Palmer Lake Park Nature Blog

Lots to See

2012-01-28T13:14:00.004-06:00

Today felt just a tad bit more like a normal January day with some snow on the ground and a temperature of around 20 degrees. There was a stiff breeze leftover from yesterday and I my normal winter wear was actually appropriate today. By the time I'd gotten to the north side I hadn't seen a thing yet, so I paused for a while hoping to see something. As I scanned the field, I spotted 2 barely noticeable dark spots among the cattails. Upon closer look with my binoculars I realized they were Deer ears. Then to the left was another pair. These were the first Deer I'd seen in quite a while but they were quite content to be laying down and hiding out. I saw a large variety of wildlife today but didn't get to photograph everything. Here is my total list for the day; Deer, Mice, European Starling, Robin, Canada Geese, Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, Cardinal, Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Shrike. Of all the birds I spotted today, the one I least expected were the Mourning Doves. Though I think they can be found in the lower portion of the state all year, they're not necessarily in my list of common "winter birds" -at least at Palmer Lake anyway. I heard them fluttering upwards when I walked into the woods on the northeast side. There were at least 20 or more and this particular one presented me with a good photo opportunity. Later on the south side after crossing over the creek again, I heard a faint chirping call that I come to associate now with a Northern Shrike. I could hear it but couldn't place a visual for the longest time and started to think I was wrong in my assessment. But then he popped out of some thicker trees and into my field of view. Distance-wise this is probably the closest I've ever come to a Northern Shrike, but my view wasn't the greatest. I inched even closer but had to stop whenever I could pull off a photo through a small opening in the trees. In this picture I finally managed to capture the hooked beak that the Shrike uses to capture and rip apart it's prey, which can include insect, rodents and other birds. Apparently Chickadees are on the menu of the Northern Shrikes at Palmer Lake Park!

-5 degrees Towards Normal

2012-01-21T10:43:00.001-06:00

This winter has got to be the strangest I've experienced in my 30-some years of living in Minnesota. While January temperatures even in the 20s are generally considered mild by most Minnesotans, a good deal of this month has been in the 30s and sometimes in the 40s! Today however was much more in line with a typical January day at -5 degrees --and even that's not bad to be honest. The low temps must have been a bit of a shock to wildlife as well as there was just nothing moving around today. I saw only a few birds overall and the only one I managed to get a photo of was this Junco. Later as I came around the pond on the southwest side where the Ducks usually hang out, the open water was steaming up and creating a haze. The water was clearly warmer than the air temperature and the freezing moisture was coating the banks of the pond in a coat of icy frosting.

Monday Morning Mink

2012-01-16T13:21:00.001-06:00

I had an extra day off from work today for MLK Day so I visited the park just after 11am. It was colder than yesterday at around 27 degrees. After hearing reports of attempted vehicle thefts at my normal parking spot, I've changed to parking on the east side now. Going in my usual clockwise direction, I see the whole south end of the park first now. Only minutes after leaving my vehicle I was passing by the small pond south of the baseball diamonds and was amazed to see a critter pop his head out of a small hole in the ice near the shoreline. I was within mere feet when I spotted this protruding face and I hadn't even taken my camera out of the case yet! The animal saw me pretty quickly as well and darted back under. It's quick behavior, shape and color told me that it was a Mink and I was shocked to have gotten this close to one. I though to myself I'll never have a better photo opportunity of one so I decided to sit there and wait for him to reappear. I had to explain to a lot of passersby why I was standing there staring down at a frozen pond. I even told a few people what I had just seen and they looked at me kind of strange -either not knowing what a Mink was, or disbelieving that one would be in a city park. After about 20 minutes I was ready to give up and then he popped his head out once more. This time he didn't come out as far and kind of rested his head on the snow for a second. I slowly moved up my camera, took one shot and then he was gone again. It was one of only 7 photos I took during my entire walk -and quite a lucky one at that!

January Warm Front

2012-01-15T14:16:00.001-06:00

Following yesterday's cold temperature of just 10 degrees, today was above average at 34 degrees! On top of that it was clear, blue sky and it again feels more like early spring than mid January. I walked in the opposite direction today which proved to be a mistake as the sun was glaring my eyes the entire way and I had a hard time seeing anything. Despite that I did manage to spot a few interesting birds. The first was this House Sparrow on the east side near the baseball diamonds. I haven't been seeing a lot of them, though they are a common bird even through the winter. When I got home and looked at the photo closer, I noticed the green buds on the tree! Not sure if that is normal or if it's due to our unusually warm winter. Later I came across a small group of Starlings, probably less than 10 altogether. They were high up in some tall trees probably enjoying the sun. Though considered a kind of "nuisance" bird, I'm still intrigued by the wide range of sounds they can make. Near the end of my walk on the south side, I heard a bird that has become almost common to me now -a Northern Shrike. I first thought he was out in the cattails again but then I spotted him moving back and forth between some scrubby brush just above the cattails. I am going to have to tally up my Shrike sightings for this season just to see what it comes to. It seems like I am seeing them nearly every visit lately!

Coldest Walk So Far...

2012-01-14T12:37:00.003-06:00

This Saturday was only 10º when I arrived at the park around 10am. It seemed like a bit of a shock to nature as well as there wasn't much of anything happening. Though I know there are still Deer left after the special hunt this fall, I've not seen one for quite some time. Though cold today, it's not been cold for long enough to freeze all the water. Between the two furthest east bodies of water is "kind of" a creek that flows just enough to help keep it from freezing quickly. Here the Robins have taken up residence in much larger numbers this year versus last. Occasionally they will drop down to the water's edge for a drink or sometimes a quick bath. I'm still seeing a good variety of the "normal" winter birds including Chickadees, Juncos, Nuthatches and Starlings, although the Cardinals seem to be sparse as of late. Also seeing a good variety of Woodpeckers including Downy, Hairy (pictured), Red-bellied and even a nice big Pileated today. I heard the Pileated in the woods and went in closer for a photo but didn't manage to get one. As he flew off he had his back to me and I was able to see a quick flash of white strips on his wings.

Best Shrike Sighting To Date

2012-01-08T13:37:00.005-06:00

Only about a year ago, I considered my first Northern Shrike sighting a major achievement in my new found hobby of "birding." Those first few sightings, in dim snowy conditions and from long distances now pale in comparison to my experiences with Shrikes as of late. For a January day it was unbelievably warm and sunny today at 36 degrees. It was so nice that I just stood for a while in my favorite place in the park, where Shingle Creek flows back out of Palmer Lake. It was here that I noticed the Northern Shrike again in the same place -the same tree to be exact- where I'd seen him on the day after Christmas. With the creek separating us, he had no cause for alarm and just sat there for a long time singing out some beautiful songs more reminiscent of a Warbler. After a long while he changed perches a few times and then finally flew out into the cattails. True to form, he seemed to select only the tallest available cattail to perch upon and I was able to keep sight of him in this new and unfamiliar territory. He then disappeared down into the cattails but surprisingly came right back up to perch on another tall cattail stem. This was repeated a few times and I was hoping to see him come up with something in his beak but neither he or I were so lucky. The warm temps and sunny skies always seem to bring out the birds and later I spotted a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. This was on the north end where a few houses meet the boundries of the park. There are a bunch of thick shrubs and trees here that the Juncos seem to like. But more often than not I tend to see Juncos on the ground. They are apparently looking for seeds of common weed plants. Today I also spotted Cardinals, Chickadees, Starlings and Hairy Woodpeckers. I watched a Cardinal, then a Chickadee bathe themselves in the exact same part of Shingle Creek, one right after the other.

Warming Up Again

2012-01-07T13:02:00.002-06:00

The change in weather we experienced last weekend around the New Year has come and gone. Temperatures are once again above average and the little snow we received has melted away. On almost every walk lately I seem to get only a 1/4 of the way around before I realized I've dressed too warmly. About this time today is when I glanced upwards and spotted a Northern Shrike high up in a tall tree. This was on the southwest side right near the water way that connects the two most western bodies of water. I would have never expected to see a Shrike here and I'm amazed at how often I am seeing them this winter! A bit later I noticed something that I just had to take a picture of as it really shows what this winter has been like. Patches of green foliage line the same wood chip trail on the southwest side. A few years back I remember being amazed to see some green leaves in December but this takes the cake. In fact it looked like they might still be growing without the weight of any snow on top. Later I spotted a nice Red-tailed Hawk perched above the baseball diamonds on the west side but was unable to get a decent photo before he took off. At the bridge over Shingle Creek I paused to watched some Mallards walking around on the thin ice that is barely distinguishable from the unfrozen water. It looked almost as though they were walking on the water.

A New Year with New Weather

2012-01-02T17:51:00.005-06:00

New Year's Eve this year came with a coating a icy, wet snow followed by wind gusts of up to 50mph, then by frigid temperatures in the teens. I actually opted not to visit the park yesterday as the winds were just brutal. By day 2 of the new year it was slightly more tolerable, though I waited until almost 3:45pm for the temperature to warm up a bit. I guess I'm spoiled by all those warm temps we've had until now. I walked opposite my normal direction today and didn't see much of anything until later on when I caught a glimpse of a large Owl dart out of the trees in front of me. It was getting dark already and I barely caught where he landed again. I took a quick look through my binoculars and was happily surprised to see a Barred Owl! I decided to walk through the woods a bit to try and get closer but I quickly scared him away due to my loud steps on the crunchy frozen snow. Along the way I stumbled upon a curious sight. Among the Buckthorn trees were hundreds of these tiny, bulbous "icicles" -only they were sticking upwards from the branches, not down. They immediately reminded me of a diamond on a ring. I imagine that they were formed by water dripping from above to create what I will now refer to as "ice diamonds." Shortly after admiring them I caught another glimpse of the Barred Owl as he selected another spot in the dimming woods. It is a terrible photo but sadly the best one I got. I've not seen one for so long and I'm glad to know they are still visiting Palmer Lake. As I made my way back to the parking lot, the sky was setting up a spectacular winter sunset that seemed to change every minute or so. The horizon line glowed a luminous red while the purple clouds above appeared to be dropping whisping waves of moisture below. It kept changing all the way until I got to my vehicle and was also being admired by other park goers. A nice sunset is always the best way to end my walk in the park!

First Owl Photo on the Last Day of the Year

2011-12-31T12:38:00.002-06:00

Today is the last day of 2011 and it has been a fantastic year of learning and discovery for me at Palmer Lake Park. Birds and animals I'd only dreamed of seeing just once have become more and more familiar sights as I'm slowly learning what to look for. Here is a stupid analogy -but one that holds a lot of truth to me- in regards to nature. Have you ever bought a car you weren't really familiar with at first but then started to notice the same model everywhere you drove? I think recognizing animals and birds is quite a similar experience. The more often you see something, the more in tune you become with it's subtle characteristics. Simply put (and this holds true in a LOT of hobbies) If you know what you are looking for, you are more likely to find it. This held true for me again today as I walked through the wood chip trail on the southwest side. Though there is still no snow on the ground, it seemed like the right time of year and the right kind of lighting to be on the lookout for an Owl. I actually walked right past this one before doing a double take and walking slowly backwards in order to take a photo. Actually this was not the first Owl I'd seen this year, however it was the first time I was able to photograph one. This Great Horned Owl was quite close to me, perched only 15-20 feet up, giving me a good view of him. He was one of the lightest colored Owls I'd come across, being mostly white and grey compared to others with rusty orange coloring. Since he wasn't doing much I decided to get some pics of his lower body and legs. At the time I thought the photos were coming out great but later realized how grey and grainy they were in larger form. Never the less, I was happy to see a Great Horned Owl so closely on the last day of the year.

Record-Breaking Day After Christmas

2011-12-26T13:10:00.010-06:00

Even though we've periodically had some snow flurries and some temperatures in the teens, this has got to be the warmest Christmas-time I can remember. I got to the park just after 10am this morning when it was already 36 or 37 degrees. But later in the afternoon, it warmed up to a record high temp of 52 degrees for the Twin Cities area! Right as I hit the wood chip trail today, a large and mature Bald Eagle flew up in front of me and glided on the strong wind above the lake. I stopped dead in my tracks and waited to see where he might perch again. He in fact did land again, extremely close -almost right above me! At this distance I would not be able to walk very much closer without scaring him off again, so I opted for a crummy photo right through the trees. I couldn't even see his face but I knew this was probably the only photo I would get -and I was right. Later today I ran into some fellow "Birders" on the north side -one of whom I'd only previously known from his photos on Flickr.com. The 3 of us spent a good deal of time swapping stories and photos of recent sightings, photo equipment and so on. It is always nice to meet people that share your same enthusiasm for something and are kind enough to share their knowledge and experience with you instead of holding it above you. Much too often I think our competitive nature gets in the way with hobbies or pastimes that should be more focused on education and just having fun. But that was definitely not the case today, nor has it been with most of the people I've met so far who are interested in nature, birding and the environment. I later realized just how warm it had gotten when I crossed Shingle Creek on the south side and could see the bottom of the creek bed through water that should be frozen by now. The sun was glinting on this Clam shell and I still think I'll find it hard to believe later than I took this photo on the day after Christmas! By now it was seriously nice out and as I walked up the wood chip trail to where Shingle Creek flows back out of Palmer Lake, I just decided to sit along the creek. No sooner than I sat down did I hear an interesting bird call which I assumed at first was a Robin. As it continued I realized it must be something else and then I caught my first glimpse of a plump, mostly white bird. At first I thought I might be seeing something new, until a glance through my binoculars told me that it was a Northern Shrike. I had never seen one so closely before, nor in this environment of thick branches, nor on such a nice sunny day! I sort of recognized some of the calls it made but was amazed at all of the other sounds it was making. Since I was just sitting there, I grabbed my iphone, hit my bookmark to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page and played the sound files for "typical voice" of the Northern Shrike. It was then quite obviously the same bird and I believe that the recording helped attract it closer to me. At certain points I had a hard time differentiating between the recording and the real bird in front of me on the opposite side of the creek. It was quite a fun experience seeing and hearing a Northern Shrike in such close quarters. I completely understand now why they are referred to as a "predatory songbird."

Lots of Birds for Christmas

2011-12-24T10:21:00.006-06:00

Today is the day before Christmas but luckily I was able to visit the park in the morning just after 8am. The temp was a bit cooler today at about 20º. It's obviously going to be a "Brown Christmas" this year as our temps have just been way too mild and we've only received small, periodic dustings of snow lately. I saw a surprising variety of birds today including a Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Robin, Junco, Starling, Northern Shrike and finally a Hawk that was too far away to identify. My best sighting of the day was of the Shrike whom I watched move three times from his original perch on top of some Buckthorn trees on the north side. By the time I pulled up my binoculars he took off and I spotted a lone Deer who'd walked almost right underneath his tree. I lost him for a while until came around the corner and saw him again up in the tall dead tree near the trail. Though still far away I was happy to see him in some decent lighting as opposed to the normally overcast conditions I tend to see them in. From here, the Shrike took off again and did something I would have never guessed. He passed above me and then "dive-bombed" a Crow that was perched high up in some trees behind me. The Crow had to be at least 4 times larger him, but his attack was serious enough to flush the Crow off of his branch. He did this once more, again prompting the Crow to move. I'm not sure if he actually had a beef with the Crow or if he was just playing, but soon after he moved to another tall tree where stayed put for a long time. When I rounded the northeast side near Penn Avenue is when I spotted a small group of Juncos and an even smaller group of Starlings -probably 3 or 4. I heard their strange "whirring" call before spotting them. Most birders are not fond of Starlings but I think they are quite interesting. The ones I saw today looked a tad darker than they have looked this Summer and Fall.

Warm Day in December

2011-12-23T23:32:00.000-06:00

Only two days now until Christmas and there is hardly a trace of snow on the ground. The temperature was mild at 26º and with an overcast gray sky this morning. As I was rounding the baseball diamonds on the west side I spotted a whole bunch of Deer just inside the trail loop. I think there were maybe 5 or 6 of them milling about under the dead swamp trees. They were curious of me but moved closer together as I took photos. Unlike other times they decided in an instant to "high-tail" it away from me. I wonder if they'd become attuned to the fact that there's been hunters in the park since October and they're becoming less trusting of people. I don't know but they sure were unusually skittish. Parts of Shingle Creek were melting again due the warmer temps and the Robins are taking full advantage of the open water for drinking and bathing. The creek and the lake are about the only place where you can find any real indication of snow -which is only just a dusting coating the frozen parts of the water. On my way around the north end, I ran into a fellow birder and we chatted about what we'd been seeing lately. As we talked he noticed an odd looking "leaf" about 10 feet away and at eye-level. To our surprise it was a dead Deer Mouse! Our thoughts both turned to pondering if it was placed there by a Northern Shrike. Shrikes are apparently infamous for storing "caches" of food -rodents or birds- between crooks of trees -or even impaling them upon thorns or barbed wire fences. I've never come across that before but my first instinct is that they would be stored higher up in a tree than this. I later told another friend about the finding and he concluded the most obvious explanation would be a Shrike, despite the low height.

Some Good Sights

2011-12-17T13:41:00.004-06:00

This Saturday I arrived at the park just after 11am. It was about 24º and overcast. I bundled up a bit more than normal but I'm still far from having to get out my heavy winter jacket. Though I took just 13 photos in all today, some good sights were seen. The first was this Deer on the southwest side of the park -a place not all that popular for Deer as it's pretty close to the road -West Palmer Lake Drive. I could tell it was a young one by it's face -being slightly more chubby looking, or something I can't put my finger on just yet. Notice the trash laying on the ground? It's an all-too-familiar sight for myself and the Deer alike. As I came up to the northwest corner, I no more than thought about the possibility of seeing a Shrike again than I looked out across the cattails and spotted one! Though my experience with Shrikes is still very limited, I can point out a couple of tidbits for someone who might be on the lookout to spot one; In the winter months, look for bird about the same size and shape as a Robin. Look for it to be perched at the very top-most part of the tree -the highest up you can go. Look for a bird seeming to have "no legs" like it has been "stabbed onto" the tree like a marshmallow on a stick. Finally look for a "bluish-grey" coloring accented by a black wing and a long tail. And if you're close enough, a black mask across the eyes and a hooked bill. My goal this winter is to get much closer to one and catch a better photo of this fascinating "predatory songbird." Not too much later I passed a larger group of people than I would normally see on a day like today. I quickly realized the group included 2 friends of mine who were participating in the annual "Christmas Bird Count" put on by the Audubon Society. I was happy to realize Palmer Lake Park was being included in this highly regarded program and hope to get involved myself soon in similar programs that help record and tally bird species. Later on the east side I spotted a small group of about 10 birds making an unusually cheerful, spring-like noise. After I spotted a flash of white on the rump I realized they were Juncos. They were already closer than I can normally get to them so I stepped off the trail and into the woods just a bit to see if I could get closer. Here and there one would land closely for just a split second before flying off. I listened to the group's short "twittering" sound and tried hard to remember it. I also noticed that a few Sparrows were among the group of Juncos. Later I spotted a bird along the mouth of Shingle Creek with a dull yellowish color and my only guess is that it was an American Goldfinch. I will have to investigate further.

Not a Creature was Stirring

2011-12-13T15:10:00.005-06:00

I had one more day off of work this Tuesday and it was the 4th day in a row I visited the park. I was met with an unusual sound of chainsaws as I neared the north end of the park. The city is apparently trimming up anything within 30 feet or so of the trail. It seemed a bit extreme in some areas that now look very different and "open" compared to before. My guess is that they are concerned about a branch falling on someone and then getting sued or something. Who knows. It's mid December now and we have NO snow on the ground. It is supposed to rain in fact tomorrow. There was just not anything of interest on this particular visit. I saw a few Chickadees, Woodpeckers and one female Cardinal, none of which presented a good photo opportunity. Near the end of my walk I spotted a group of Mallards that were busy feeding with their butts stuck up in the air which made me laugh.

First Northern Shrike of the season

2011-12-12T11:17:00.006-06:00

I was tipped off yesterday by a fellow birder that there was a Northern Shrike in the area. Now that I've seen them a few times and know what to look for, I'm excited to try and get a better photo of one this year. I spotted one today on the northwest side just where I expected but as I went for a photo it took off and unfortunately I wasn't able to follow it against the drab, dreary sky. It was a "soupy" kind of overcast today with periodic drizzle but the temperature was a warm 39º. This weather is pretty nice for mid-December, especially considering that almost one year ago to the day, we received 17 inches of snow! As I came around the southeast side of the park, I had a second opportunity when I spotted a Shrike in the narrow stand of trees overlooking the baseball fields. It definitely wasn't the better shot I'd been hoping for but at least I got to see him again and have something to show for it. My fellow birder friend told me that he'd seen the Shrike with a captured Chickadee. Now that would be a good photo! In this last photo you can get the idea of how dreary it was today. The warm temps are quickly doing away with the only inch of snow that was still on the ground. I wouldn't be surprised if the lake starts to open up again.

A Winter Jog

2011-12-11T13:22:00.001-06:00

I admit that the original reason I started coming to Palmer Lake Park in the first place was actually to get some exercise. I'm not big at all on jogging or running but I started jogging randomly one day at the park and finally worked up to making it all the way around. It's been much too long since I've jogged and today seemed like a good day to do so. I forget the temperature but it was somewhere near or above freezing and it was sunny. There is still about one inch of snow on the ground but the paved paths are mostly clear and dry. I found that I can actually run with my camera in my hand, stopping only periodically if I see a good photo opportunity. Yes, I probably miss out on some stuff but I've got all winter ahead of me to find it. I stopped for this Nuthatch as it was pretty close to the trail and I don't have a lot of photos of them. They're one of those birds that bounces around much too quickly and I usually lose patience with such a common bird.

Sunny and Cold Saturday

2011-12-10T12:42:00.005-06:00

It was a particularly cold day this Saturday morning -possibly the coldest it has been so far at just 11 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand it was bright and sunny which always helps to make it feel warmer in my opinion. One of the first sights I saw on my walk today were lots of Robins near the small creek that runs on the southeast side. This particular one seemed to be missing an eye on his left side. I've heard recently that it's somewhat common for birds to damage or lose their eyes while flying through trees. Think about just walking through the woods without a hand to put up in front of your face. When I popped out of the woodchip trail I spotted the largest group of Deer I'd seen in quite a while -about 6 or 7 of them. At first they were all the way over by the playground equipment which was the last place I would have expected to see them. The Deer Hunt that started in October would be ending in just 4 days from now so at least these ones were lucky enough to have made it this far. There were definitely young ones in the group and I imagine they were more likely to be spared. Later on I spotted an unusual image that would probably escaped me only minutes earlier or later. The low sun was brightly illuminating these half-dried-up leaves, making them glow almost like a green light bulb. I'm always intrigued upon seeing any "green" during winter and especially with snow on the ground it can create quite a drastic contrast. The sun is so low at this time of year as evident by this photo taken only minutes before noon. Two other very interesting sights today without photographic evidence were; 1) a group of 3 Trumpeter Swans that flew over the park and 2) I heard and saw a Grey Catbird just off the trail on the east side. I told my fellow nature buff friends about this sighting and they agreed that it was simply amazing to see a Catbird around this late in the season. Eventually one of them also spotted it but neither of us came up with a photo to prove it.

Cedar Waxwings Playing

2011-12-03T12:56:00.006-06:00

This Saturday Palmer Lake park was covered in just a fine dusting of snow, the kind that doesn't really even cover the ground, settling only between the blades of grass. It was overcast and gray and late enough in the year to get my hopes up of seeing an Owl soon. My first sighting however was of a single Doe on the north side about 10 minutes before the bridge over Shingle Creek. She wasn't too interested in me and kept moving along. On the northeast corner of the park is a thick stand of trees, shrubs and vines that always attract a good variety of birds. Today it was a small flock of Cedar Waxwings and I ventured in to woods finding myself right underneath them. They were everywhere I turned my camera, but shooting upwards into the sky was giving me very poor results. The Waxwings were active as heck, plucking and downing berries like crazy from the Buckthorn trees. At one point, I spotted two of them interacting closely above me. One picked a berry and passed it to the other, making my wonder at first if it was feeding a younger one. But to my surprise, the bird passed it back again. They continued passing it back and forth a few more times before the one gulped it down. I can only guess that they were playing, or maybe it was some sort of sign of affection. A pretty interesting sight!

Late November

2011-11-29T12:50:00.002-06:00

I had the day off of work today and naturally I started off my day by visiting the park. It was nice and sunny out today and warmer than normal -just as it has been for most of the month. I'd taken the wood chip trail from the parking lot and as I neared where it turns north, I heard a familiar loud sound and spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker almost at eye-level. This was an unusual occurrence as I hardly ever see them any closer to the ground than about 30 feet. The sun was shining right on him, making his red crown even more bright looking. I was lucky enough to catch just 2 pics of him before he flew off higher up into the trees. Something I learned from this photo, but was not easy to pick up from my field guide is that the also have very "red" eyes! For some reason I rarely see females of this species -who's red crown does not extend across the entire head. As I neared the bridge over the creek on the north side, I spotted a group of three Deer who where staying oddly close to each other. They were easily visible out in an open area and a number of people walking on the trail stopped to watch them. I then noticed what looked to be a person standing up along the banks of Shingle Creek. The figure wasn't moving so I had to look through my binoculars to confirm that it was indeed a person. I started to think "what the heck" when I then noticed another person up in a tree stand even closer to me. It then dawned on me that it was a Tuesday and the special Deer hunt was going on! This might have explained why the Deer were staying close together as I think they aware of all the people around. In a way I think it might be good for the Deer in the park to come to trust people a bit less than they currently do. I am always shocked at how tame they seem. As I kept walking I wondered if one of these 3 ended up claimed by the hunter.

Turkey Surprise

2011-11-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

Today on the north side of the park before the bridge over the creek, I noticed a Deer or two not too far off the trail inside the loop. Since I'd not gotten too many good Deer photos lately I decided to walk in slowly towards them. Besides it was another nice day and I figured I could be quiet enough with no crunchy snow beneath my feet. I couldn't tell how many there were but only one was curious enough to stay put and check me out. He looked to be a younger one with that "stubbier" sort of face. As I stood there watching him, I realized there was something else right in my view just a few feet behind the Deer. It was a Wild Turkey, so well camouflaged against the fallen tree bark and brush that I didn't see him until he moved. This was of much more interest to me as I don't see Turkeys at the park that often. To my surprise there were more Turkeys -and they were only just feet away from the Deer. It was like they were all hanging out together. This first shot was not the best but was the only one that showed a Deer and Turkey in the same picture. The Deer quickly moved out further into the middle but the Turkeys stayed put for a bit longer and enough for a couple more photos. I wasn't quite close enough but as the Turkeys finally spooked and moved, the group was much bigger than I'd thought. I'm guessing there were about 6 to 7 of them all together! A very good Turkey sighting -and just two days after Thanksgiving.

Back to Warmth

2011-11-25T10:30:00.006-06:00

Well the first snow that we'd received 5 days ago is long gone. The temps climbed right out of the teens and are back above freezing again. When I arrived at the park just before 9am it was already 37 degrees. In fact the warmth had created a thick fog that just hung over the cattails near the middle of the park. I spotted one Doe near someone's fenced in garden on the north west side but she was behind a lot of thick stuff. Shortly after moving on, the sky caught my attention as it had changed drastically in just 30 minutes time. Facing back south, the sun was trying to burst through and was reflecting orange and yellow in all direction like a nice sunset. It's still hard to believe that this was taken after the first photo. The fog soon cleared out and the sky lightened up a bit afterward. In the little pond near the east side baseball diamonds, I looked for and spotted a Muskrat in the same place I'd seen before. He looked like he'd just popped up out of the water. I'm still amazed at how certain mammals can go in and underwater in the fall and winter. But with the temps we've been having lately I bet it still feels like Spring to a Muskrat. Later I spotted one more who came out of the water and up onto the ice that has formed on Palmer Lake's middle body of water.

First Snow of the Season

2011-11-20T13:44:00.005-06:00

I can't believe we've held out this long but it finally snowed for the very first time last night. Previous to this we've not even had a single flurry. It didn't amount to much -maybe about an inch, but the temperature dropped significantly afterward. It was just 18º when I arrived at the park after 11am. It was actually kind of nice as everything looked so different today. It was quite overcast when I first started but patches of blue sky shown intermittently through the passing clouds. I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cardinal and a Crow but later had a good chance to see a Cedar Waxwing closer than I ever have before. I was on the south side making my way back when I spotted a group of them not to far above me inside the trail. There was one even closer in the nook of a tree who seemed to be eating something. At first I thought he must be looking for something, -berries maybe- underneath the snow. But as I watched it became more clear that he was actually eating the snow. I've always assumed that animals and birds would avoid snow as a source of water but I guess I am wrong. This Waxwing seemed to be scarfing it down and his beak became covered in it. I had a great view of him and he was preoccupied enough to let me get closer and see him in great detail. I could see that he was missing the "red tips" on his wings telling me that he was less than 2 years old. I'm always happy with a such a close sighting of something.

A Fall that Just Wont Quit

2011-11-13T13:37:00.004-06:00

It's not that I mind at all, but it's just shocking at how long our Fall season is lasting. It's near mid-November now and I'm still only wearing my baseball cap when I go for a walk. It has also been over a month already since I had been up north to Ely, Minnesota and witnessed some spectacular Fall foliage. Today on the west side I spotted a large Hawk being harassed by a couple of Crows. As I went for a second photo he flew off and perched again facing away from me. From this angle I could clearly see his rusty-red tail. I moved on and basically forgot about him until just a short time longer when I nearly ran right into him again. I just happened to glance up while on the paved trail and spotted him only 10 feet above me. I couldn't believe it. This was by far the closest I'd ever been to a Hawk and I wasted no time in going for a photo. This was the only one I got before he took off again. My sights after this included some Mallards near the creek and a small group of Cedar Waxwings. Then as I was coming up to a small pond on the east side I spotted a Muskrat swimming quickly through the water. At first he was real close to the trail affording me some good views. I could see clearly just how "water-proof" his fur was as the water just beaded up on it like it was coated in oil. He swam out further but then turned around and came straight toward me, eventually going back under near some Cattails at the edge of the pond. Getting back to that Fall foliage I mentioned earlier, I had certainly not expected to see any today -at least not in Palmer Lake Park. But when I turned the corner a short time later to head back west, this Maple tree stood out like you wouldn't believe. While many of the trees in the park had already lost their leaves, this one just now was peaking in an extraordinary luminous yellow. It was definitely picture-worthy on this mostly overcast day.

Final Attempt at an After-Work Walk

2011-11-01T22:07:00.001-05:00

Today was the first day of November but with the temps so warm, I wanted to take advantage of being outside. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the park until nearly 7pm which gave me just roughly one hour of light. I was optimistic until I came across my first good photo opportunity and remembered how poorly my camera works in even just slightly low light. Right from the paved trail overlooking the pond on the far west side, I could see two Deer wading in the water along the edge. This isn't a real common place to see Deer and I'd definitely never seen them here in this water that is normally full of Ducks. To keep my pics from becoming completely blurry, I laid down to steady my camera on the concrete facade above the drainage pipe. This is why my only image for this post is crooked. The other Deer that was in the water had jumped out by this time and joined another up on the bank that I hadn't noticed before. I did make it all the way around but it was completely dark by the time I got back to the parking lot. I only took one other photo the whole way around -of some cattails- and that was mostly just to see if the photo would even show up on my camera screen. This will definitely be my last after-work-walk of the year.

A good walk soured by stupidity

2011-10-30T14:13:00.001-05:00

Today was my last visit to the park this October and the weather is still warmer than normal. I hope it lasts even longer. I arrived just after 8am and the sky was a hazy mix of overcast and spots of orange sunshine trying to break through. My walk was rather quiet and uneventful until I go all the way to the north side just before the bridge where I spotted a Doe and two Fawns. I was glad to see that the trio has so far been spared by the archery hunt that had started at the beginning of the month. I later spotted a large Hawk in a tree across the park -too far for a good picture. As I was making my way around the southeast side I noticed some containers among the cattails about 10 feet off the trail. They looked to be full of dark liquid and I thought to myself "no way would someone toss out used oil in a park." I had to find out for sure so I walked into the cattails, stepping into wet muddy places where my shoes sank halfway. Sure enough, I found multiple gallon containers filled to the brim with used motor oil!!! I could not believe it. I was torn with feeling both anger and disappointment, trying my hardest to figure out why someone would do something so inconsiderate. With how much discussion of environmental concerns that our society has on a regular basis now, the person who did this must either be completely oblivious to all media; extremely uneducated, or have a personal vendetta against something that I don't understand. With a still overwhelming feeling of disbelief, I picked up as many jugs as I could find and brought them to the path. Luckily the caps were still on and holding most of the oil inside. Sadly there were more than pictured here, and I even fished another full gallon out of the water on the opposite side of the trail! As I was gathering up all of these jugs, an older gentleman on a bike came by and decided to help me bring them to the nearest trash can. He then volunteered to call the City to tell them what we had found & have them pick it up. I felt a bit better at this point, thinking -and hoping- that the majority of people would recognize this action as a mistake and try to correct it. I thought about how upset this made me and how minute of an event it was in comparison the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The problem with some of the mistakes we make on such a large scale, is that they might never be corrected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Autumn Hanging On Strong

2011-10-29T13:20:00.009-05:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last visit and I am surprised that the warm and mild weather is sill hanging on. Not only that but there are parts of the park that are just now displaying their best Fall colors. As I've said before, Palmer Lake Park is not a good place to see Fall foliage -being it mostly a swamp, overgrown with invasive Buckthorn trees. Even so, it had it's moments today against the rich, blue Autumn sky. This particular view on the north side was one that stuck in my memory from earlier in the year, on a day with lots of frost. How different it looked now. A few other things caught my attention around the park today including busy Squirrels, Chickadees, Deer, Wood Ducks and more Starlings. I am just now learning to recognize and remember the Starling's unique "slide-whistle" sounding call. When I came back around to the south side I spotted a large number of Coots out in the water. Other than maybe Canada Geese, I think this is probably the largest number of one species I've ever seen together at the park. I didn't even try to count them all, and this photo only shows a small section of them. Not much later I was making my way back to the parking lot and ran into another acquaintance I know only from the park. As we stood talking about what we'd seen today, he pointed out a "Marsh Hawk" over the water near the center of the park. I'd never seen one before -or at least knew how to identify one. It didn't take too long before we could see the tell tale white "rump patch" as it swooped upwards. A Marsh Hawk is properly known as a Northern Harrier and a new bird species I can add to my list. As we both watched the clear blue sky, more birds of prey came into view, including a Red-tailed Hawk and also a juvenile Bald Eagle. To our delight, the young Bald Eagle and the Harrier decided to play a friendly game of dogfight in which the two would both show off their aerial skills by playfully attacking each other. It was pretty fun to watch -especially through binoculars. While this was going on, the Red-tailed Hawk glided along much higher up in the sky, almost an invisible speck. Also, here is the first photo from today combined with the photo I remember taking in early February. If you think the top photo was in black and white you would be mistaken. But I can sure see why one might assume that when you compare it to the bottom photo. Click on the photo for a larger view.

October Evening

2011-10-17T20:24:00.001-05:00

With the beautiful weather over the weekend I was up for another visit on Monday after work. This is getting increasingly harder to do now that sunset is coming earlier by a few minutes every day. I arrived at the park just before 6pm and the sun was already casting a horizontal orange glow on the trees. I saw one single Doe right off the bat on the southern wood chip trail but she was quite far away. Later on the north side another Doe was much closer to the trail and as I watched I noticed another much larger Deer in the background. To my surprise it was a Buck with either 4 or 5 point antlers. It was already getting dark and I had a hard time getting a photo that wasn't completely blurry. I'd knelt down for stability in taking a picture and much like many other times, the Doe became curious and walked right up to me, stopping within about a 10 foot range. Though it was quite dark now, she was close enough for a much better photo than I would get of the Buck. I moved along after a few minutes as I knew I'd be racing the clock to get back before it was totally dark. I could see a nice sunset forming and I picked up my pace even more to get to the southeast side for a more open view. The sun set so fast you could pick up on the changing color in real time. I had one more surprise in store when I got back near the parking lot. I was just coming up the hillside from the paved trail when I noticed something moving quickly down the hill to my right. There were TWO Coyotes together trotting one behind another along the cattails. I had absolutely no chance of a photo because it was too dark now but it was a pretty cool thing to see none the less. It's rare for me to even see Coyotes outside of winter but two of them together was even more rare -in fact it was a first for me.

Warm and Wiiiindy

2011-10-16T15:20:00.005-05:00

This Sunday was another nice sunny and warm day, only it was super windy. Because of the wind I didn't expect to see many birds but I was able to get closer to this Cardinal than I normally get to them. In fact I walked up right underneath him. From this angle he didn't fit that familiar "regal" and trim looking shape but rather more like a fat Robin. In the first little pond near the parking lot I also spotted a few Wood Ducks -with just one being a Male. They are so much more skittish than Mallards and took off at the first sight of me. It doesn't seem like there's been as many Wood Ducks this year compared to last, and I definitely have not gotten as close to them this year. It's getting so late now that this may be the last I see of them this season. Later I spotted another Easter Phoebe catching insects over the water. I took some photos but they turned out all washed out from the bright sun reflecting on the water. Despite the strong wind, Canada Geese were moving around in large flocks today. No two groups ever seem to be headed the same direction. This larger than normal group circled above me for a bit and broke into more of a circular pattern versus a typical "v."

Definitely a Migrating Bird

2011-10-15T12:18:00.003-05:00

Today I ran into a fellow birder early on in my walk and we continued all the way around the park together talking about birds and what-not. The walk went fast with the good conversation and I realized I'd not taken nearly as many pics as I usually do. One thing I did photograph however is pretty cool I think -and I doubt I would have positively identified it on my own. It was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was definitely migrating given it is now mid October. Thought it's not a great photo, you can actually see just barely a hint of the ruby colored patch if you view the larger image. Pretty neat since my last sighting was 6 months ago in May! One of my few other sightings was this common orange Butterfly among the fall leaves. I just learned it's name is a "Question Mark" named for a white shape seen only on it's under-wing.

Day off walk

2011-10-10T10:55:00.001-05:00

Today was Monday but I had the day off of work. I decided to get a walk in fairly early and arrived just before 8:30am. One of the first things I noticed were the calls of Red-winged Blackbirds. It struck me that it's been a while since I've heard so many of them -and being this late in the year it seems likely that these were birds who had been further north and were just moving through the area headed back south. In one of the small sloughs on the east side, you can now walk along the water for a bit due to recent construction going on in the park. Rock has been added around some of the drainage openings which should prevent erosion and also help filter water. Here I spotted and Eastern Phoebe, recognizable by it's pattern of returning to the same branch after repeatedly flying out to catch insects. A short time later on the edge of the ball fields I could see 4 or 5 birds that I easily recognized, although don't seem to common at Palmer Lake. I recently learned that the European Starling was introduced to the US in the late 1800's by a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts who wanted to introduce all birds mentioned in his plays. All European or "Common" Starlings you see today would be descendants of 100 Starlings introduced to Central Park in New York! Read more here. Near the end of my walk I had an opportunity to see another common bird that has been elusive to my camera lens -a Dark-eyed Junco. They typically will keep moving forward as I approach, just far away enough to make them hard to photograph. It was a bit unusual to find myself right underneath this one.

There is a Season Turn, Turn, Turn

2011-10-08T13:26:00.004-05:00

October is one of my favorite months -although you can never be quite sure what the weather will bring. Our first snow of the season can be as early as the first week in October! So far though, the month is full of sun and warmth. If it stays this way for a while it might just make up for the blasted hot summer we had. Other than a lot of busy squirrels, the first thing of interest today was this sign on the north side notifying park-goers of an archery deer hunt going on. I knew the city has organized these in the past but this was the first time I'd seen signs posted about it. It's a bit of a catch-22 for deer living in an urban area like this. Though it's probably a somewhat safe and sheltered habitat, they're unlikely to ever stray too far from it as there's just too much city streets to navigate before reaching another habitable area. With such a small and defined habitat, they're subject to intensive control when their population grows even just a bit too large. It will be interesting to see what the results are at the end of the hunt in mid December. The park doesn't really have a lot of great "fall color" trees, except for a few maples on the outlying areas surrounding the baseball fields and tennis courts. Still, it's apparent that the drastically wet summer, followed by an extremely dry Fall has had some unusual effects on the foliage. Some trees that were beautifully red this time last year have already dropped their leaves, while other trees haven't even started to turn yet. Amazingly you can find extreme variation on the same tree or plant like the one pictured here -which I think is a grapevine. With all the warm sun on the trail this time of year you have to watch your step just like you do in the Spring time. Only now it's not snails but grasshoppers that pepper the pavement in hopes of soaking up some warmth. These particular ones can get pretty big. This was my 3rd or 4th attempt at a photo -as they can move just a bit faster than a snail!

One More In September

2011-09-25T17:11:00.003-05:00

After a successful day of cleaning up the park, I was eager for another visit this weekend. I did a quick check on the collected trash bags and thankfully nobody had messed with them overnight. Like yesterday the evening temps were only in the 30's but by noon time it was warming up into the 60's or higher. I don't know how certain things survive such cold evening temps and then seem to wake up and be as active as any mid-summer day. Blue Jays have been extremely active this month it seems like there's more around than last year. By the time I got to the bridge on the north side, I'd seen Painted Turtles, a Great Blue Heron, Dragonflies, a female Red-breasted Grosbeak and an unlikely Brown Thrasher. It was such a nice sunny day that I decided to walk along the creek starting from the bridge. I found a nice log to just sit and watch the creek, hoping to see some Wood Ducks or something. I was a ways from the water but I could see large Carp and an occasional Turtle float by. A short time later I saw this Green Heron and realized how few of them I'd seen at the park this year. At the rate I've been seeing them, this could be the last one I see for a while. The last thing I stopped to take a photo of today was actually the sky. It was like a post card with perfectly placed billowy white clouds against a rich blue sky. I thought about how many more days like this we might have this season and to really appreciate them.

Friends of Palmer Lake Park - Fall Cleanup

2011-09-24T16:32:00.009-05:00

This Saturday I saw the realization of what had previously been just a daydream of mine -an actual organized park clean-up day! Though I'd been tossing the idea around in my head for quite some time, I credit a couple of other park-goers for giving me the motivation to finally act on the idea and see it through. So by just a few conversations, emails and by word-of-mouth, a small group of citizens came together on Saturday morning to help clean up Palmer Lake Park! We started bright and early at 8:00am -with the temperature only around 35 degrees and thus a few winter hats coming out of storage early. Prior to the clean up day, I'd contacted the City of Brooklyn Center, simply just to inquire about picking up the collected trash afterward. Not only did I learn they were more than happy to do so, but they would also even loan us garbage-grabbers, as well as supply bags, gloves and vests if needed. The people with the City were all around great to deal with; extremely helpful and informative, making our goal that much easier to accomplish. I checked out a total of ten garbage grabbers which ended up to be just about right -as my own personal grabber completely broke apart only 1/4th of the way around! As I hiked back to our starting point to switch out my grabber, I ran into another member of our group who was focusing on a particularly problematic area of the park, the south western corner. I was so happy to see this amount of effort and care taking place. Others in our group continued around the entire perimeter of the park all the way back to the south side parking lot. Upon returning and meeting up with the rest of the group here is when it really hit me just how big of an impact our small group had made on the park. Accounting for a few bags that were left in receptacles on the opposite side of the park, I counted a total of 14 bags full of trash that were collected in just 4 hours! In my opinion this was a huge success -especially given that it was really a "first attempt." I can't thank enough the people who volunteered their time this Saturday morning. Our collective efforts have helped beautify and preserve a much under-appreciated natural area. Spread the word -there will be more cleaning efforts to come!!!

Last Sunday of the Summer

2011-09-18T13:55:00.006-05:00

It hadn't dawned on me until afterward but my visit today would be my last this "summer" with Autumn less than a week away. This September has seemed unusually colder than in previous years. We've had the crisp, cool temperatures of Fall while everything is still mostly green. It even froze -hard already, dipping below 32º long enough to shrivel up people's gardens. The deer have been pretty scarce lately but today I spotted 5 or 6 of them. Two were definitely fawns with a Doe, but I couldn't tell the age of the others. This last one gave me some close photo opps as I watched it voraciously eating all sorts of greenery. I don't want to think about the fact that a lot of this green could be covered by snow in just over a month. On the north side I saw something that made me kind of laugh. Two snails were heading in the exact same direction across the path, side by side -only one was trailing behind about 12 inches or so. It looked like a race that would take a few hours. I tried getting a photo with both of them in it, but the one that was 12 inches behind looked like he was a full mile behind and just showed up as a blurry spot. It also won't be too much longer before these little Gastropods disappear too. The one sure sign I did see of things to come was an overturned Maple leaf with some nice dewdrops on it. There aren't really that many Maples in the park -only on the outskirts of the trail. Many of them have prematurely started to turn colors already due to the colder than usual temperatures.

PALMER LAKE PARK CLEANUP DAY!

2011-09-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

It's official, I am organizing the first "Palmer Lake Park Cleanup Day" this September 24th. Any and all volunteers are welcome to take part in beautifying and preserving our neighborhood park.

WHEN: Saturday, September 24th 8am - Noon (Rain or Shine)

WHERE: We will meet at the south parking lot off of 69th Ave. at 8:00 am.

WHAT: We will be collecting all garbage from plastic bottles to paper wrappers. Large items can be left alongside the bags. The City of Brooklyn Center has been notified and will collect our trash afterward.

HOW: I will have a number of "garbage grabbers" and trash bags available to you. However, since the number of participants is yet unknown, you are encouraged to bring your own grabber, bags and gloves to ensure we have enough supplies. We will attempt to bring all of the collected trash back to the south parking lot for a centralized pickup location for the city. Anyone owning a wagon or lawn cart would greatly aid in this goal. If not possible, the city will be notified of the various trash bag locations. If you have any questions or want to notify me of your participation, please email palmerlakeguy@gmail.com

Second Sunday in September

2011-09-11T11:17:00.006-05:00

Today was Sunday, September 11th and the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attack. I honestly can't believe it's been that long. In retrospect I think about all the time that's gone by and all the outdoor activities I've enjoyed since -hiking, biking, kayaking, snowshoeing etc and I'm thankful for every minute of it. Today you could feel the pending seasonal change in the air, even though it was a bright, sunny day. Small hints of autumn such as an occasional discolored tree or a Woolly-bear caterpillar could be found if you were on the lookout for them. As I passed along the north corner, I noticed a huge hoard of nymph Boxelder Bugs on -you guessed it- a Boxelder tree. I've seen these every year, around the same time, on the very same tree in fact, and I'm always amazed at the swarming mass of bugs. Only just a few hundred feet later I came upon what I call "Hummingbird Heaven," where the trail begins a long, straight shot north. There I was lucky enough to catch another few -possibly last- glimpses of Hummingbirds this season. They are likely "fueling up" now for their long, long migratory trip back to Central America. I'm amazed that these little birds, weighing 2-3 grams can travel such long distances. My later sights included some Mallards on the creek, a Hawk, Cardinal and some unknown, large beetle crossing the paved path. I tried to get photos of this large beetle but he was moving at a pace faster than the average Wal-mart shopper and my camera couldn't focus in time. I did spot a Bald Eagle not too much later but my final photo-pick of the day was luckily not moving at all. This colorful leaf -from I don't know what kind of plant- was sporting some amazingly contrasting color with stripes of solid white in between it's blended veins of yellow and green. I though it was a perfect summary of what out season is like right now, with balanced signs of summer and autumn.

Sights of September

2011-09-04T11:58:00.000-05:00

After trying and trying to catch a photo of a Hummingbird last week, I finally succeeded this Sunday morning. Again, they were in the same place on the north west side of the park -right before the long, straight stretch of the path. Here there are plenty of flowering shrubs including Jewelweed (or touch-me-nots) which I got to watch them feeding on. With the temps having dropped considerably over the week, I was kind of surprised to see them still around. The previous latest date I've recorded seeing one at the park was August 18th. Despite the cooler temps, I'd never before seen so many Hummingbirds and so much activity. I think there were at least 3 pairs of them that I could see at the same time. Once in a while two would hover close together and make a kind of "chatter" noise before flying off chasing each other. Some even came up very close to me but despite my best efforts I just couldn't snap a picture before they buzzed away. I must have watched them for close to 30 minutes, in which time my best chances for photos were when they would perch for only a second or two before flying off again. I was almost all the way back around again before I spotted something of interest. This time it was a bird I'd never noticed before at the park. This long-legged bird was actually walking right on top of some "pond-scum" that had built up along Shingle Creek where it empties back out of Palmer Lake. It bobbed it's tail up and down constantly making for quite a comical display as it poked it's bill here and there among the mucky water. I'm not too familiar with "shore birds" but I guessed correctly that it was a Spotted Sandpiper -the first new species I've identified in quite a while.

Some Rare Sightings

2011-08-28T11:28:00.009-05:00

This Sunday morning was bright but overcast; the kind of day where you could see a whole lot of nothing. In fact it turned out the opposite as I had a chance to see a few birds that are rank low on my list of recorded sightings. Being it the end of August and still fairly warm, I paused near the north west corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Hummingbird -which I quickly did. Interestingly enough, I was distracted by a larger bird that flew off quickly, flashing an unusual pattern of black, white and brown. I followed this sight to a new perch and spotted a bird that I couldn't easily recognize. The only hint I picked up on thick, stubby bill, making me think it was possibly a Grosbeak. Then within just seconds, another similar sized bird appeared with almost identical coloring and pattern on it's head, but with a bright red patch in the shape of a V on it's chest. I was excited both in knowing that I'd guessed correctly and in getting to see the male Grosbeak so closely! There was an obvious difference though, between this and the few other Rose breasted Grosbeaks I've seen before. This male had not the full, black colored head, but a patterned yellow and brown head just like the female. I can only assume then that he was a juvenile and not fully developed. Even more interesting is that the male was plucking and swallowing the berries from the shrubs. Later on I had a few other good bird photo opportunities including a Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat and some fledgling Robins. The one I just couldn't pass up though was this Grey Catbird who was singing his heart out. They're not much for coloring but they really make up for it with their songs. Finally, one last thing I thought was blog-worthy, was another rare sighting of a Mink along the banks of the creek where it flows back out of Palmer Lake. I gotta admit, I thought for sure this was a Muskrat, but after watching it -and another one- swim about quickly, dive and resurface, I'm pretty sure they were Mink. It's hard to tell from this photo but it was the only time it came out into the open, whereas the other one stayed underneath the overhanging tree on the creek.

Thursday Stress-Reliever

2011-08-25T21:04:00.008-05:00

It's been easy to forget that our summer weather isn't going to last forever and I've been slacking on visiting the park during the week. Tonight was an exception as I really needed to de-charge from a stressful work week. There were relatively few birds about until I was walking up the west side and noticed this Mourning Dove sitting very still in the evening sun. They're not the most interesting of birds but since it was so close I figured I'd snap a photo. Shortly afterward I saw yet another Cedar Waxwing as well as a single Doe in the woods. On the north side I spotted a large bird way off in the distance perched in the tall dead tree often favored by Raptors. I could barely make out from this distance that it was an Osprey and he was surrounded by 6 or 7 Crows perched near him. He looked obviously perturbed and I'm sure the crows were hassling him just like they do other large birds of prey like Eagles, Hawks and Owls. A while later I came upon the granite bench on the southeast side and noticed a little yellow bird hoping about in the cattails. Since there was a bench right there I decided to sit and watch for a bit and hopefully catch a picture. After a bit, it came out rather close to me, enough to identify it as a male Common Yellowthroat -evident by the black and white mask across it's face. I found that kind of surprising, having seen only female Yellowthroats deep in the cattails before. Since I've not seen any Yellow Warblers for a while, I believe the Yellowthroats must be the last Warbler species to still be hanging around.

Birds, Bugs and Deer

2011-08-20T10:31:00.006-05:00

Even though summer is still in full swing it feels like we've turned a corner with our weather. Upon arriving at the park this morning shortly before 8am it was a cool 58 degrees. I was the first time in months I'd even contemplated wearing jeans versus shorts. Had I actually done so, I probably would have saved myself 20 new mosquito bites on my legs. There were many familiar birds out today but one that I'm seeing a lot of lately are Cedar Waxwings. They are having a field-day due to all the ripening berries. I caught of a photo of this one right after he plucked and gulped down a berry or two. Later somewhere on the paved path I noticed a large insect. It was a Cicada that looked dead at first. I'm pretty sure these are responsible for the high pitched "buzz" that can be heard near any wooded area in the summer time. As kids we always thought the noise came from overhead electrical wires. I've seen them on the ground before -usually dead, but I can't say I've ever seen one flying. I've wonder how well those thin, clear wings can carry such a large body. When I was coming out of the wooded area from the north side I glanced to my left and noticed something out of the ordinary in someone's front yard. At first I assumed they must have purchased one of those ornamental Deer statues. When it moved I was sort of surprised that a real life Deer was walking so closely to the house. A few other walkers came up as I paused to watch and told me that they'd seen Deer in the same yard before. As we all watched, the Deer seemed to get spooked and ran into the next persons yard. As I started to wonder if it would figure out it's way back into the park, it darted in between the two houses and back towards the woods.

Here comes the sun

2011-08-13T14:43:00.005-05:00

Well, we made it one whole week without rain so I guess it was time again. We received about 3/4 of an inch overnight and this morning was all wet again. I actually took my rain jacket with me this time just in case it wasn't done yet -but of course I didn't need it. The sky was mostly overcast but changing quickly with a mixture of grey and darker areas. It seemed like nothing was quite ready to come out just yet except for this snail who I met on the trail. You can't tell from this photo but it was one of the largest ones I've ever seen at the park. I saw a Cardinal and just a handful of Song Sparrows and Goldfinches until I was more than half way around the park and the sun popped out. Shortly after I noticed a single Osprey over the lake and I figured I'd try to get a better photo of one today. I hiked a lot closer first, up to the water overlook by the railroad ties. There I waited over and over for him to circle closer to me. With my camera zoomed as far as it would go, it was tough to follow a flying bird but I did manage to catch a photo with just a bit more clarity. Then I cropped it even more on the computer and I almost think that I can see a band around his leg. This was the only Osprey I saw today though I've seen up to 3 at once before. I stayed on the wood chip trail on the way back to the parking lot and noticed a big, Black Swallowtail Butterfly among the wildflowers. I stood there just along the edge of the field as my camera focused and I could just feel the mosquitoes swarming my legs below. I held steady to snap just two photos before I could feel the bites coming on. As soon as I was satisfied I quickly went to swat away the mosquitoes but there must have been 10 to 15 of them already buried up to their head on each of my legs. I couldn't believe how bad they were. I think I have mosquito bites on top of mosquito bites!

Milder start to August

2011-08-08T18:03:00.002-05:00

We've finally caught a break from our hot and humid weather. Both the temps and dew points have dropped considerably making it actually comfortable to be outside again. Also we've had no rain for more than 4 or 5 days, so I was able to take the wood chip trails again. As I got onto the first one from the south side, I quickly realized how overgrown things had become. The trail was almost grown shut from both sides with tall Thistle and other weeds. It was somewhere in here I think that I noticed this Dragonfly with a nice bright red tail. I couldn't get a photo of him from the other side but was happy with the detail in the wings. It was right about then that I was getting seriously bit-up by mosquitoes so I had to keep moving. When I got to the north side, I stopped near the flowering bushes where I'd seen Hummingbirds before. I quickly noticed a flash of orange and realized I'd just seen an American Redstart dart off into the taller trees. I waited for a bit with my camera ready and he came back again for just a few seconds. I snapped this quickly and the focus wasn't quite ready but I'm happy just to have captured one again! I noticed later too that he actually has something in his beak. Not sure if it was food or something to build a nest with. Later in the shadier part of the northeast side I spotted the pair of Fawns again. They seem to be in this area a lot and don't even seem to mind the people watching them. One of the two looked right at me before deciding to lay down for a while. I could just barely still see his gigantic ears through the weeds. The other lazily munched on some green leaves with his back to me. I waited for a while for a better angle but the Fawn was more interested in leaves than it was with me.

Last visit of July

2011-07-31T13:00:00.001-05:00

Today was my 8th and final visit for the month of July. I'm surprised I got up to 8 seeing as how how and muggy it has been this month. The rain just continues and this morning was wet again from the previous day's weather. There were plenty of birds out today and among others I saw Cardinals, Catbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Goldfinches and a Green Heron. One bird in particular was doing it's best to avoid a photograph. It was a common yellow-ish bird I've seen often, and in fact I remember incorrectly identifying it earlier as a Yellow Warbler. This one was hoping back and forth on the lower parts of cattail stems and I sat there for a long time before I was able to catch a decent photo. I noticed it has a faint eye-ring and mostly a yellow colored throat so I'm convinced now that it's a female Common Yellowthroat. After I'd almost completed the north side, a young looking Doe popped out of the woods onto the trail and began walking right towards me. I knelt down on one knee like I often do and it continued toward me stopping only just a few feet away. Her face looked to be peppered with ticks or something but upon looking closer at my photo I think they were engorged mosquitoes. This year has been especially bad for mosquitoes with all the rain. Sometimes I think they're bad enough to drive the Deer right out of the woods. I often keep an eye on the small Willow shrubs now for birds as I've seen just about every kind perched in them at one time or another. But today I noticed something else. Almost everywhere were pairs of these brown and green beetles. The green head is a shiny, iridescent emerald green. It also looks like they eat the Willow as the leaves were chewed within close distance of every beetle. I looked them up and learned they are "Japanese Beetles." They are native to Japan and thought to have arrived in the U.S. in the 1900's. They've become a serious pest of roughly 200 different plants in America. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

Another few soakings

2011-07-23T11:50:00.004-05:00

This Saturday it had already rained hard in the morning from about 8 to 9am. I waited this out before heading to the park thinking I'd be dry for at least the next hour -but I was wrong. Not too far into my walk I spotted a dark shape on the path that I thought was a piece of wood or something. Upon closer inspection it was Toad who probably came out to enjoy the wet weather. I tried to move him off the trail but he wouldn't budge even when I grabbed him so I let him be. About 20 minutes later I'd just crossed the straight part of the path on the north side when it began to down-pour yet again. I stood in a place under some trees and tried to wait it out, but the rain picked up in intensity and I found myself moving around looking for a drier spot. In a matter of minutes I was soaked from head to toe and still had 3/4 of the way to go. What a bummer. Amazingly the rain stopped almost as abruptly as it had started, the sky cleared completely and the sun came out full blast in just a matter of minutes. I noticed a Flickr bouncing around right on the paved path -probably looking for insects after the rain. As I was trying to get some shots, I could see movement behind me but paid little attention thinking it was just another park-goer. When the person that I thought was coming still hadn't passed me I turned around to realize it was a Doe. It looked like a young one but did not have any white fawn-spots. Later near the south side I spotted this Cardinal against the clear blue sky. I'm guessing it was a young female by it's rather grey-ish appearance, and it's only real recognizable feature being the large orange bill. The bird was clearly drying itself out in the bright sun -just as I was trying to do at the same time. Later in the day it rained yet a 3rd time in just one day!

Major flooding

2011-07-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

Our weather this July has been unbelievably hot and humid. It seems that almost every day is 90+ with 70% or more humidity. We had one day last week where they said it was even more humid than it typically gets in the Everglades of Florida! So for that reason and some other travels, I've not made too many posts this month. I was away last weekend but I'd heard that the Twin Cities received some pretty intense rain. I think the city of Roseville measured 4 or 5 inches and there was even a part of a railroad track that washed out and derailed a train in Fridley, MN. I had no idea that the park was so severely flooded when I arrived on Wednesday evening. Long stretches of both the wood chip trails and even the paved path were completely underwater and impassable. I had to take a major detour around the ball fields on the west side. On one of the wood chip trails that wasn't flooded I found the Cooper's Hawk nest again. I couldn't see any chicks in the nest this time but as I was looking I scared up the parents who were both roosting further down below the nest. One flew along the trail and perched again just a little ways further down. I walked slowly right underneath it and paused just once to snap a quick pic. As I continued around I came across more and more flooding. For some odd reason I'd started on the north side and went counter-clockwise today which proved to put me in a predicament. Coming around the south east side, I found the paved trail completely flooded. There was literally no other way to get back to my vehicle -that is unless I wanted to walk along 69th Avenue. I decided to just go through the water versus backtracking. I couldn't tell how deep it was but I soon realized it was pretty close to the tops of my shoes and my feet were quickly soaked. After I'd gotten through, I came to yet another flooded portion of trail. Since I was already wet, I kept going and found this portion to be even deeper, way above my shoes. Yuck! In just minutes time I reeked of stale swamp water. Just before getting back to my vehicle, I noticed 5 or 6 Great Egrets hunting in the water which used to be the baseball fields. This is officially the highest water I've ever seen at the park.

Hot Hot Hot

2011-07-10T14:23:00.004-05:00

It was nearly 12:30 in the afternoon by the time I arrived at the park this Sunday. It was extremely hot and humid today and I'm learning that I deal better with cold temps than I do with hot. During my entire walk today all I could think about was how hot I was! Minnesota doesn't just get hot but it also gets some pretty extreme humidity -sometimes much worse than even Florida. With the hot temps I really didn't see much for the first half of my walk. When I came to the footbridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I stopped in my normal spot to take a photo of the creek. I rested my arms on the metal railing as usual but pulled them off quickly as I nearly burned myself on the hot metal! There was a female Wood Duck with quite a few ducklings on north side of the bridge and I almost envied them floating along in the cool water. Not too much later on the northeast side, I spotted a Doe quite close to the edge of the trail. I watched behind her and quickly noticed a pair of fawns trailing behind. A lot of times when I encounter Deer very closely at the park I will crouch on my knees and lower myself to appear shorter and smaller. Surprisingly this has worked to my advantage time after time and generally the Deer will either pay me no mind or even walk closer towards me. This was the case again today as the Doe walked almost within arms reach of me. The Fawns followed right behind but scanned the crossing well before venturing across. Each Fawn was only in plain sight for just seconds before they jumped across the trail. I tried for some more photos at this point but they were already moving so fast that I wasn't able to focus very well. Later in my walk I spotted an Indigo Bunting but was not able to get a photo. I stalked it for a little while, listening to it's call and trying to devise a pattern in my head to remember if I heard it again. I remember it seemed to have 7 notes with an emphasis on the first 2 but I will have to look it up and see if indeed I was listening to the correct bird.

Good Summertime Walk

2011-07-09T13:48:00.001-05:00

I arrived at the park just after 9:30am this Saturday. It was already warming up to near 80º and I wondered what I would see if anything. There are fields of tiny yellow wildflowers near the south side that stretch quite a ways out towards the middle of the park now. These areas can look more yellow than green. As I was looking closer at one of the flowers I noticed this white moth on the underside of a flower clump. I think these are the same common white moths that never seem to stay still so I took advantage and grabbed a photo. Later on the wood chip trail I noticed a few Dragonflies with almost a bright yellow body. I'm paying a bit more attention to them now after learning just a few varieties recently. There were two of this color hanging out together and it took me a while to sneak in close enough for a photo without scaring them away. I will have to learn what this variety is called. On the northeast side I ran into another park-goer who was obviously watching something outside of the trail. I spotted two Fawns right away as they were not that far off the trail and heading slowly closer. These are the first pair of Fawns I've seen this year and they are quite big already -much bigger than the small ones I'd spotted in the month of June a couple years back. I waited patiently for a good photo but had the toughest time getting a clear shot as the pair were still shorter than most of the surrounding foliage. It's a bit darker in this area too and I just couldn't steady my camera long enough to focus well. As I was heading back to the south side I heard a bird call that I can now easily recognize clearly as a Common Yellowthroat. I scanned the spindly young Willow trees surrounding the little pond and eventually found him there. I'm not sure what it is about Willow trees but I've found Yellowthroats there more often than anywhere else. Sometimes the Willow leaves can look almost the same color yellow so I wonder if it is just a safe place to roost for them. I wonder about why this bird has such a dark coloring right across it's eye. I have a feeling it is an adaptation of being most active in the bright summer sunshine.

One Extra Day

2011-07-04T18:53:00.003-05:00

Today was Monday and the 4th of July so I had an extra day to visit the park. Today also marked a special occasion because my hike was with a fellow nature lover -someone whom I'd actually met at the park itself. Paul is amazingly knowledgeable in all kinds of aspects when it comes to nature and wildlife. I thought birding was quite a challenge until Paul was showing me how to identify Dragonflies and Damselflies. We tried catching a few with a net and I snapped a quick photo of this one as he was holding it. This is the same bright blue one I've been so fascinated with and previously referred to as a "Dragonfly." I now know it is in fact a "Damselfly" because it holds its wings parallel with it's body when at rest. I believe it's name is a Common Blue Damselfly. I also learned to spot a male and female "12-spot" Dragonfly. Later while near the south west side of the park a Hawk swooped overhead and perched close by. It moved a short time later to another tree but stayed in close proximity. We had a few good glimpses and could tell pretty quickly that it was a Coopers Hawk. I always think their back side had almost a blue-ish color and this was definitely the case. As we stood there watching it we were thinking it's behavior was rather territorial. Then we looked almost straight up to realize we were directly underneath a large nest. Furthermore there was a Chick visible in the nest! Paul said he saw some movement indicating another one but it must have been further down inside the nest. This was quite a sight as I've never really seen a young raptor before. Their eyes and beak look almost way too big for their head. Paul and I also had lots of fun watching the Osprey who where back again today. In fact, we spotted three of them together! In addition I think we may have found their favorite place to perch and eat the fish they are pulling out of the lake.

Great Day of Birding

2011-07-03T12:39:00.005-05:00

It was another warm day this Sunday but I got a slightly earlier start than yesterday. Even so I was eager to head into the cover of trees on the southwestern wood chip trail. About half way up the trail I spotted a large Hawk perched and facing directly towards me. From this vantage point I couldn't see it's tail or backside and it was also hard to tell the coloring as I was looking into the sun. Interestingly it was sitting on one leg with the other tucked in towards it's breast. Based on it's size and what little I could see, I would guess that it's a Red-tailed Hawk. It's head and beak looked too large for a Cooper's Hawk. He quickly flew off before I could definitively ID him although I still struggle with Hawks in general. As I made my way around I was able to positively ID a fairly long list of other birds including a Cedar Waxwing, Downy Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Crow, Common Grackle, Northern Flicker, Cardinal, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Osprey and even a Blue Jay. The best bird sighting of the day however was the first Hummingbird of the season. On top of that it was smack dab in the place where I've been expecting one to be. I've been scanning the tops of these 4 or 5 dead trees on the northeast side for weeks hoping to see one and finally got lucky today. I got off one shot and as I was taking the 2nd, I could see him take off already. Luckily the camera went off not a moment too soon. Hopefully I will start to see them more often now. Another slightly interesting sighting was at the end of my walk right before I was about to head to my vehicle. This bird had a slightly larger and fuzzier head than most which is what caught my eye. It perched on a small branch and then would dart out for just a second before returning. I'm assuming it was catching insects and this behavior matches up with the description for an Eastern Phoebe.

First Saturday in July

2011-07-02T14:10:00.003-05:00

Summer is in full swing now and our temps have easily been reaching highs of 80 to 90º. It's something I just don't feel very used to anymore especially after our long winter and slow, drawn-out spring. It would have been better to arrive earlier in the day to avoid the heat but unfortunately I got a late start around 11:30 today. There wasn't much of interest until I'd gone more than half way around the park. On the east side I glanced up and noticed this Great Egret in a dead tree above a little pond. Maybe the warm weather will start to attract some more of them as their numbers seem to be down in comparison to previous years. In this very same area, I noticed an odd looking bird on the ground in the grass with his head cocked towards the sky. It wasn't easily recognizable so I looked closer and grabbed a few pictures. He kept his head at this funny angle for quite a while before taking off. I only noticed after I got home that there were markings on his head that very much reminded me of an American Kestral. Could it have been a young one possibly? It is my best guess at this point. Almost the entire way around I'd been catching periodic glimpses of what I'd suspected was an Osprey. It was circling around the park over the water and when it finally perched in a tall, dead tree I was able to confirm with my binoculars. When I got to the railroad ties overlooking the water, he was just overhead and I got to see him quite close up. This was the first positive ID I'd made of an Osprey at the park, although others have told me they've seen them before. They are quite fun to watch as they will hover for a few seconds before diving straight down into the water to grab a fish. My camera is not really meant to be capturing birds in flight but I tried anyway. That is the reason this photo is cropped so strangely.

Quiet Sunday

2011-06-26T10:59:00.005-05:00

This Sunday morning I arrived at the park just after 8:00am and it was noticeably quieter than usual. I think a lot of people are out of town on vacation or something because I nearly had the park to myself. Something I find myself doing often after visiting the same park time-after-time, is to find myself in a particular place and remembering a previous encounter with wildlife. While rounding the southwestern corner of the park I paused to look at spot where I'd seen a Coyote sitting in winter, staring out across the middle of the park. The landscape had changed so drastically since then. I didn't see as many birds as yesterday although I did spot a few Goldfinches and a big male Flicker in the tall grass of the baseball fields. After walking up the wood chip trail along the creek on the south side, I quickly spotted a Mink swimming across the water towards a thicket of trees. I'm not sure how to describe the difference between a Mink and a Muskrat when they swim -but I would say that a Mink looks a lot longer and holds it's head almost completely above water. I'm glad to know they are still in the area -maybe they will help clean out some of the Carp in Shingle Creek. While in the same area by the water overlook, I took some time to clean up a bunch of garbage left by people fishing from the railroad ties. I really don't get people who bring in all kinds of stuff -cans, bottles, plastic wrappers and bags, proceed to fish for a while, then just up and leave without a care in the world about cleaning up the mess they just made. What a bunch of idiots. It's a whole 10 minute walk back to the parking lot where there are 3-4 garbage cans, yet they'll leave empty plastic bags and even tangled up fishing line just feet from the edge of the water. After picking up all this crap, I noticed a fairly large, winged insect and decided to grab a photo as it was kind of unusual. It reminded me of some much larger "water-bugs" I've seen in the past along Minnesota riverbanks. When I came back to the parking lot, I'd just gotten in my vehicle when I noticed a Chipmunk crawling around in the trees and bushes near my parking space. Though Chipmunks are so common, it was the first time I'd seen one at the park so I rolled down my window and took this photo from inside my truck. Another mammal to add to my list!

Lots of good sights

2011-06-25T11:35:00.007-05:00

It is now now officially summer according to the calendar and this Saturday's visit to the park was a great kickoff to the season. The impact of our wet spring weather is now obvious when walking through the park. Cattails are booming where large areas were crushed by the winter snows and foliage in general is overgrown everywhere. All along the trail the field grass is over 6 feet tall, making it quite hard to spot a Deer from a distance now. When I got to the north side, it was a bird bonanza. Within about 10 minutes time I spotted a Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Goldfinch, Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow and finally a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I first noticed him right off the trail and it would've made for a beautiful shot but I blew it and had to track him down later from a distance. On the paved trail were lots of slugs and as I was watching my step not to crush them, I noticed some other very small creatures. They were so small that I had to pick one up to investigate before I realized they were snails! I've never noticed them at this stage and it was pretty obvious that they had just started growing their shells. They were smaller than the tip of my finger. A short time later I spotted a Common Yellowthroat in a tree above me. He was stayed put for a while and I got to see him singing which was a first. I realized quickly that I'd heard that same call numerous times before and incorrectly associated it with a Yellow Warbler. I believe the 2 are quite similar sounding so hopefully I can hear more of both this summer and learn to distinguish them. As I was heading towards the baseball fields on the east side I noticed lots of dark little bugs on the trail -only they didn't seem to move like bugs. Upon closer inspection I realized they were tiny little frogs. They were about the same size as the snails I'd seen earlier and they pretty hard to photograph. There must have been hundreds of them and you could almost see the grass moving with their activity.

Short break from the rain

2011-06-19T18:01:00.000-05:00

We've been in a seemingly perpetual rainy weather pattern lately. I even called off my normal Saturday visit in favor of Sunday which was a bit better. Everything was wet and humid but at least the sun was popping out here and there. I did see one Oriole, a couple of Downy Woodpeckers and one Deer, but mostly the smaller things were more noticeable today. Milkweeds often catch my attention as I scan them for Monarch Caterpillars. Too often though I run across something else like this spider. Of all things, I'm actually quite freaked out by spiders and I really don't know why I took this photo -I guess it was just different. In various parts of the park, Cottonwood seeds were floating through the air so thickly that it actually looked like it was snowing. I tried to seek out a darker background so it would show up better in a photo. The seeds are collecting very heavily on the south side of the park -even on the water. I saw lots of other insects on the trail and took a few closeup photos just because I wasn't really seeing anything else. As I was coming back to the parking lot I noticed these small purple and white flowers. I don't know what they are but I know they are pretty common this time of year.

Two Years and Running!!!

2011-06-11T18:22:00.009-05:00

As of yesterday, I've officially been posting regularly to this blog for a full two years now! I never thought when I started this that I'd keep it up this long. Even I thought I might get bored with visiting the same park time after time. However, quite the opposite is true. Everything I've learned over the past two years has increased my appreciation and wonderment of nature and continues to fuel my passion for learning more. I have a real sense of accomplishment from everything I've learned so far. Every day I visit the park is a new learning opportunity -sometimes in the smallest way. Today was no exception. The weather today was remarkable -just perfect in my opinion, around 68 degrees, sunny and calm. I wish it could be like this all year long. Other than the perfect weather, the first thing I noticed was a Flicker high above me on the north west side. I've sure seen a lot of them this Spring compared to just one, all of last year. This I think is a female due to the lack of the black "mustache." Later I stopped in my usual place on the bridge over Shingle Creek to snap a few pics of the creek and I noticed a bunch of Barn Swallows flying over the water. I wished I could get a photo of these colorful birds but they were moving much too fast for my camera. Later I was making my way around the south east side when I noticed a whole bunch of them perched on the chain link fence surrounding the ball fields. It was the first opportunity I've ever had watch and photograph them sitting still. I was able to move in much closer than I expected and really see their full coloring. Only a few of them took off when I approached this closely. I was amazed at how colorful they are. On the very end there was one that looked so obviously different that I first thought it was a different species all together. As I got closer I could see it was also a Swallow but it had some added patches of white on the neck and on it's forehead. I thought for sure this was either a female or maybe an older Barn Swallow but according my new Peterson Field Guide, I think it's actually a "Cliff Swallow!"

Running with Orioles

2011-06-01T18:31:00.006-05:00

Today was my 4th visit to the park in as many days and I figured I'd change it up a little by jogging around instead of walking. I've done this before, and often enough to actually make it all the way around without stopping. I didn't make it all the way today as I just had to stop because of some great views of Baltimore Orioles. It's hard to catch a good photo of these birds even if you set out to do so, so I certainly wasn't going to jog right past them. The first one I saw was on the south side in a tall tree where I've only heard them before. I've learned it to be true that it's much more common to hear Orioles versus seeing them as they usually perch so high up in a tree that you'll never catch a glimpse of them -despite their almost neon-orange coloring. As I jogged around I had 2 more decent photo-ops of Orioles and noticed that each time they were perched in the same type of tree. I think they were either Cottonwood or Poplar trees based on the leaves but I'm not sure. I wonder what attracts them to these trees. The other two I spotted were on the north side before the bridge and then on the south east side. I was pretty stoked with all the various Oriole pics I'd got this visit but decided to post just the 2 best pics and include this other photo of a Doe that walked right out onto the trail in front of me. This is why I love coming to Palmer Lake Park. You just never know what you're going to see and when.

Last Day of May

2011-05-31T11:03:00.002-05:00

I took a couple of extra days off from work following Memorial Day so I was able to squeeze one more visit in for the month of May. Seems like this month is going by fast and a lot of the new birds I spotted earlier in the month are already disappearing, likely heading further north for the season. I did see another Flicker on the north side but had a tough time getting a photo against the bright sun. Shortly after, a lone Doe appeared among the tall grass, almost like a gopher popping it's head out of a hole -as that was all I could see. I thought maybe she might have had a fawn with her but as she crossed the trail later, nothing was behind her. I saw a pair of Red-tailed Hawks from a very long distance and didn't have any close bird encounters until I spotted this Cardinal just off the trail. He was quite close and I was excited about the potential photos I would get. I don't know what it is about Cardinals but I just can't seem to get a crisp, detailed photo of one no matter how close I get. I'm starting to thing their red color somehow throws off my camera or something. Just kidding. As I made my way around the park I was noticing how green and thick things have become over the month. Plants are growing and filling in every place that isn't routinely walked through.

Memorial Day Thunder and Rain

2011-05-30T10:20:00.001-05:00

It had rained and stormed again overnight and when I arrived at the park this morning everything was still very wet. It was Memorial Day Monday and I was hoping things would dry out in time later for a picnic outside. That possibility was promising as the sun was peaking through periodically. With yet more rain I still stuck to the outer paved trails. Just after setting out I was able to spot a Yellow Warbler fairly close off the trail. I got to watch him sing while viewing him and this always helps me better remember their call in the future. It's a series of 3 to 4 high pitched "twicky-too" sounds -at least in my opinion. Near the north side I encountered another singing bird -a Song Sparrow. They sure sound a lot more like a brightly colored Warbler than the drab brown, speckled bird they are. They also seem to strain upward with every inch of energy they have when they call out their song. Kind of fun to watch. On the east side it had started to rain a little bit, then a bit more and I got nervous seeing as how I'd left my rain jacket behind. I picked up the pace but as I did, the thunder started rolling again. I even saw a bright flash of lightning as I was looking upwards for birds. I honestly thought it would not rain again but as I was back on the south side it began to pour down hard. I was getting really wet but paused as this open field because you could just see the rain in the air against the backdrop of trees.

Calm Sunday Morning

2011-05-29T11:10:00.002-05:00

It was cool and calm out this Sunday morning. The park was not busy in the least with a lot of people headed out of town for Memorial Day weekend. With the soggy condition of the wood chip trails, I stayed on the outer paved trails entirely. Around the southwest corner I spotted a large Red-tailed Hawk in a dead tree above me. I only got a few crummy shots before another smaller bird flew in and chased him off. When I got to the foot bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I decided to walk up the other trail a bit, following the creek. On the opposite side I spotted a Deer who'd obviously seen me first and stopped in it's tracks. It was another young Buck with new antlers. I scanned around and within a few seconds spotted what I thought was a Doe, but upon closer inspection with my binoculars, was another Buck with just 2 small nubs. The two caught up to each other and went bouncing off through the tall grass. The whole walk I could hear lots of Yellow Warblers and Orioles but never caught a glimpse of either one. Near the end of my route I heard a bird call I've not heard in a while and looked up to see a Blue Jay. I feel like there was still snow on the ground last time I saw one at the park.

Severe weather and flooding

2011-05-26T22:08:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday we receive an inch of rain. Then on Sunday the 22nd another inch of rain came along with a Tornado that ripped through north Minneapolis. The tornado caused unbelievable damage to homes, buildings and especially trees. After moving through dense neighborhoods it continued northeast, hitting the North Mississippi River Regional Park extremely hard. Palmer Lake Park is just a few miles away -just far enough away to escape any damage. The only effect on the park is a fair amount of flooding from all the rain. I though I'd seen the highest water levels at the park last year but that doesn't even come close to this. Some of the wood chip trails -and even parts of the paved path were actually impassible this evening. Small plants that were growing along the trails are now completely submerged. It will be interesting to see if this will help or hurt the summer plant growth. On the north side of the park I heard a Pheasant crow and for once I actually spotted him upon hearing him. He was in the same place I'd spotted another during my last visit, walking along some low, scrubby trees just above the tall grass. I actually got to see him crow but wasn't fast enough to catch a photo in time. As I was coming back to the south side I noticed a couple of park goers staring at something inside the path. It took me a while to spot what they were watching but it was two young Bucks eating leaves off the trees. Both had an impressive set of thick velvety antlers. I tried for a long time to get them both in one shot but they were moving around too much and it was getting too dark for my camera as well. I wonder if these are the young ones born last Spring?

Friday Sunrise Walk

2011-05-20T06:52:00.001-05:00

I arrived at the park again at 5:30am this Friday morning. I was slightly less tired today and eager for a good walk. The sky was incredible when I first set out and I took a few shots just near the parking lot. There were more great birds to be seen today. In fact I had a great, close encounter with both a Baltimore Oriole and another Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It was just too dark yet though and none of the photos turned out. Later I saw more Tree Swallows, Sparrows and a Pheasant. As I was making my way down the east side I almost walked right past a Flicker who was actually sitting right on the sidewalk just off to my left. I've read that they like to eat ants so it made sense. I'd never been so close to one and I was quite shocked at how large he was. Of course he flew off as soon as I noticed him there but I followed him for a bit and watched him drinking water from the slough area nearby. Growing right along side the water was a tree with bright pink blossoms. I'm guessing maybe it's some kind of Crab Apple Tree but I'm not sure. I'll have to check back to see if it has any fruit on it. As I was heading back I saw a female Red-winged Blackbird fairly close to the trail so I took a couple of shots. Some sexes of birds are so similar, with just minute details setting them apart, while others like Red-winged Blackbirds are completely different from male to female. The female is not black, nor Red-winged at all!

Thursday Sunrise Walk

2011-05-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

Lately I've felt like I've been in such a slump. My routine has become monotonous and the days are going by way too fast -despite the longer daylight hours. I'd been considering shifting my walks to the morning hours before work versus after but I am soooo not a morning person. Today I gave it a shot though by waking early and arriving at the park by 5:30am. It was kind of weird being there that early but I did have the park mostly to myself -which is near impossible this time of year. Even this early I started seeing birds. First some Tree Swallows, then Goldfinch, then another Flicker again on the north side. There were also a fair amount of Deer visible this morning and as I approached the foot bridge I noticed 2 Deer standing on the bridge! They hurried across as I came closer. I then stopped on the bridge to watch a family of Canada Geese with young ones. The two goslings lowered their heads to drink water from the Creek and it was a great photo opportunity that my camera let me down on. It was just too dark in the area with all the trees overhead. Further down the trail, a couple of Mourning Doves were eagerly awaiting the sunrise. I think I'm noticing these Doves more recently as I'm always on the lookout for another Kestral and the two have a similar shape and size. When I got back to the south side I paused for a while at my favorite place where the Shingle Creek flows back out of the lake. It had been overcast and cloudy all morning and then it suddenly passed. Everything green lit up with brilliant color against a darker sky in the west. It was about this time I realized I needed to get home and get ready for work. What a drag.

Quick visit Wednesday evening

2011-05-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

This Wednesday evening both myself and my significant other badly needed to de-charge after a stressful day at work. The weather was awesome but we made our way around rather quickly. Though I saw 1 or 2 Yellow Warblers, the birds were quite inactive. On the north side we spotted some Mallards with Ducklings and watched them zip around like little bugs. The Plum trees are blooming now and certain parts of the trail are filled with white blossoms. Hopefully they will continue blooming at different times because they smell fantastic.

Yet more new birds

2011-05-15T21:49:00.002-05:00

This Sunday was definitely the nicer day of the weekend. It was sunny and 65º and it made for one of the nicest walks this year so far. The amount of Bird species one could see at the park seems to still be on the upswing. In this visit alone I will have positively identified 3 more species. This first one I've seen plenty of and become very familiar with. I've been seeing -and hearing- lots of Gray Catbirds for a few weeks already. They're not the most fun to look at but sure are fun to listen to. They mimic other Birds and I swear I can hear a Robin call in there among all the other noise they make. There were a pair of them just above me on the woodchip trail and I couldn't resist such a close shot. As I was making my way towards the baseball fields on the west side I noticed a bunch of small Warblers in the woods. I paused to watch and see if I could get any shots when I caught a glimpse of one with stunning colors. He, along with the others didn't sit still for very long and I caught only this very poor photo. Pretty sure it is a Chesnut sided Warbler! On the north side I spotted a larger, Robin sized Bird that did not look familiar at first glance. He was perched high up in a Willow Tree so I checked with my binoculars. It was a Red-Breasted Grosbeak, a fairly common Bird but the first one I've seen at the park. I went for my camera but I was about half a second too slow and caught him launching into flight. Between this and my next photo I saw all kinds of stuff including another Flicker, Brown-headed Cowbirds and a Green Heron. I'd walked up the edge of a pond to watch the Heron for a bit when I noticed a colorful, orange and black bird land just out to my right. I'd seen my first one only yesterday but managed to get a photo this time of an American Redstart! The Redstart is a member of the Warbler family and if you ever try to catch a photo of these types of birds, you'll understand why I'm so happy with this picture.

Becoming a Birder

2011-05-14T13:59:00.003-05:00

Slowly but surely, my regular visits to Palmer Lake Park over the past couple of years have turned me into an avid "Birder." After cuing in to migration time last year, I'm realizing just how special spring is to birding in Minnesota. This spring, I've spotted and identified twice as many species as last year but I'm also realizing that I'm barely scratching the surface. To me, birding is a lot like collecting coins, stamps, antiques or what have you. Every time I photograph and positively ID a new bird, it's like adding it to my collection. There's also a ton of research regarding subtle nuances and varieties, just the same as if you were collecting anything specific. My collection today started with a nice addition of a Northern Flicker, only the 2nd one I've ever seen at the park. He was high up in a tree and facing me, allowing me to see his spotted breast. Later at the bridge, I spotted a small orange and black bird that landed on the fallen tree laying in Shingle Creek. I tried over and over to catch a photo but it eventually flew off. About this time, a fellow nature lover whom I've come to know, walked up and told me it was an American Redstart. As we stood on the bridge exchanging stories, he pointed out a Water Thrush and a Common Yellowthroat. I only got a photo of the latter -but both are members of the Warbler family. After a while, we ended up walking together for a while and I was amazed at what a keen eye he has for nature. I'd have walked right past without noticing until he pointed out this Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant that was growing just a couple feet off the paved trail. I've only seen them before at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden so it was a special treat to find this one. Just before we got to back to his vehicle, we spotted a couple unidentified warbler-like birds in the plumb trees outside the trail loop that are just now starting to bloom. I went in closer for some pics but only caught two less-than-decent photos. My companion studied the photos and when we got to his truck he pulled out a comprehensive field guide giving merit to his belief that it was a Tennessee Warbler! Since I trust his expertise about 100 times more than my own I'm gonna say that it was indeed a Female Tennessee Warbler. This evening I went and purchased a new field guide to Birds of North America as well as another, smaller guide to Warblers specifically.

Humid Monday evening

2011-05-09T22:08:00.000-05:00

Lately if I'm only able to visit the park once per weekend, I'm itching to go back by Monday or Tuesday. This Monday evening I met a friend for a walk. Right before we left I tracked a Yellow Warbler near the parking lot where it looks over the lake. There were 2 of them hopping around on the dead cattails and this is the closest I've been to them yet. This is the only shot I'm posting today as the light was just not good with a very overcast sky. I did see one other thing of interest -about 20 or more Northern Shovelers all in a group way out in the eastern body of water. They were real far away and it was quite dark by the time I spotted them.

Filling in the gaps

2011-05-08T14:05:00.002-05:00

I didn't make it to the park on Saturday so I took my time going around on Sunday morning. I would say that this was the first weekend with actual leaves on the trees as it is now hard to see through the woods. As soon as I arrived at the parking lot and got out of my vehicle, I heard a bird call that I actually remembered from last year. It didn't take me long and I spotted the first Baltimore Oriole of the season. For whatever reason, it then flew right up to another truck in the parking lot and kind of hovered right up along side it. I don't know if maybe it saw it's own reflection or what but afterward it decided to perch right on the bug shield of the same truck. There were plenty of birds out today as it was sunny and warm but the next one of interest to me was this greyish brown bird. I've seen them periodically since early spring but have not gotten a photo or tried to identify them until now. This one settled just close enough above a marshy area for a bit. According to my field guide I'd say it's an Eastern Phoebe. Back on the south side I spotted a Cedar Waxwing in the narrow strip of trees between the lake and the trail. I went in a little closer and noticed a few more of them all in the same tree. I tried to get a shot of a couple of them together but with the leaves coming in, one or the other was always blocked. A short distance further down the trail, I started to hear one of the most beautiful and unusual bird calls I've ever heard. It was incredibly loud and extremely varied. I don't think I heard the same pattern repeated in five minutes time. I thought, I've GOT to see this bird and veered right off into the woods after it. I was kind of expecting to see some brightly colored bird but instead I found a quite large, mostly brown bird with a white spotted breast. I was close enough to notice that it had bright yellow eyes and I thought to myself this would definitely help in identifying him later. Indeed it did -it is Brown Thrasher which apparently has the largest documented song repertoire of all North American Birds. This and the Phoebe will add 2 more bird species to my list!

Colorful little Birds

2011-05-03T21:29:00.014-05:00

The sun was back today and we finally warmed back up to a high of 59 degrees! It was just too nice not to visit the park. Over the last couple weeks I've been noticing some tiny, tiny little birds bouncing around in the trees. I tried once before to catch a photo and gave up easily because they seriously don't sit still for more than half a second. I deduced from my field guide -strictly based on their small size- that they were Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Tonight as I was cutting through the south west side on the wood chip trail, I caught an obvious flash of red on a small bird just off the trail over the creek. There were 3 or 4 in the same bush and it was a fantastic opportunity to watch them closer. As usual, they were what I'd describe as "hyperactive," changing positions every second or two. It made for quite a challenge to catch one in my viewfinder, focus and snap a picture before they would move again. I spent a full 30 minutes or so watching them and taking pictures -and they were quite entertaining. Once in a while they would bury their head into a clump of budding leaves almost like a Hummingbird in search of nectar. Also, after I approached closer they would periodically flutter right in front of my face and then land on a branch right above my head. I could really see all their detail including their potent olive-green coloring. I didn't see much afterward except for the usual groups of Deer. By the time I was making my way back to the south side, the sun was setting and casting a nice glow where the creek flows back out of the lake. As I was admiring the light, I noticed a bunch more birds that I thought looked yellow simply because of the sun. As the sun faded, the birds stayed yellow. These were also busy little birds, fluttering around quickly but often coming back to roughly the same spot just a few feet above the creek. When I checked with my binoculars I recognized one as a Yellow Warblers by the dark streaking on the belly. This is only the 2nd or third time maybe that I've seen them at the park. A few others appeared mostly yellow but with some distinctive black and white banding on the head. I really had no idea what these were at the time but I my field guide confirms that they are Common Yellowthroat -which is also a type of Warbler and one NEW bird species that I can add to my list!

Hat and gloves one more time?

2011-04-30T13:20:00.006-05:00

This Saturday morning followed the recent trend of cold and windy but with an added bonus of rain as well. Before I left the parking lot I'd actually decided to wear my winter hat -and was later thankful for it. Right away I spotted what I thought was a small group of Deer. As I went for my camera, they bolted forward quickly and then were followed by at least 6 or 7 more. The whole group actually ran right into and through the parking lot. Later, the cause of the alarm appeared to be a dog that wandered away from his owner. I saw roughly 15 or more Deer today and spotted another young Buck with new antlers. Right after the bridge on the north side I noticed a Wild Turkey in some thick brush. I was close enough for a photo but it stayed in the thickest parts moving in and out from behind trees. I decided to stalk him for a while hoping to get a better shot. Eventually he decided to move along and headed towards some more open areas. He would only pause for a second or two and only once or twice in an opening through the trees. It was ticking me off to be this close and not be getting a better shot so I followed him some more until he finally got to the edge of a field. There I paused motionless for long time and he walked right out in front of me and onto the trail. Wild Turkeys make the Deer in the park seem like tame pets in comparison. Any subtle movement on my part would have sent him running or flying off in a split second. The rest of my walk afterward was rainy as heck and my camera lens would not stay dry enough to even bother.

Chill in the air

2011-04-27T20:50:00.005-05:00

I was able to visit the park after work this Wednesday but the weather has turned colder again. This whole Spring season has been a real roller coaster -changing from warm to cold every other week it seems. By the end of April last year, we had full leaves the trees and lots of green everywhere. For now the budding leaves seem to have stopped in their tracks and are patiently waiting for warmer temps. One of the first things I saw tonight was a Crow with a frog in it's mouth but I didn't get a good shot. I also saw a Kestral again in the open field of cattails on the north side. Mostly though, I saw a lot of Deer this evening. Some lounging on the banks of the Creek and lots of others busy foraging along the paths. As I was rounding the southeast corner I spotted another group of 3 on the outside of the trail near some houses -a place where I've never ever seen Deer before. At first I barely noticed the one of them had a fresh set of antler nubs. I tried for a long time to get him to look up at me for a photo but he was much too interested in whatever was on the ground. As I was watching this group, a very light snow flurry began to pepper the air. A short time later while at the edge of the lake I grabbed this shot as it really shows how crummy the weather was. What a difference from last April!

Three for three

2011-04-25T17:01:00.003-05:00

Today was my third visit to the park in three days. The weather was still great today but even warmer. It will be just a matter of days I think before the trees really start looking full again. Something I noticed right away today was Butterflies. Specifically Mourning Cloaks. This was the first one I saw but I later spotted more as I went. I kind of associate these with Summer so I don't know if they're early this year or maybe I just haven't been paying attention in years prior. On the north side I again spotted a Kestral -which also marks 3 days in a row! It's kind of like when you notice a certain type of car for the first time and then you start to see it everywhere. I guess the same holds true for nature. You start to notice subtle behaviors or colors or postures -with birds especially- that can help you pick them out the next time. Today's Kestral sighting was cool because as I was looking at this one through my binoculars, I noticed another one in a different tree even closer to me! Both appeared to be males but I can't say I'm an expert at telling them apart yet. Later I spotted a Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Goldfinch and more Painted Turtles. This Common Grackle was close to me alongside the paved path near the pond on the east side so I took a pic just for the heck of it. I tried to get his iridescent head but he must have been at the wrong angle.

Beautiful Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T11:06:00.006-05:00

At last, the nice weather the forecasts were talking about all week arrived on Sunday morning. It was darn right gorgeous with clear blue skies, low 50's and little to no breeze. When you live in Minnesota, this is the kind of weather you wish you could have every day. The buds on the trees and brush seemed to have doubled overnight and there were birds and waterfowl everywhere soaking up the sun. I even saw a few Slugs on the paved path. On the west side, in the very same group of trees as yesterday, was a Bluebird again -in fact there were a few of them. I can see how easy they are to confuse with Robins. Shortly afterward I spotted a Kestral again in familiar territory on the north side. It was far away again and hard to tell for sure but it may have been a female as the colors seemed a bit muted. Near the ball fields on the east side I could see a few little birds in the bare shrubs surrounding a little pond. I decided to sneak in closer and immediately noticed a Yellow-rumped Warbler. He was at way closer range than I've seen before and I was finally able to get some good shots. At first he had his back to me but that was not bad as this showed off the yellow rump for which they are named. He must have felt safe in these shrubs as he stayed in them for a while and eventually even came closer to me. They have quickly become my new favorite bird. Not only do they have patches of bright yellow on their rump, but also on both shoulders and on their head. This is most likely a Male and I can't say I've positively identified a female just yet. Near the end of my walk I could see a small group of Ducks way way out in the lake that had some very obvious white patches on their head. At first I assumed they were Hooded Mergansers but I'd not seen any of those for quite a while. Also, unlike Mergansers, the white patch extended all the way to the edge of the head. Despite the distance I'm pretty sure I can positively identify them as Buffleheads. There were also females with a much smaller white patch that fits the description.

Dark Saturday evening

2011-04-23T20:52:00.005-05:00

I didn't make it to the park until about quarter to 7 this Saturday evening. Though the forecast called for a break in the clouds, it remained dark, cold and windy all day long. There actually was a lot to see but unfortunately it was one of those days where the light was just too dim for my camera. I'm continuing to see more Yellow-rumped Warblers and also saw the Mink again on the south side of Shingle Creek. I've also caught glimpses of Wild Turkeys here and there since my first sighting a couple weeks ago. Tonight I had one in view for quite a while near the creek on the southwest side. It wandered back and forth for a while and eventually walked off into the Cattails. I saw a group of 3 Deer shortly afterward and then I spotted the first Bluebird of the season as well. I took lots of pictures of both the Deer and Bluebird but again they just weren't turning out. On the north side I did a double-check with my binoculars on what seemed to be an odd looking Robin and realized it was the Kestral! Last time I'd seen one there was still snow on the ground. He was quite a ways away and when I hiked closer he took off so this is the best shot I got. A little while later I spotted another lone Turkey and a few more Deer. Then another group of 10 more Deer as it was really starting to get dark. As I was coming all the way around back to my vehicle in the parking lot, the clouds broke way way off in the horizon and the sun finally shown for the first time in the day. It was short lived but a brilliantly colored sunset.

All about the birds

2011-04-17T17:31:00.009-05:00

The weather today was a whole lot better than yesterday -around 55º and sunny. Today was all about the birds as I seemed to hear or see a different one every few minutes. I didn't see a single Deer but that's probably because I had my head to the sky most of the time. On the north side before the foot bridge I spotted a group of 10 or more Cedar Waxwings. They were still picking at leftover, dried up Buckthorn berries. Only one stayed put long enough for a photo but he was in kind of a darker area of a larger tree. In the same little swamp where I'd seen the Great Egret yesterday was a lone Coot right near the path. I usually don't get this close to them so I snapped a few pics and watched him for a while. One feature I'd never noticed before is they have this weird "chestnut" looking bump at the very top of their bill. Many birds were content to sit still for me today which was odd -maybe they were soaking up the sun. One bird that was doing just that was this House Sparrow. I normally don't photograph Sparrows or wrens as they're small, don't usually stay put, and all tend to look alike. I think I'm going to try though from now on as it should help me learn all the subtle differences. As I was about to get back into my vehicle back at the parking lot, I could hear a bird making all kinds of different calls. Whenever I can place a call with a visual, there's nothing better to help me remember that bird later. I walked a bit until I found the source of all the noise and spotted another American Goldfinch. I had no idea they were such song birds.

Cold and Wiiinnnnnndddddy

2011-04-16T18:31:00.007-05:00

This Saturday I actually had to break out my winter hat again. Not only was the temp around just 35 or 36º but it was extremely windy. I don't know what it was gusting to, but at times it was hard to walk against. The lake itself even had whitecaps on the water! Despite the crummy weather I was able to see quite a bit and took exactly 70 photos. On the far north end by the drainage ditch I came across what started as a small group of 2-3 Deer. As I snapped pictures, more and more appeared and after a while the group grew to 8 or 9. They were moderately close when I first saw them but many of them actually moved closer to me. A few were brave enough to venture within about 10 feet of me! At this distance I had no problem seeing the two small bumps on his head. This is probably the earliest I've been able to confirm seeing a young Buck. It seemed like after a while the group got used to me but then all of a sudden all of their heads perked up. I looked behind me to see a biker coming down the trail so I moved on. On the east side I spotted a Great Blue Heron in one body of water, and the first Great Egret of the season in another. I did get shots of both but the Heron made for a slightly better pic. Right after I took this shot, he flew over and kicked the Egret out of his spot. Shortly afterward I noticed a bunch of little birds on the ground and on the chain link fence surrounding the baseball fields. What caught my attention was small, bright yellow patches on their wings and head. The rest of them was slightly blue-ish. This was definitely not a bird I've seen before so I tried for a long time for a good picture. Unfortunately all 30 or 40 stayed out in the grass and would move away as a group when I got too close. I confirmed later from my field guide that they are Yellow-rumped Warblers!

Wednesday night wildlife

2011-04-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

This Wednesday evening was much more mild with temps near the norm of 50-55 degrees. When I arrived at the parking lot on the south side I could see a lot of waterfowl in the usual place where the creek empties into the lake. As I started walking and got a bit closer though I could see that a large portion consisted of Northern Shovelers! This time there were males and females. Again I checked by posts from last year and my first sighting was on April 18th. It's pretty neat to have a sightings record of various birds and then to learn that it's within days of the previous year! One bird I've been seeing a lot of lately has been the Common Grackle. I first started to notice them among large groups of Red-winged Blackbirds. They are a bit larger than the Blackbirds and have an iridescent blue head that only appears at certain angles. This evening a few were feeding on and around the flooded low areas just off the woodchip trails. One pulled a worm out of the ground just like you normally see Robins do. I saw quite a few Deer tonight though most were at long distances. For a while I stopped to watch a group of 6 in which one was acting completely goofy. It would jump up into the air, spin around, then bolt quickly in a different direction. I even witnessed it trot backwards -something I've never seen a Deer do before, and it was quite funny. Later on the south side I spotted something swimming quickly through the water. Though I captured just one quick photo, I'm quite sure it was the Mink again. He seemed way to slender and agile to be a Muskrat -especially the way he dove under the water. I sat for quite a while here and actually saw him 4 more times. At each moment when I was about to snap my shutter he would dive back under the water. I spotted him on solid ground just once and again as I went for a pic he dove back into the water.

More return visitors

2011-04-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

This Tuesday evening I started around the park from the east side just to be different. Upon rounding the baseball fields I caught a glimpse of a yellow bird up in the trees above me. I was surprised to see that it was a Goldfinch. Though my field guide says they are in lower Minnesota year round, I don't typically see them in the park until summertime -maybe June at the earliest. Just before crossing the stream on the south west side I spotted a couple of Wild Turkeys in the thick brush. These were the first Turkeys I've seen at the park since October of 2009! As I tried to get closer they flew over to the other side of the stream and disappeared into the woods quickly. Fortunately I spotted a couple more quite a while later on the north side right before the bridge. They were far away but at least they stayed put long enough for a photo. I spotted quite a bit more tonight that I wasn't able to photograph including a Hawk, Coots, Cormorants and a Wood Duck. I'd also spotted quite a few deer as well, mostly at long distances until I caught this group of 5 to 6 back near the east side. It was getting dark already so I wasn't getting the best shots. When viewing the pics on my computer though, I noticed something I didn't see in the field -both Deer seem to have small bumps protruding from their forehead. It's pretty crazy that just 2 weeks ago I saw a Buck with full grown antlers and now these young ones are just starting to grow theirs. I would have never imagined that this cycle of growth-to-shed could happen within 2 weeks of each other. How weird.

Spring on steroids

2011-04-10T18:48:00.005-05:00

Spring-like weather seems to have taken forever to arrive this year, but today it felt like we skipped spring altogether and went right into summer! The temp was unusually high at 73º and on top of that it was extremely humid -quite strange for early April! It made for a great visit though as I spent nearly 2 hours making my way around and taking just under 100 photos. I had a hard time choosing what to post because I saw so much. First were a pair of Tree Swallows that were zooming around one of the wooden bird houses on the north side. It's an exciting sign of more colorful birds starting to come back to the park. Just a short time later I was stunned to see a 3 foot Garter Snake on the path. It seemed a bit early to see a snake but I was just now checking my older posts and saw that my first snake sighting last year was Sunday, April 11th -so exactly one year ago to the day. What are the odds of that? Surprisingly, snakes weren't the only reptile out today. I later saw a few painted turtles sunning themselves in the small body of water by the east side baseball fields. I shot a couple pics but as I walked further I ran into 2 more just sitting on the ground right off the trail. This side of the park was quite flooded by snow melt and there's still water everywhere hence the turtles. I've seen Great Blue Herons flying overhead since late March but I've not seen many stop in the park until recently. I swear they are 10 times more skittish than any Deer in the park so I often have to stalk them for a while to get a decent photo. They are an interesting bird as they can look quite different in every photo. I had an easier time locating this one against the backdrop of cattails by looking for his reflection in the water so I decided to include that in my photo. As I was making my way back to the parking lot I could see Bald Eagle seemingly sitting right on top of the water. As I got closer I could see that he was perched on a small portion of a branch barely jutting above the surface. It was funny because Canada Geese would swim right by him and he would tip his head as if he thought they were strange looking birds or something. He put his wings up once to balance himself as he turned to face the other way but I missed that picture moment.

Meal for a Hawk

2011-04-05T22:21:00.004-05:00

This evening after work was partly sunny and 54 degrees and just begged for a visit to the park. Though it was another short one, I was able to do it without a jacket for the first time in roughly 5 months! From the paved trail on the far western edge, I noticed a large bird perched low to the ground on a fallen tree. It was a Hawk feasting on a recent kill and making a lot of commotion. In fact as I watched, it began making loud noises unlike most calls I've ever heard from a Hawk before. Then I noticed a second Hawk perched on the same log further to the left. Eventually the first Hawk flew off while still making these loud calls and the second Hawk moved in to finish up the scraps. Both looked like the same species and my best guess is that they were Coopers Hawks. I could see red eyes on one for sure but both had that bluish, slate gray appearance to their back side.

Quick evening visit

2011-04-03T21:27:00.000-05:00

I didn't make it to the park this Sunday until almost 7pm. There were quite a few Deer to be seen again and they were pretty much the only thing of interest this evening. Not only am I spotting them in their usual locations but for the first time it's easy to spot them way out in the middle of the park. Because the Cattails took such a beating this winter, you can see Deer moving clear across the opposite side of the park sometimes. The lighting was just too poor for my cheap camera all evening so even when I did get closer, my shots weren't turning out good. Later I crept along quietly near the creek on the south side hoping to see a Mink again. There was no sign of them or anything else -just a very flooded lake basin. It's hard to tell from this pic but the eastern body of water still has ice on it, while the western side is completely ice free.

New month

2011-04-02T13:25:00.003-05:00

April has finally arrived and it feels good to have the snowiest months behind us now. The early morning temps are still below freezing so I had dressed accordingly warm. The big difference now is that temperatures can climb up into the mid 40's before I make it around. So there I was today in my heavy winter jacket and stocking cap while joggers ran by me in shorts. From the parking lot I noticed a group of black and white Ducks on the far end of the lake. I assumed they were more Goldeneyes but when I looked closer I could not see the white patch on the head. Then I realized they were Common Mergansers. I'd only ever seen one single female last fall so these were the first males I've spotted at the park. On the southwest side I noticed Pussy Willows blooming and speckling the horizon with bright white dots. The trees should be budding any day now too. The last few weeks has been good for Deer sightings and I'm averaging about 10-12 every walk. Today was about the same but the first ones I saw were also being admired by a lot of other park goers within just feet of the trail. All 3 looked like young ones and they were tilting their heads in the air trying to smell me.

Two more bird species

2011-03-30T21:27:00.001-05:00

This Wednesday I spent over 2 hours at the park and took a whopping 98 photos. This was mostly due to the fact that I spent extra time sitting in various placing hoping to get closer to my subject. The first thing I saw though was right along the paved path and quite close. There were at least 3 or more Cedar Waxwings -something I've not seen in a long time. This time however they were close enough for me to notice the small, brightly colored details I was previously unaware of. Check out the bright yellow tip of the tail and bright red tips of the wings. Later, I decided to sit for a while again under the big Cottonwood tree on the creek, still trying to get closer to the Hooded Mergansers. While they stayed mostly out of range, a single small duck appeared close to me out of nowhere. It was a Pied-billed Grebe, the first I've ever seen at the park. I watched him dive under the water and resurface after long periods over and over again. My field guide says Pied-billed Grebes are very sensitive to pollution so I'm kind of surprised to see one here as Shingle creek is full of garbage and plastic bottles. I can't tell if the park is attracting more species of birds or if maybe I'm just more on the look out for them. As I was almost back to the parking lot I noticed an oddly colored Duck way out on the opposite end of the lake. He was black and white but even from this distance I could see the brightly colored yellow eyes tipping me off that it was a Common Goldeneye. There was also a female with a dark brown head. A couple other noteworthy things I saw but were unable to photograph were a Blue-winged Teal and the Mink swimming in the creek again.

More unusal sights

2011-03-28T21:35:00.000-05:00

I squeezed in a quick walk after work tonight. I'm still having to dress warm and walk on top of frozen snow which is starting to seriously irritate me at this point. It was especially irritating when I noticed a whole bunch of Hooded Mergansers on the southwest side. There's a wood chip trail that runs along one side, so it was a good opportunity to get try and get closer. Unfortunately every step I took made a terribly loud crunch and I learned just how little noise it takes to scare these waterfowl off. By the time I was half way to where I wanted to be, almost all of them had flown off. When I got behind some thick brush I could only see just a couple left but the only clear shot I got was from behind. On the north side after the bridge I noticed a few deer out in the open field. They were too far away for a good photo but as I kept walking more and more were appearing. Soon there was a pretty large group of about 7 or 8 and then I saw even more filing out of the wood to join them. At the end of the line was something that made me do a double take -a Buck with a mature 6 point set of antlers! I was surprised to see Deer with antlers at the end of February so this was quite a shock. He was just lazily walking behind the group, giving me a few different photo opportunities. While hiking along the creek near the end of my route, I thought I saw something moving through the water. I thought it was a Muskrat but then thought that it might be too early for them yet. I sat down on a park bench and just sat there for a while watching it get dark. Then I noticed a furry little creature walking on the snow covering the creek bank. It was a Mink! I thought I'd never see them again but they were back in the very same area as last fall. I couldn't get a photo through all the brush so I waited and waited for it to come back. Eventually I saw it -or another one- swimming back downstream but by this time it was pretty dark. You might be able to see the wake he is making in the water here.

American Kestral Sighting

2011-03-27T21:01:00.001-05:00

Even though it was Sunday, my visit to the park today didn't happen until just before 6pm. Temps are still hovering just below freezing which is actually way below normal for this time of year. Fortunately there's been lots of sun lately -giving me hope that Spring might still arrive sometime this year. While walking down the long, straight stretch of path on the northwest side, I saw a bird come and land on the very top most part of a tall dead tree. It reminded me of a Northern Shrike so I took a peak with my binoculars. I couldn't believe my eyes but it was most definitely a male American Kestral! I was very far away but took pics anyway thinking I might not ever see one again. After crossing the bridge I decided to hike out along the creek in hopes that I might see some more Hooded Mergansers. But on the way, I spotted the Kestral yet again, this time with a fresh meal in his grasp! He was obviously preoccupied so I took the opportunity to hike closer. He was literally tearing his prey to shreds and bits of fur where flying everywhere. I couldn't believe that on top of seeing this colorful bird for the first time, I was getting to witness him in action, doing what only raptors do. He was really working at his meal, clutching and moving it with one foot while pulling back with his strong neck. In the process he had fur stuck to his beak. I was close enough that I could even see the two pink, hind legs of whatever rodent he'd snatched up. I assumed it was a Vole, not a mouse, as it was nearly the size of his own head. After I got too close, he flew off in the opposite direction and I finally made my way to the tall Cottonwood tree along the banks of the creek. I sat here for a while watching all the waterfowl action, hoping too see anything more interesting than all the Mallards. Eventually a male and female pair of Wood Ducks landed a long ways down the creek. They are the first I've seen this year. As I was sitting and watching, the Kestral made a 3rd and final appearance, roosting in some shorter brush near the creek for a short time.

Here comes Spring -oooops just kidding!

2011-03-26T14:43:00.012-05:00

After more than a week with temps in the 40's and 50's, I was really getting "Spring-fever." The snow was gone and in places you can see plants and grass actually starting to green up. This trend was short lived however as an early spring snowstorm moved across the upper midwest Tuesday through Wednesday. It started with half and inch of rain, then a fresh coating of 4-5 inches of snow. It was just enough to move this winter up a notch to the 5th snowiest winter in Minnesota history! Like after most snowstorms the temps dipped way back down again -even into the single digits the following day. This Saturday morning the park was barely distinguishable from an average day in January. Melted backwaters that had been attracting ducks last week were now frozen solid again. Since seeing just a handful of Red-winged Blackbirds last Saturday, they're back in huge numbers now and can be seen and heard everywhere. I bet they're thinking they came back too early this year. Despite the chilly temps, the sun was out and birds were plentiful and active. I'm hearing so many birds now it's harder to pick them out but one I did recognize today was that of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I heard him for a long time before finally spotting him. A short time later I spotted one Hawk and then another. The second was noticeably smaller than the first and had a much longer tail than I'm used to seeing on a Hawk. As far as I can tell from my bird book it is a Sharp-shinned Hawk which would be a first! During this walk I could barely keep track of all the various birds I saw. Here is what I remember: Robin, Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Chickadee, Crow, Blue Jay, House Finch, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Ring-billed Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Hooded Mergansers

2011-03-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

I arrived at the park just after 6pm on Monday after work. Though slightly overcast it was relatively warm and I was able to wear a few layers of sweatshirts instead of my heavy winter jacket. There is barely any snow left even anywhere so I started off on the woodchip trail. Just barely in, I noticed a bunch of odd looking ducks near where the creek opens up into the lake basin. With my binoculars I could tell right away they were Hooded Mergansers! There was a whole bunch of them -mostly males and one or two females. I did see just one female last fall but this is the first time I've ever seen males and it was frustrating that I could not get closer. Later while passing along the baseball fields on the west side I spotted a Bald Eagle perched high up in the trees. I tried getting closer to him but could not find a decent view until I was almost underneath him. There were a few crows bothering him but they eventually took off. Upon coming to the bridge over the creek on the north side, there were a lot of ducks to be seen. After peering further downstream I could see even more Hooded Mergansers so I decided to hike along the bank to see if I could get closer. All the tall swamp grass was completely flattened out so it was actually an easy and quiet walk. Even so, I scared up a small group of 4 deer who wondered what I was up to. I kept going, staying behind the creek bank until I figured I was far enough downstream. Then near the large cottonwood tree, I popped up over the bank and found myself very close to a bunch of Hooded Mergansers. They of course got spooked and started flying off in small groups. As close as I was I only managed a few blurry pictures but at least I did get to see them at closer range. They have such distinctive patterns and one or two of them had their white-patched "hood" raised all the way up making their head look gigantic.

Vernal Equinox 2011

2011-03-20T13:33:00.004-05:00

Today is a day we Minnesotans have been awaiting for close to 4 months -the first day of Spring! Though we're not out of the woods yet with snowfall, this winter season finished in 6th place -I believe- in the top snowiest winters on record. Overnight we had a fair amount of rain that has helped deplete our deep snow pack. Not counting snowbanks that were piled high all season, the only measurable snow now can be found in shaded areas or in thicker woods. On the north side that's where I spotted this one lone Deer that appeared to be a yearling. Later I spotted 3 others bedded down in the snow. I also noticed Canada Geese as well as just two Ring-billed Gulls stand out on the ice. From the parking lot I snapped this long range pic of the Gull in flight with one of 7 more Deer below it.

Early signs of Spring

2011-03-19T13:57:00.002-05:00

This Saturday morning I arrived at the park just after 8am. Technically today is the LAST DAY OF WINTER!!! The temp was a steady 34 degrees all morning and there was a very fine frost coating on everything. It was kind an unusual frost in that if you bumped the branches, it would fall right off like a heavy dust. Somewhere before the bridge I almost stepped on a Woolly Bear caterpillar on the trail. I thought for sure it was dead and left over from last fall until I noticed it move ever so slightly. When I picked him up he could barely curl up into a ball probably due to the cold temp. I think this is the earliest I've ever seen any caterpillar before. As I was making my way around the park I faintly heard a single bird call off to my left. I paid no attention and kept walking for a bit until I thought about when I'd last heard that sound. There it was, the first Red-winged Black of the season. Again I thought this seemed a bit early but I heard or spotted 3 or 4 more before making it around the park. I was walking the opposite way around today so I was coming around the ball fields near the end. Since the path around there is always icy I decided to cut across the baseball diamond and started to notice these odd looking patterns. They were trails or tunnels through the grass made either by mice or voles underneath the winter snow. At first glance, I think this photo looks a lot like an aerial view of a river system taken from an airplane.

Slowly warming up

2011-03-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

This Tuesday night was my 4th visit to the park in 4 days. It was even warmer than yesterday at around 45 degrees and the snow pack is quickly shrinking every day. Canada Geese are starting to appear overhead but I've not seen any stop in the park yet. I didn't see nearly as many Deer as the evening before but I did spot five or six. On a drainage ditch on the north side, there were a group of three standing on the ice again and drinking the water on top. It was relatively quiet after this with nothing of interest until the sun set across the lake.

Here a Deer, there a Deer

2011-03-14T21:31:00.010-05:00

This evening was my first after-work visit to the park since last September due to the fact that Daylight Savings Time kicked in over the weekend. I was pretty excited about it too as the sky was mostly sunny with a temperature just shy of 40 degrees! I spotted 3 Deer fairly early into my walk, just behind the baseball diamonds on the west side. Little did I know just how many more I would see. When I got to the foot bridge on the north side, I was curious to see how much more ice had gone off the creek. I looked upstream and noticed at least 10 or more Deer standing out on the thin ice! It was hard to get a count of them cause they were spread out and moving all over the place. Most seemed to be quite interested in drinking the standing water while a few other boisterously darted up and down the banks of the creek. As the group slowly meandered across the creek and into the field near the townhomes, a whole other group of 10 or more Deer started to appear behind them! They too were fascinated by the creek and almost seemed to be "playing chicken" with the thin ice. Many would dart right out to the very edge and then dig in their heels (or hooves) and almost skid right up to the edge of the very thinnest ice. I knew it would happen sooner or later so I was ready for it and caught this moment when one of them broke through. It made quite an awful sound but the Deer kicked and bucked it's way right out in only a few seconds. In all I witnessed this happen three times. I was laughing to myself and thinking this must be what Deer do for fun. I could barely drag myself away but the sun was going down quick so I headed back, assuming I'd just seen every Deer in the whole park. I was wrong though when I noticed a group of 4 more about ten minutes later. These two posed for a quick photo for me. I was rushing by this time, trying to get to an open field to catch the nice sunset that I'd seen setting up through the trees. As soon as I got around the edge of the woods, I just walked out across the snow into an open area. Right as I was framing my shot, I could see something running across the field in my peripheral view. So I waited just a bit before snapping the shutter and caught the first of 5 more Deer heading into the sunset. So basically, I couldn't even take a photo tonight without a Deer in it!!! I figured this a few different ways but I estimate on the conservative side that I saw at least 32 Deer in one visit this evening!

Mid-March Coyote sighting

2011-03-13T14:57:00.006-05:00

The strong winds have subsided today and periodic sun is just starting to melt the snow that drifted onto the path. There were plenty of birds out but nothing too interesting until I spotted this Chickadee at close range. I've only recently started to notice that Chickadees seem to be making different noises lately. Instead of the normal "chicka dee dee dee," it's a long drawn out "feeeeeeeeeee-beeeee." Hopefully it's a sign of Spring. A couple other things I noticed but did not make for a good photos were Pheasant tracks on top of the snow and the first green weeds creeping out from underneath the snow. By the time I got back to the parking lot I'd only taken 11 photos and was thinking it's gonna be hard to make a Blog entry out of this. Then as I was heading to my vehicle I noticed a Coyote walking out near the cattails. He was just lazily strolling along so I had ample time to watch him and get a few pics. In fact he stopped twice to check me out as well. This first picture is with my camera zoomed in all the way. The second photo where he's facing me is zoomed in and cropped in even further yet.

Long walk on a windy day

2011-03-12T16:33:00.003-06:00

I arrived at the park early today just after 8am. The weather was somewhat undesirable with a temperature of 16º and very strong winds but for some reason I really really felt like walking. So much in fact that I decided to head north along Shingle Creek and I just kept going. The creek was actually open in a few places underneath the foot bridge but as I went upstream it was completely ice free. I guess it was nice to see open water again and I just wanted to see more. The winds had been so strong since last night that drifting snow had nearly closed the paved trails. In parts, snow had completely filled in to the same depth as the snow pack, leaving only a narrow strip on the side facing the wind through which to walk. I'd seen some deer bedded down in the snow along the way as well as about 500 or more Mallards on the open water. Eventually I came to a dam of sorts on the creek, which is technically in the next park system called "Brookview Park." At Noble Avenue I turned around to head back. Upon coming back to the very same place I'd turned off, a group of 7 deer came running through the woods. I watched them go right down the bank of the creek and thought "they're gonna fall right through the ice." They were smart enough to turn around however and they came right back up the bank by the giant cottonwood tree. A short time later I saw a group of 4, for a total of 11 Deer spotted today. As I was heading back on the east side, I stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker only just a few feet off the trail. I couldn't believe I hadn't scared it off. I've never been this close to one before so I got my camera out as fast as I could. It was pounding away at what looked to be a pretty fresh hole in the tree and was so absorbed in this task that it paid me no mind. I still had a hard time getting the photo I wanted because it would stick it's head into the hole in just a split second. At this distance I could see that it was eating something and I could only imagine that maybe it found some kind of insects or something. It was also quite obviously a female due to the black "mustache" extending back from it's bill. The The wind was still blowing which is why her feathers on one side look all poofed up. Since I was apparently not a threat, I went even a bit closer to lean against a tree and really steady my camera for some better close ups. What a cool bird!

Lots of Deer and Birds

2011-03-06T20:35:00.007-06:00

Today's walk was a bit more interesting than yesterday. The sun had disappeared and as usually happens, there was a lot more wildlife to be seen. The first was a group of four Deer back by the drainage ditch. Lately I've been adding this small offshoot of the trail to my normal routine as I can just about count on seeing Deer there. On my way back to my normal route, there were four more Deer heading in the direction I'd came from. One by one they stepped out into a clear spot before heading back toward the thick stuff. On the northwest side there were tons of birds making tons of noise so I decided to venture in closer. I thought the birds making all the noise were Purple Finches, but now think they were House Finches. Among the ruckus I could hear more unique birds and I found myself walking further into the woods. There a third group of 7 more Deer walked past me -making for a total of 15 Deer today! A short time later I caught a glimpse of what I thought I'd recognized by sound, a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I decided to stalk him for a while in hopes of getting a better photo but it was tough given how thick the woods are here. The only thing I could keep my eye on as he bounced around from tree to tree was his bright red crown. Eventually he settled into a real thick area of trees out in front of me with just barely an opening in my view. The photo shows the rosy red belly patch for which the bird is named. I tried many more times for a Finch photo but eventually gave up and headed back. On the way I heard something above me and looked up to find this Gray Squirrel barking at me.

Sunny first visit in March

2011-03-05T20:14:00.007-06:00

When I'd left for the park today, the temp at home was reading 41º and the sun was shining against a bright blue sky. I thought it was warm enough not to wear my usual scarf/hood for a change but after about 1/3 of the way around I realized my "spring fever" had diluted my judgement. My face was freezing but I toughed it out the rest of the way. On the north side I noticed quite a few unfamiliar birds that seemed to be either mating or just chasing each other, flying extremely low to the ground before swooping upwards again to the next tree or bush. I had a terrible time getting a photo due to their erratic movements but after reviewing what I did get, I think they were Dark-eyed Junco's. As I made my way around the park I saw little else of interest. There were a group of Robins past the bridge who were busy eating berries laying on top of the snow but that was about it. I was really expecting a lot going on today but it was ironically very quiet. The only other birds I spotted were Cardinals and Chickadees. I did see a couple of Deer way off in the woods but it was much too far away and thick for a photo. This last photo is simply to better describe how the park and trails look as of March. Sun has cleared off the trails quite well but there is still over 2 feet of snow on the ground in most places. Sadly, they are predicting another 6 inches this next Tuesday. Oh by the way, I learned later in the day that our high temp for the day actually only hit 29º. No wonder my face was freezing!

Close encounters on a cold day

2011-02-26T14:57:00.008-06:00

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!