Twice Around for Good Measure

This Saturday was another cold day, even though we're nearing the end of February. My job unexpectedly kept me home for the morning and I wasn't able to get to the park until just after 1:00pm. When I finally arrived at the park I hadn't walked more than 50 feet when some friends of mine pulled in and honked at me. Having been in such a bad mood previously, I was happy to see them and asked if they'd walk all the way around the park with me. They obliged and we kept a pretty brisk pace in order to stay warm. It was completely sunny though which was nice. I didn't take many photos as were busy talking and catching up. So when we came back to our vehicles, I decided to stay out longer in search of some birds. First I hiked a little ways into the woods and watched some Dark-eyed Juncos, House Finches and a pair of Northern Cardinals. This female seemed like she was being pursued by the male and she kept changing perches. Finally she stayed put long enough for a few pics. Staying along this course I eventually caught up with a couple of Black-capped Chickadees picking at the tree buds. They are fast little buggers and very hard to catch a decent photo of. It reminded me that Warblers will soon be back in just another couple of months so I'd better start practicing! A little ways further and now running into thicker Buckthorn trees, I spotted a Barred Owl perched right out in the open. I had to look pretty much right into the sun to see it and the bright light almost made the Owl appear to glow on the sides. I stayed a fair distance back as to not bump it, took a few shots, thanked the Owl and then went on my way quietly. Barred Owls will be pairing up very soon and scoping out a nesting area IF there is indeed another one in the park. Well just 5 minutes later I think I can prove that theory correct. As I exited the woods and got back out onto the paved path, I picked up my pace to warm up again. But I didn't get very far before I spotted another Barred Owl! This one could be seen right from the paved path and so little time had gone by, I really doubted it was the same one. Yes, it certainly could have flown over to this other area in the time, but I just have a hunch that it's a different bird. Having seen 3 Great-Horned Owls earlier with my 2 friends, this made a total of 5 Owls I saw in one visit which might be a new record for me! By this time I was 1/3 of the way around the park again, and I really wanted to visit the "duck pond" one more time. The light was getting even nicer now and I thought it might make a good time to watch and photograph the Mallards. Indeed there was lots of duck activity and good chances to catch the drakes shining in the sun. I would keep my eye clear of my viewfinder just long enough to notice one that was diving and bathing. Then I would attempt to zero in on that duck as it raised up and flapped it's wings to dry and such. I didn't take this photo in a vertical format, but cropped it so later as I just thought it made a more interesting photo. And I like how you can see the water droplets on his head too. Come to think of it, these Mallards have given me lots of practice time with my new camera lately. Coming back to my vehicle yet again, I was thinking that I've not hiked around the entire perimeter for a loooong time! Also I'd hiked nearly another 30 minutes past 5:00pm for the first time in quite a while.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2015 (Sat)

A few years ago I started a tradition of making sure to participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count or "GBBC" every February. At the time I guess I didn't quite realize that it's kind of a marketing scheme to get bird watchers to start using an online reporting tool called ebird. Not implying anything negative by that, it's just that when I did my first count I hadn't realized the tool already existed before I heard about the GBBC. In fact ebird is setup to allow you to report on a daily basis and for multiple locations including your own back yard. Anyhow, I think this is the 3rd or 4th year that I've made sure to pay more attention to what I'm seeing at the park and report it online when I get home. Last year my goal was to find a Northern Shrike to report. This year my goal was to report at least one Owl. I was joined by another good birder friend of mine today and we made our way around the entire perimeter before doing some off the trail hiking as well. The temperature at the time was roughly 0º and it was quite windy on top of it. It was hard to dress warm enough and my face was numb within minutes. Our first stop was at the duck pond where we could see that the area of open water had shrunk nearly in half from it's previous size. I estimate there were about 80 Mallards here today and there was barely enough room for them in the water. No sign of a Black Duck or anything else unusual but it was interesting to watch how they managed the cold weather. Most had their head tucked back and were covered in ice crystals. Despite the temps it was completely sunny out today so when we got out of the wind it was more tolerable. Birds were expectedly not very active today save for a few Robins, Cardinals, Chickadees and Hairy Woodpeckers. Having spotted one Great Horned Owl already, we spotted two more later on –a pair using a reconstructed Cooper's Hawk nest that I played a part in back in July of 2012. I wont say exactly where this is in the park to avoid extra attention as I know that dedicated bird watchers will find this on their own sooner or later. Much later on we ran into another birder friend of ours who stated that he just saw a Barred Owl fly through the woods. At first we were unsuccessful in relocating it and were about to give up. But when we hiked into the woods a little ways to see if we could get closer to some Cardinals and House Finches, there it was! I was quite happy to report a total of 4 Owls and 2 different Owl species to the GBBC. I plan on doing the same again tomorrow.

A New Species at the Park!

When I arrived at the park this Sunday I had only walked a few feet before running into another park goer and we struck up a conversation. And while we were talking then another friend of mine showed up. This friend is a much more experienced birder than myself and I figured maybe we'd see more if we hiked together. Though we were lucky enough to spot a Barred Owl right off the bat, the park was pretty quiet for the remainder of our hike. On days like this when there's just not much to see, I like to spend more time looking at the Mallards in the duck pond on the southeast corner of the park. As we arrived I told my friend "I keep thinking I might see a Black Duck here one of these days." Well what do you think happened next? My friend says "say, what's that one over there?" As we both looked through our binoculars, it wasn't quite obvious at first. One lone duck looking quite similar to a female Mallard but darker. Was it the elusive American Black Duck that I was hoping to see? As we watched other Mallards part left and right the duck in question finally came into full view and YES indeed it was an American Black Duck! Now I think I might have seen this species earlier in the year down at Black Dog Road in Bloomington, but they were so far away I couldn't positively ID them. But here was one right in front of me and with Mallards to compare with! I could hardly believe what an opportunity this was. At the time I only knew 2 characteristics to look for in a Black Duck; a darker overall color, and an olive-green colored bill (as opposed to a bright orange bill of a female Mallard). These where visible but at this proximity I learned yet 2 more characteristics. Maybe the most obvious one –at this distance anyway– is the lack of white "edging" or borders on the outside of the blue wing patch that can be seen on Mallards. On the Black Duck the blue patch is bordered by black only and then stops. Also both Mallards tend to have white tail feathers jutting out their rear where the Black Duck has the same color tone all the way back. I was so excited to finally see this species of Waterfowl close up and even more excited to find it at Palmer Lake Park! My friend, the experienced birder had seen them before but had stated that he'd only seen them very far north up near Orr, Minnesota. So it was even a thrill for him too! This species has been reported recently on the river at Fort Snelling State Park so they are indeed further south. We spent maybe 15 minutes watching it before finally moving on. Near the south side of the park we spotted a group of 4 deer leap across 69th Avenue and into the PLP area. They ran right in front of us but I was unprepared and didn't get a very good photo. After getting back to our vehicles I finally looked at the time and realized that we had been hiking around the park for 6 hours!

Finally the End of January!

Though I do enjoy getting out and hiking in the Winter, the payoff for the effort isn't quite the same as during other times of the year. So I'm pretty excited to see January out and be one month closer to Spring –ha! The weather today was typical, overcast and dreary again. But if one looks hard enough there are still birds to be seen. And there is always the "Duck Pond" to fall back on if the birding isn't good. So needless to say I've spent a fair amount of time there this winter. I think it's always nice to see the bright green heads and bright orange legs of a Mallard on an otherwise colorless day. Not long after the duck pond I spotted 3 Deer only 15 feet into the woods on the west side. Deer are becoming kind of uncommon as of late so it was neat to see some. I bent down on one knee to get a better view and all of a sudden the three of them spooked and went running off the other direction at top speed. Little did I know but a hiker with an unleashed dog came barreling through the woods straight towards the deer. I'm usually forgiving about unleashed dogs this but this time it really ticked me off as I was having a nice quiet moment with the deer. I actually intended to say something to the hiker but I guess it was not meant to be as instead I bumped into a friend of mine just back from Arizona. Other birds today included the usual suspects; Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, House Finch, Chickadee and Cardinal. There was also a Blue Jay as well, though my efforts to get a good photo pretty much failed. Later I was happy to spot a Barred Owl but it too wasn't gonna make for an easy photo opportunity. After trying numerous angles this is the best view I had of him. I'm so happy to have them back at the park after an absence of some time. And speaking of Owls, I spotted today my first nesting Great Horned Owl in the park! For now that's pretty much all I want to say about it, as the known presence of Owls can attract a LOT of attention. And sometimes that attention is way way more than necessary. Some day I will write a post about that topic and how my views on it have changed dramatically as of late.

43º and Sunny and Birdy

This Saturday's visit to the park was a fun one. First off the weather was unbelievable with a high of 43 degrees and completely sunny to boot. Secondly I was able to catch some neat photos which always makes my day! The very first bird I spotted was a Dark-eyed Junco and I'm kind of obsessed with them though they're a pretty common winter bird in our parts. They're difficult to photograph because they're little, move quickly and have a dark head against a dark eye. For that reason they're similarly difficult to shooting a Chickadee. This one cooperated with me though there's some shadows on it's face that I could have done without. My next stop was at the duck pond on the southeast corner. The warm weather seemed to please the Mallards and the large group was very active. I witnessed some courting behavior and some fighting between the boys as well. I really love how their green heads just glow in the sun and I've come to appreciate Mallards as an easy and reliable photo subject. After seeing a few Chickadees and Cardinals and other common birds, I spotted not one but two Great Horned Owls high up in a tree. They were both quite far away with lots of woods between so I decided not to go in any closer. It wont be long now before one of these pair will be sitting on a nest somewhere. Great Horned Owls are our earliest nesting birds in the state, starting as early as mid to late January. When this happens we birders need to take extra precaution not to approach the nesting sight or disturb them in any manner that could be a detriment to the success of their nest. Having seen two Owls already today, I nearly fell over when I ran smack dab into a third, this time a Barred Owl! A Barred is likely our second-most common Owl around central Minnesota, but they can be as tough as any of the other Owl species to find. This one however decided to perch barely 10 feet off the paved trail and at a height of only 6 or 7 feet! I was stunned to have been so close to it. I stopped dead in my tracks and cautiously brought my camera up to my eye. Thankfully the Owl appeared a bit sleepy and was taking advantage of the warm sun and really didn't mind me being there –at least for now. I couldn't take my eyes –or my camera– off this beautiful bird and of course I started to draw attention from other park goes. The first one stopped to inquire about my camera and lens. Interesting she never asked me what I was taking a photo of and thus I decided not to even bring it up! The next pair of walkers were more curious and so I pointed out the Owl to them. They were quite happy and surprised to see it as well. As we talked however the Owl did move, though it only went a few feet over and higher up in another tree. I was kind of bummed and wish I had whispered to them instead. Nonetheless the Owl was still very close to the trail and I took a few more photos before it decided to move further back into the woods. I believe this was my third Barred Owl sighting this season which is a good sign. Previous to these recent encounters, my last Barred sighting was in May of 2013. The last avian subject I decided to focus on today were Robins. These Robins are not coming back to Minnesota due to the warm temps, but rather have "over wintered" here at the park. Not all Robins migrate south and quite a few will stay here all winter long. This number appears to be increasing based on other things I've read. There apparently are enough food sources and shelter to see them through event the coldest of winters. Though this winter has been a little light in regards to snow depths and I believe this would also be to the Robin's benefit. I enjoy photographing them in the winter, though I rarely pay attention to them the rest of the year! Other birds I spotted today included; Downy, Hairy & Red-bellied Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwing and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks.

A Looong Hike with Larry

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and thus an extra day off work for me. As I pulled into my parking space today who should pull in right beside me but another birder friend of mine Larry. He has grown up around the park and hiked (and watched birds) here at Palmer Lake Park since he was a kid. Thus he is one of the most skilled birders I know and can tell you of some pretty amazing sightings at the park. Some of them being birds that are just not seen at the park anymore and would cause a state-wide phenomenon if they were spotted anywhere near the park today. We decided to hike together up the frozen creek heading towards the north side. As we did the sun made it's first unexpected appearance for the day and cast an eerie glow against the dark sky in the north. We likely did more talking than looking but to be honest there has just not been much to see this entire weekend. It's just that time of year when a Chickadee or Woodpecker is an exciting spot. Larry would of course prove me wrong though as we went around the north side when he pointed out a Barred Owl. It could be seen from the trail but was behind such thick brush and against the sun too, for a pretty crummy view. Niether of us wanted to bump him so we watched from the trail for a bit before moving on. On the west side I noticed a Downy Woodpecker at almost eye level on a Willow tree. He was more interested in poking his tongue into the crevices so I followed him around the tree clicking photos. I kind of like how this one turned out. We had been hiking since 9:00am today and my legs were actually starting to hurt. I knew lunchtime had come and gone but I wasn't quite sure how much time had gone by because I forgot my phone at home. Upon getting home to find it was 2:30pm I then realized I'd been hiking for 5 and a half hours! Holy crap, no wonder my legs hurt! One last bird I stopped to photograph for they day was this American Tree Sparrow. Opposite of some of the birds Larry used to see in the area as a kid, he pointed out that Tree Sparrows used to be a very rare sighting when he was young. A few other species we saw today included Mallards, a mature Bald Eagle, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow and Northern Cardinal.

7 Hours, 3 Owls and 1 Broken Lens

This Saturday I was determined to track down and photograph an elusive species of Owl. Two years ago a birder friend of mine alerted me to the presence of Long-eared Owls at the park. Back then we successfully found not just one but five of them and I even got a great photo. But since getting my new camera lens I've been wanting to find one again. I searched in an area I thought might be good and indeed I did "bump" one right away. But these particular Owls are masters at blending in. So much so that even experienced bird watchers often don't spot them until they are just mere feet away. After an epic four hour attempt at finding one perched somewhere where I could take a photo, I gave up. Never once did I see perched anywhere, though I saw it fly to different roosts numerous times. On my way out of the woods I ran into another birder friend of mine and we decided to hike around together for a bit. We intended to head towards the bridge over the creek on the north side but never quite made it there. Instead we wandered up the far north paved trail near the big Oak trees that still have rust colored leaves. Here we were hoping we might spot a Great Horned Owl but to our surprised we found a Barred Owl instead!

This is the very first Barred Owl I've seen in the park since May of 2013 –a spotting that I remember well. The Barred was perched above a drainage ditch and was very interested in something below it. To say the weather today was dreary would be an understatement. But around 4:30pm the sun made a brief and glorious appearance. And this was the same time that we stumbled across the Barred Owl. It was a picture-perfect scene with the Owl out in the open and the evening sun shining on him! I immediately put my camera on him and started taking photos but noticed that something seemed off. My camera or lens or something wasn't behaving like normal. So I looked at the 15 - 20 photos I'd just taken and they were incredibly blurry! I thought "I must have a wrong setting" and proceeded to fidget with it, trying different settings. To my horror, nothing was working. I even leaned against a tree and still got terrible shots! I was more confused than upset at the time. Of dozens and dozens of attempts, this was the only "saveable image" I could muster up. Upon arriving home and experimenting and testing, it appears that my lens' "vibration compensation" feature is no longer working. Talk about frustrating. I've only owned this new lens for roughly 5 months and now I am looking at shipping it back to the manufacturer for repair. All I can say is ugghgghhhh. On our way back to our vehicles, we did finally spot a Great Horned Owl, then a second one. By now it was mostly dark and I didn't even try for a photo. I'd spent close to 7 hours at the park today but I was able to see 3 different species of Owls which I think is a personal best for me. But man am I upset about my camera lens. It's hard to imagine now being without it as it allows me to take images that I'd never dreamed of getting years ago. I guess I will be hiking with my old 300mm lens in the near future until mine is repaired or replaced.

My Big Month - Day 2

On only day 2 of my "Big Month" I wasn't quite as motivated to be out hiking. My vehicle has been having problems and I wasn't even sure if it would make it to the park. In addition my chronic back problems have me worn out, and to top it off it's still just plain old COLD again. It's hard to believe that we had 2 days near 80 degrees and now we're back into the upper 30's and low 40's! It's May 2nd for god sakes and I'm still wearing flannel pants and a winter hat. At least we avoided the 15" of snow that fell only 60 miles south of the Twin Cities yesterday! What a seriously weird Spring this has been. Though I didn't make it all the way around the park today, I saw a handful of good birds just on the northeast side. Right off the bat I spotted tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers and as I watched them closely trying to get better photos, I noticed one on the ground that looked different. This one had more of an olive-yellow color plus a rusty cap and I recognized it quickly as a Palm Warbler! This is only the 2nd Warbler I've seen this year so it was quite exciting. I tried desperately to get a good photo but it was extremely tough through all the underbrush.

I did manage one or two, but for today I've decided to post something else that I really wasn't expecting to see. As I hiked in an out of the woods from the trail, I popped out and found myself staring right at a Barred Owl. He was perched right off the paved trail in plain view. It was getting a bit dark already but I snapped a few pics that turned out OK. I just couldn't resist going in closer to him and of course I scared him off pretty quickly. I followed him to another perch but the light wasn't as good and by that time he flew off again. It was a good and unexpected sighting amidst the much smaller birds I was hoping to see today.

Total species seen today: Barred Owl, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Sandhill Crane, Northern Flicker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Tree Sparrow, Mallard, White-breasted Nuthatch and Northern Cardinal.

Conditions: 43 degrees and partially sunny.

Searching the Park for Owls

It was Saturday March 2nd and I think everyone has "cabin fever" by now and wanting to get outside. So I was joined today by two friends as we scoured the park for Owls. We first hiked out to the very middle of the park, into the island of thick Buckthorn. Along the way we spotted a Downy Woodpecker busily hammering at a dried up weed stalk. Once among the Buckthorn we weaved around slowly and quietly through the tree clumps searching hard for anything that may be hiding there. In just a short time we did notice a Northern Shrike high atop a tree to the west. As I pointed him out, he decided to fly our way and actually landed in the Buckthorn much closer to us. Though I see Shrikes quite often at the park, it's not often that I get this close to them. I got excited and started taking photos in rapid succession while trying to move in even closer. But the loud crunching snow scared him off again. Later we were greeted by yet another hiker and his dog who had wandered out into the middle as well. The dog was barking loudly with his owner calling even louder after him. So at that point we began to think that if any Owls had been in the area they were gone now! We did some more searching along the northeast side of the park but still no Owls. After returning to our vehicles at 73rd Avenue and calling it a day, one of our group left while myself and my other friend continued chatting. As we did and the sky began to slowly dim, we spotted something large take roost in a tree over a house along 73rd. To our surprise it was a Barred Owl who turned his head around to look at us briefly. I found this quite amusing that we'd just spent 2+ hours scouring the park for an Owl and all we had to do was sit and talk near our cars to see one!

Three Friends and Three Raptors

This Saturday morning was a real gloomy February day. There almost seemed to be a haze of wet, cold winter air just hanging over the park. Shortly after I set out though I ran into a Red-tailed Hawk perched just inside the paved path. I was able to get a half-way decent shot of him without even spooking him off. I didn't know at the time but this would be my best photo of the day. On the north side I spotted a Barred Owl at about the same height the Hawk was. This raptor however was not quite as visible behind a thick line of trees. It was kind of a bummer because it was actually quite close but there was just no unobstructed view. I knew another birder friend of mine was at the park today and when I found the Barred Owl I called him up. It turned out he was only just minutes away and also hiking with another friend. Then when they arrived, another acquaintance of ours came up from the opposite direction. We all stood there for quite a while, talking and watching the Owl. Some other park-goers came by and were wondering what we were all staring at. We tried to point out the Owl to them but they were unable to spot it behind the brush. Now that three of us had connected we decided to hike the rest of the way together. When we were back on the south end of the park we scanned the middle for any signs of life and I noticed dead tree that looked kind of odd. It was so far away that we all looked with our binoculars but still could not tell if it was a perched bird or not. At this distance the coloring was so similar to the wood that I actually decided I must have been imagining a bird. Our friend with the most powerful zoom lens took a few shots and indeed it DID look like a large raptor perched on top. All of a sudden the top of the log spread it's wings and took flight, confirming our suspicion! I had no idea what such a light colored raptor might be but I was lucky to be in such good company. The most experienced of us three was able to quickly identify it as a Red-shouldered Hawk. I can't say I've ever seen one until today! Again we were quite a distance away but at least I got some kind of photo evidence and I definitely trust the ID by our friend -as his birding skills are quite well known and respected. I hope I get to see this NEW species for me again sometime -and hopefully much closer!

Off-road Owl Encounter

It was another cold day this morning at the park with temps around 13 degrees when I arrived. At least the sun was out though today, and as long as the sun is out I'm willing to put up with the cold. Not too far into my walk I ran into a friend and we shared recent bird sighting stories -mostly on his behalf as my own outings have just been so uneventful as of late. I've been hearing reports of Long-eared Owls, Screech Owls and even a Northern Saw-whet Owl this winter (not all at Palmer Lake Park), but I've not been lucky enough to see any of those species yet with my own eyes. After our conversation I just went on with my walk feeling rather skunked. Other than the occasional Shrike sighting, I've not seen a whole lot of interest -especially for all the time I've been putting in. If you go by my blog posts alone you wouldn't think I've been out that much when in fact I've been out to the park probably twice as often. I have a backlog of posts from September thru December of this year that to be honest are hardly worth sharing. It was always my intention with this blog to make a post out of each and every single visit to the park -so I do still intend to go back and add them but I am way behind now. Today I decided to walk out onto the ice a ways just on the off chance that I might scare up a Coyote or something but even that proved unsuccessful. On the north side I somehow found myself off the path yet again hiking out near the edge of the woods. It was there that I spooked an Owl who flew out right in front of me and landed in the next tree ahead. I'd not even seen it there in the thick Buckthorn tree until it moved but then I finally had a great opportunity to see him in the daylight. It was a Barred Owl and they are always kind of fun to see. The snow was kind of hard and crunchy so I tried to be as quiet as possible as I rounded the patch of Buckthorn where he was originally perched. When I got around them he was still there and I was able to watch him for a while. It is funny when other birds flew overhead to see him look up and pan his head across the sky. I felt a little bit like a real wildlife photographer in that short moment as only I was getting to witness this sight, kneeling in the snow to steady my camera. It was just enough to rejuvenate me and make me anxious to visit the park again soon.

Rainy Day and First Owl of the Season

This Saturday it began raining very early in the morning and continued most of the day. It quickly ate away at our 8-10" snow cover and turned what remained into a thick, wet, sloppy mess. I didn't even want to go the park until later in the day when the rain started to fizzle out. So I arrived at about 3:30 in the afternoon which didn't give me much daylight seeing as how sunset is at 4:32pm! As I crossed the bridge over Shingle Creek on the south side, I spotted two Muskrats sitting on the ice. I don't typically see more than one at a time but they were quite far away at this point. I walked up the woodchip trail to get closer and took this photo right before he decided to slip into the icy cold water. The temp today was warm -about 36º but areas of the park with lots of snow were becoming noticeably foggy as I continued on. Near the southwest side a fellow park goer tipped me off to a "real live owl" in the area after noticing the camera around my neck. He gave me a quick general idea of where to look and I excitedly hurried on. I was fully expecting to see a Great Horned, but instead was treated to a close view of a Barred Owl! This is the first owl I've seen this season and it was a clear and unobstructed view save for how dark it was getting already. I was surprised that I was able to walk almost right underneath the owl without bumping it. As I was looking for a better angle I noticed what looked to be a fresh kill sight on the ground. In the snow were blood stains and some entrails of a critter that seemed to be much too large for a mouse or a vole. I inspected this for a moment only to look back up and find no owl there anymore! I couldn't believe how quiet they are even when they decide to fly to another tree. Then I noticed him again just a few trees down and this time was able to walk directly underneath him. I could hear a squirrel loudly "barking" over and over so I started looking around for it. I found him to be on the very same tree that the owl had re-perched in and then I really started to think that the Barred Owl had possibly just attacked and ate another squirrel very recently. I had so many good photo opportunities of this owl but with the darkness and humidity fogging up my lens, I had to move on. This was my best photo and it is lightened up considerably from the original. It was easy walking today with the rain having cleared and cleaned the path right down to the pavement. Nothing was slippery at all as it was just way too warm. Everywhere the fog started to encroach along the ditches where there was more snow pack. It was so thick and "soupy" that it gave the park a sort of "haunted" feel.

Birds of Prey All in a Day

This morning I arrived at the park around 8:30 am and the temperature was 23 degrees. It was sunny again, meaning it would likely warm up into the 30s by noon time. The first thing of interest I spotted was on the south side -on the other side of 69th Avenue. A mature Bald Eagle was perched high up in the tall Cottonwood where I've spotted Eagle numerous times before. I think they like the view of Shingle Creek from here. I crossed 69th Ave. and leaned up against the park sign post in order to steady my camera, though he was still a long way up in the tree. It's been a while since I've seen an Eagle in plain sight and a good start to my morning walk! The next bird I spotted was also a raptor -and even further away. Along the wood chip trail connecting the 2 paved trails on the southwest side I could see a Great Horned Owl soaking up the morning sun where the woods meets the cattails. He was barely more than a dot on the horizon from this distance but I tried to take some photos non-the-less. I sure wish I could have seen him closer in the nice morning sun. Later on the north side I spotted another Bald Eagle -which I immediately assumed was the same one. Later upon leaving the park, the first Eagle was still perched in his same place from this morning, thus confirming 2 separate birds. But before I finished my walk for the day, a third bird-of-prey would make an appearance. I never expected to see a Northern Shrike on the northwest side of the park but his white breast caught my attention against the clear blue sky. He was pretty far away at first but eventually moved closer to the trail, making me backtrack a bit for a better photo. He was just close enough to make out his hooked upper beak through my binoculars which definitely qualifies as a good Shrike sighting. Only later as I was leaving the park and tallying my sightings did I realize that all 3 birds I'd photographed today were "birds of prey!"

A New Year with New Weather

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!

A December To Remember

Earlier this month I realized I was inching ever closer to my record number of visits in one month. That was 13 visits back in May. Since then I set a goal of hitting 15 and today I even exceeded that with 16 visits in one month! -a new record that I doubt I will ever top. And it was a good visit on top of it as I was to see my first Barred Owl of the season. He was perched among the thick trees on the north side after the bridge. This is the area of the park where I'd first spotted a Barred Owl and I've come to look for them here ever since. I was just as amazed today as I was the first time, at how well they are camouflaged in this area. Even though I knew right where he was, I found myself having trouble finding him again every time I took my camera off him. He stayed there a long, long time, long enough for me to have a whole conversation with another bird watcher about Owls and Hawks and winter bird watching. Later down the trail, I spotted just two Deer heading out from the middle of the park. It was one Doe followed by one Fawn through the snowbanks right out onto the trail. The Doe paused for just a second on the trail, allowing this one picture before trotting off with the Fawn trailing behind her. I'd seen and photographed so much this month, including big Bucks, Eagles, Owls, Coyotes and Blizzards and it will definitely be a December to remember!

Earth Day

It was fitting that my record fifth daily visit to the park fell on Earth Day. Even better was that I saw a record 19 deer in one visit! Of course, the last eight or nine could have easily been the same ones I'd seen earlier as the park is just not that big :) The first group I saw on the west side was large but I estimated on the low side at eight. I think then I saw two more, then four more near the bird feeders on the north side, then three more, then two more. They were just everywhere I looked which was pretty fun. Out of all those groups though, I only captured 2 pics worthy of posting and they're of individual deer. I don't remember but I think both of these were from the large group of eight on the west side. After crossing the bridge on the north side I got a surprise as an owl darted out right in front of me and perched in a tree looking over the middle of the park. It was exciting because I just don't see owls here outside of winter time. I figure they must be there in other seasons but seriously, you'd think they're flying south in the springtime because it's rare I see them otherwise. It was getting dark by this time but I was even more excited to see it was a Barred Owl as they are even a bit more uncommon here. Birds of all sizes and colors were out at dusk and it's hard to tell for sure but I think some of them were Brown-headed cowbirds.

Winter with an orange glow

I had the day off from work Monday but was not all that excited about getting out for a walk until later in the afternoon. When I finally arrived at the park around 4pm I decided to throw on my snowshoes and wander around some lesser traveled areas. After taking a slight detour into the middle I headed north east into the most wooded area of the park. The sun was making for some great lighting by the time I found myself in an unfamiliar area full of huge trees. My snowshoes were making quite a racket on the refrozen snow and at some point I scared up another Owl. I took note of his new perch and attempted to walk a little quieter. After a while I spotted him again directly in front of me, basking in the sun. It was difficult to find an angle without branches in the way but at least I could clearly see his bright yellow eyes. I sat and watched him for a long time and he was quite entertaining. As some ducks flew high overhead he tilted his already completely rotated head straight upwards into an angle I cant imagine any other animal could possibly do. He also periodically blinked his huge eyes independently and even yawned once or twice showing me his pink mouth. Now if I could just get a picture of him snatching up a mouse or something...ha! After realizing I didn't have much daylight left, I made my own path through some thick woods and deep snow that took much longer than expected to get me back onto the paved trail. I hurried back to the east side just in time to watch the sun go down and add a few more minutes of orange to the sky.