Well this Spring has certainly been going by quickly. Earlier in the season I realized I'd be coming up on my 3rd year of (regular) walks at the park and blogging about what I'd seen. I'm amazed at everything I've learned in such a short time -and mostly on my own with the help of my camera and a lot of patience. I always tell people that I had to learn all the Minnesota birds in high school science class and that I'd long forgotten them. I can truthfully say know that I've re-learned them all and then some. There's even birds that I would now call common to the park area that are not included in my "Minnesota" specific field guide - a telling story that you need more than one good field guide to most subjects.
Something I was happy to get a photo of early into my walk today was this Green Heron on the south side. Seems like they were more plentiful in the park in past seasons and this might be only my first or second photo of one this year. You rarely get to see their weird ugly feet as they are usually standing in water. Only a short while later I had the great opportunity to observe photograph an American Redstart at a closer distance than ever before. I've you every tried to photograph this flitty little Warbler before, you'll know why it is so hard.
They are quite common at the park and becoming all the more familiar to me the more I see -and hear- them. I've come to recognize their very high pitches whistle now and get my camera ready before I even see them. I've quite proud of this photo here but realize that it took me exactly 3 years to get it! I won't quit after this though and I don't think I'll ever tire of the challenge in photographing these quick moving Warblers. Only a bit further on the south side I remembered the area where I'd watched the Least Flycatcher building a nest. I tracked down the particular branch and found a completed nest -and with the female sitting in it! What a find I thought as I snapped a few pics before moving on so as not to disturb her.
I remember the male being overly cautious and not even approaching the nest area while I was watching so I didn't want to make it seem like I knew where it was and would be back often. The nest itself was unique in that it seemed to be made entirely of cottonwood seed and other soft material rather than sticks.
Something I was happy to get a photo of early into my walk today was this Green Heron on the south side. Seems like they were more plentiful in the park in past seasons and this might be only my first or second photo of one this year. You rarely get to see their weird ugly feet as they are usually standing in water. Only a short while later I had the great opportunity to observe photograph an American Redstart at a closer distance than ever before. I've you every tried to photograph this flitty little Warbler before, you'll know why it is so hard. 
They are quite common at the park and becoming all the more familiar to me the more I see -and hear- them. I've come to recognize their very high pitches whistle now and get my camera ready before I even see them. I've quite proud of this photo here but realize that it took me exactly 3 years to get it! I won't quit after this though and I don't think I'll ever tire of the challenge in photographing these quick moving Warblers. Only a bit further on the south side I remembered the area where I'd watched the Least Flycatcher building a nest. I tracked down the particular branch and found a completed nest -and with the female sitting in it! What a find I thought as I snapped a few pics before moving on so as not to disturb her. 
I remember the male being overly cautious and not even approaching the nest area while I was watching so I didn't want to make it seem like I knew where it was and would be back often. The nest itself was unique in that it seemed to be made entirely of cottonwood seed and other soft material rather than sticks.
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