I'd say it's a female due to the black "moustache." Since my first sighting of a Northern Shrike, I think I've actually spotted them a couple more times. It's hard to say for sure because again, I'm seeing them at great distances. However, from this, I may have learned a characteristic to help clue me in. In almost all my possible Shrike sightings, I usually spot them perched at the very tip-top, highest possible point of the tree -even if that's on the tiniest twig. I would imagine this helps their vantage point for hunting. So when I saw a bird in this position again today, I snapped a couple of pics before he flew off. Again it's hard to tell from such a distance but he sure looks similar to my photo from the 5th of February!

Surprises on Saturday

Since the last time I visited the park, most of MN had experienced some unusually warm temps for the middle of February. For close to a week, high temps remained in the 40's and even reached over 50 one day! Tons of snow have melted and you can even see the ground in some places again. The paved paths around the park were for the most part melted off and even dry today, making for easy walking again. Just after I rounded the south west corner, I spotted something in a tree only about 15 feet above the trail. At first I thought it was plastic bag until I looked closer and realized it was a Hawk. He was really close to the trail so I stayed back, trying to find a good photo angle that didn't have branches in the way. As I slowly inched closer I could really see a lot of detail in his markings and realized it was not the same type of Hawk I typically see at the park. He had a rich gray, almost blue color on his back and distinct dark bands on his tail. Eventually I got closer than I would have ever expected and snapped a couple of photos showing his bright red eyes. I had a suspicion that it was a Cooper's Hawk and after getting home and reading my field guide I think I am correct. The round shape of the tail feathers are apparently one of the few features that distinguish it from a Sharp-shinned Hawk. There were a ton of other birds out today and even the Robins were active. Maybe the warm temps last week got them thinking spring. I snapped a photo of this one eating berries off the trees. So for anyone who still thinks Robins only eat worms, here is proof of how they can survive a Minnesota winter. On the north side I got a big surprise when a group of 8 Deer popped into view walking towards me through the woods. To my amazement, 4 of the 8 were Bucks who still had their antlers! This breaks a number of records in my book -the most Bucks I've ever seen together, and definitely the latest in the season I've spotted antlers. When they spotted me, they started moving quicker into thick woods so I had to turn around and follow them, the way I'd just came from. I really wanted to get a pic with all 4 Bucks but they'd gotten too far away and too split up, so this is the best one I got. I've already been looking for antler sheds a few times this year but now I think I'd be best to wait until the end of February.

Long Sunday hike

Today was Superbowl Sunday and another typical Minnesota Winter day. I feel like I haven't seen the sun in weeks now because it seriously only clears up during the work week -while I'm stuck inside the office. I might have discovered where the Mink went as I noticed a whole bunch of small cat-like footprints on the frozen water on the southwest side. When I went to take a photo of the tracks, I realized I forgot my memory card! Luckily I had a spare in my camera case but it was super small and would hold only 16 photos. On the north side I noticed one deer way back in the woods near the town homes bordering the park. I decided to walk into the woods upon finding a nicely worn Deer path and headed directly toward him. As I got closer I could see that there were four of them, two Does and two Fawns. They were in some pretty thick stuff and stayed more or less in single file, likely due to the deep snow and the narrow path they had. The Deer trail worn into the deep snow split off in many directions but would often merge back with the main trunk. With all the activity I soon began to think that it might be a good place to look for shed Antlers. So I found myself on quite a long hike following the weaving trails that took me to some places of the park I've never ventured before. The trails were narrow but packed down enough to hold even my weight. However, if I accidentally planted my foot just inches off the trail, my leg would go crashing through the snow up to my waist! When I eventually made it back onto the paved path, I heard an Owl calling from a close distance. I looked behind me to realize I'd hiked right past him, probably because I was focusing more on the trail. He was pretty close so I trudged right through some untrodden snow to get closer. This proved to be pretty difficult as I was again up to my waist in snow with every step. He was facing the opposite way at first but eventually turned around to face me. As he did so I caught a closer display of their large talons than I've ever witnessed before. It's no wonder they can scoop up small mammals as they almost have hooks on the end of their feet.

Foggy February and Northern Shrike!

I arrived at the park around 11am today and it definitely felt warmer than it has been. I almost set off without my hood-scarf but decided to take it with me just in case. There was a damp fog hanging in the air and much of the park was covered in a thin coating of hoarfrost. On the west side before turning the corner to head north, I spotted a bird that caught my attention for two reasons. It was colored like a Chickadee, but was much too large. Also it seemed to have an unusually large head. He was super far away in the top of a tree and stupidly I'd forgotten my binoculars. Just for the heck of it, I zoomed in as far as my camera would go and figured I'd get a better look on my computer. To my surprise it was the elusive Northern Shrike I'd been trying to capture all winter! If you're wondering why this is such an exciting sight, you should visit this link. There wasn't much to see after this but for a handful of Deer who were far away and behind thick brush thus preventing a photo. I was surprised but for the latter half of my walk, the frost stayed put on the trees and shrubs. Many times hoarfrost quickly melts away after the morning temps warm up, but the temps today must have stayed just low enough. I paused a number of times where the brush was close to the path and I could try some closeup shots. I pulled off a bunch of it with my hand, expecting it to feel like sharp ice but instead it was more like soft, crystalline snowflakes.