Today was an unbelievable day for birding at Palmer Lake Park! I have 5 photos to post today -which is a lot- and 3 of those 5 are completely new species that I've never photographed before! And in addition to what I'm posting, I spotted so many more that I just want to name them all here just for record keeping purposes: Tree Swallow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Gray Catbird, Black and White Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue Jay, American Redstart, White-crowned Sparrow, American Crow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Great Blue Heron, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Mallard, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Yellow Warbler, American Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Barn Swallow, Green Heron, Downy Woodpecker, AND two or three unidentified birds to boot! I also distinctly heard White-throated Sparrows, Pheasants and possibly spotted a Brown Thrasher later.
It was a landmark date that I should really put on my calendar for next year. The first bird of interest I posting here is a Black and White Warbler, something I'm familiar with from my field guides but can't honestly say I've seen before -much less photographed. I can see why it's so easy to overlook this member of the Warbler family as their streaked color and small size can look like nothing much from a distance. I believe this one is a male because of the extra black coloring around the eye, not to mention that he was singing to beat-the-band.
My next photo is of a bird I've spotted only once or twice before -but always in the same spot of the park. I've seen -and heard- these Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers before but have never been able to catch a shot until today. Despite all that I saw today this was my favorite sighting by far. They are fantastically colored Woodpeckers with a beautiful pattern that connects a yellow streak on their shoulder to the white stripe under their eye. They also make an incredible noise that I think is strangely similar to a Ring-billed Gull. Later I spotted a small, rather bland looking bird perched in some shrubs along the inside of the trail.
I noticed it had a rather distinct looking striping along it's head so I paid attention and followed it until it hopped right out onto the paved trail. I think I identified it right away as a White-crowned Sparrow though again I can't say I've ever seen, much less photographed one. For a brand-new bird (to me) I was happy that it stayed fairly close and just sort of followed along ahead of me on the edge of the paved trail. It eventually went into the grass, pulling at some Dandelion flowers when I started getting the best shots. I got an even closer shot than this but unfortunately it didn't show the "white crown" for which it is named. As I entered the thick areas on the southeast side, the woods were just bursting with the sound of birds. Right away I spotted a Yellow Warbler and I was really excited to see my first one this year! In fact they were all over the place, singing loudly and I tried to remember and repeat their sound out loud by whistling.
As I repeated the phrase and tone that I thought I'd heard, I looked up only to see a totally different bird making that same noise. This time it was an American Redstart -also a member of the Warbler family and quite difficult in my opinion to get photos of. It was a bit on the dark side today with the light and now that I was under the canopy of the trees it was not helping either. Regardless, I was able to see one and photograph it, which is no small accomplishment in my book! As I continued I realized that the Redstarts and Yellow Warblers were both in the same area and it was fairly difficult to tell them apart merely from their songs. I used my Birds of Minnesota Audio CD -played on my iphone- to try and help but the noises of the actual birds in the area made it difficult to decipher between the two.
Quite a few Yellow Warblers would periodically fly out from under the tree canopy to land in another spot and this was the best way spot them and get my camera on them. These Yellow Warblers are beautiful birds when you get to see them and their singing is just as beautiful. They're not quite the same yellow color as a Goldfinch and I would describe them as a deeper, richer and more orangy-yellow, with no black patches like the Goldfinch. The only other coloring they have is some rusty-orange streaking on their breast. Later I spotted yet another small bird with some striking yellow coloring -a Common Yellowthroat that I wasn't able to get great photos of. I expect to see many more of them this summer but it was a perfect end to my walk today -and added a 4th Warbler sighting in just one day!
It was a landmark date that I should really put on my calendar for next year. The first bird of interest I posting here is a Black and White Warbler, something I'm familiar with from my field guides but can't honestly say I've seen before -much less photographed. I can see why it's so easy to overlook this member of the Warbler family as their streaked color and small size can look like nothing much from a distance. I believe this one is a male because of the extra black coloring around the eye, not to mention that he was singing to beat-the-band. 
My next photo is of a bird I've spotted only once or twice before -but always in the same spot of the park. I've seen -and heard- these Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers before but have never been able to catch a shot until today. Despite all that I saw today this was my favorite sighting by far. They are fantastically colored Woodpeckers with a beautiful pattern that connects a yellow streak on their shoulder to the white stripe under their eye. They also make an incredible noise that I think is strangely similar to a Ring-billed Gull. Later I spotted a small, rather bland looking bird perched in some shrubs along the inside of the trail. 
I noticed it had a rather distinct looking striping along it's head so I paid attention and followed it until it hopped right out onto the paved trail. I think I identified it right away as a White-crowned Sparrow though again I can't say I've ever seen, much less photographed one. For a brand-new bird (to me) I was happy that it stayed fairly close and just sort of followed along ahead of me on the edge of the paved trail. It eventually went into the grass, pulling at some Dandelion flowers when I started getting the best shots. I got an even closer shot than this but unfortunately it didn't show the "white crown" for which it is named. As I entered the thick areas on the southeast side, the woods were just bursting with the sound of birds. Right away I spotted a Yellow Warbler and I was really excited to see my first one this year! In fact they were all over the place, singing loudly and I tried to remember and repeat their sound out loud by whistling. 
As I repeated the phrase and tone that I thought I'd heard, I looked up only to see a totally different bird making that same noise. This time it was an American Redstart -also a member of the Warbler family and quite difficult in my opinion to get photos of. It was a bit on the dark side today with the light and now that I was under the canopy of the trees it was not helping either. Regardless, I was able to see one and photograph it, which is no small accomplishment in my book! As I continued I realized that the Redstarts and Yellow Warblers were both in the same area and it was fairly difficult to tell them apart merely from their songs. I used my Birds of Minnesota Audio CD -played on my iphone- to try and help but the noises of the actual birds in the area made it difficult to decipher between the two. 
Quite a few Yellow Warblers would periodically fly out from under the tree canopy to land in another spot and this was the best way spot them and get my camera on them. These Yellow Warblers are beautiful birds when you get to see them and their singing is just as beautiful. They're not quite the same yellow color as a Goldfinch and I would describe them as a deeper, richer and more orangy-yellow, with no black patches like the Goldfinch. The only other coloring they have is some rusty-orange streaking on their breast. Later I spotted yet another small bird with some striking yellow coloring -a Common Yellowthroat that I wasn't able to get great photos of. I expect to see many more of them this summer but it was a perfect end to my walk today -and added a 4th Warbler sighting in just one day!
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