This Saturday I didn't make it to the park until after 5:30 pm but that ended up to be a good thing. I saw a lot of good sights and took nearly 70 photos during my walk around the park! The first thing I spotted on the south end was an American Redstart who instead of being way up in the trees above me, was actually near the ground. When I first saw him he was sitting on a small log and seemed to have something in his beak. I approached very slowly so as not to spook him away too soon for this was quite a neat vantage point to see one so low.
I got a few pics before he did fly off but thankfully he didn't go to far -just across the trail and still at eye level. That is when I grabbed this shot and saw that he had a bright green insect -possibly a Mayfly or Damselfly. This was quite a neat thing and he was even perpendicular to me so I could see much of his bright orange coloring. I wish it would have turned out just a bit more sharp but oh well. I don't normally shoot a lot of flowers and plants -especially with my new camera because it doesn't do closeups well. But the lighting was so beautiful on these tiny purple flowers that I couldn't resist.
These are quite prolific in the park and they are often mixed in among the Cattails and Jewelweed. I've never really tried to figure out what they were until just now. Interestingly enough upon a search for "tiny purple flowers in Minnesota," I found their proper name explained by a fellow nature blogger. They are called "Blue Vervain" and are a member of the Verbena family. Thanks to
Ecobirder from St. Paul, Minnesota! After seeing more birds including Barn Swallows, Flickers and Cardinals, I spotted a much larger bird up ahead at the end of a dead branch among some Willows.
I could tell it was a Hawk of some kind as I slowly made my way around to his front for a better view. It was a mature Red-tailed Hawk and I had a great view of him as the sun made his rusty color even more vibrant. While I started taking pics, he decided to stretch and spread out his left wing which was kind of cool. After appearing to be so comfortable with me standing below him taking photos, I thought he might stick around longer but he did end up taking off shortly afterwards.
I got a few pics before he did fly off but thankfully he didn't go to far -just across the trail and still at eye level. That is when I grabbed this shot and saw that he had a bright green insect -possibly a Mayfly or Damselfly. This was quite a neat thing and he was even perpendicular to me so I could see much of his bright orange coloring. I wish it would have turned out just a bit more sharp but oh well. I don't normally shoot a lot of flowers and plants -especially with my new camera because it doesn't do closeups well. But the lighting was so beautiful on these tiny purple flowers that I couldn't resist. 
These are quite prolific in the park and they are often mixed in among the Cattails and Jewelweed. I've never really tried to figure out what they were until just now. Interestingly enough upon a search for "tiny purple flowers in Minnesota," I found their proper name explained by a fellow nature blogger. They are called "Blue Vervain" and are a member of the Verbena family. Thanks to Ecobirder from St. Paul, Minnesota! After seeing more birds including Barn Swallows, Flickers and Cardinals, I spotted a much larger bird up ahead at the end of a dead branch among some Willows. 
I could tell it was a Hawk of some kind as I slowly made my way around to his front for a better view. It was a mature Red-tailed Hawk and I had a great view of him as the sun made his rusty color even more vibrant. While I started taking pics, he decided to stretch and spread out his left wing which was kind of cool. After appearing to be so comfortable with me standing below him taking photos, I thought he might stick around longer but he did end up taking off shortly afterwards.
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