Here Goes September

September is definitely one of the best months to be outside in Minnesota. The weather is (typically) starting to cool off and the hours of daylight each day is hardly getting shorter -at least not noticeably yet. I started off the month with an early morning visit to the park arriving about 7am. Right off the bat I noticed a very interesting bird -that at the time I had no clue of what it could be, only that it was likely some Warbler I'm not yet familiar with. I caught a decent picture of it hoping around in a grapevine and decided I would try to ID it later on. Well, about this time I started getting too busy at work and even at home and started letting all my park photos pile up quickly on my desktop. I am actually writing this post much later and as it so happens I would see this species one more time -making me really wonder what the heck it was. After coming back to it periodically, I've determined that it is in fact a Magnolia Warbler! And more precisely, it is an immature in "Non-breeding Plumage" which was yet another aspect making it more difficult to identify. The great thing about the internet as it relates to birding, is that once you get an idea of what something "might be," you can just look up hundreds of other images for comparison to yours. And funny enough when I did, that the photo that resembled mine the most came from a fellow birder in my same area: Ecobirder. The next thing I saw I was really not expecting, and it only was there for a split second, making it seem all that more unique. As I was rounding the west side of the park near the outfields of the baseball diamonds. I caught a larger bird out of the corner of my eye land in a tall dead tree high up above me. I instinctively swung around to snap a photo and realized it was an American Kestral! I've not positively ID'd one at the park since April of 2011 so it was quite a nice sighting. Then as soon as he had landed, he took off and I was unable to follow where he went. I didn't even have a chance for a better photo but still very cool to have seen one again! Later on the north end of the park, a Doe had wandered out onto the trail and was lazily grazing along the edges. She was far up ahead of me and I just had a feeling that maybe some Fawns were with her. Sure enough they too popped out onto the trail and this is when I decided to try and get in closer. Both mom and the kids were just curious enough about me to let me approach fairly close and let me and even other people coming by just watch them for a while. I ended up taking a whole lot of photos of just one or the other Fawn as they munched on everything green, but this was my favorite photo of the day.

First Saturday in July

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.

Three for three

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.

Dark Saturday evening

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.

American Kestral Sighting

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.