Earlier this morning, myself and other members of Friends of Palmer Lake Park held our annual spring cleanup. Except for a couple of known problem areas, we were happy to see that the park was in better shape than usual in regards to garbage. But because you can't do much bird watching while picking up litter, I decided to come back after lunch for a long and slow hike around to see what I could find. I started counter clockwise from 73rd Avenue and noticed that a few trees had been marked for removal. Whenever I see this in the park I get truly upset as I feel there's usually not good reasons that specific trees get marked.
Yes the ones shown here were somewhat dead or dying, but most of them were far enough off the trail as to not pose a safety risk. In fact the one seen on the far right with the hole about 5 feet up was home to a family of Grey Squirrels that I photographed years before. With the city continuing to cut into the woods, where will it stop? And I have yet ever to see a single invasive Buckthorn tree marked for removal. Instead they choose to remove native trees that are 100's of times more beneficial to wildlife. It gets me so angry that about all I can do is pretend not to see it. Moving on. Today was really good bird watching and I saw a lot of species I don't have room to share them all here. Some notable sights were many migrating waterfowl including Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, and Widgeon!
Near the northwest corner I paused to watch a Black-capped Chickadee poking at a seeding out Cattail. It's not too early for them to be looking at nest cavities so I like to think thats what this one was doing with the soft material. Shortly after I noticed a Common Grackle who was much more interested in finding something to eat than with me. I snapped a couple of pics that I feel really capture their colors. I'd tried for years in the past to get shots like this and this year I've managed to get more than one.
When you see them in this light they really are gorgeous looking birds. On the south side near the duck pond I spent a lot of time watching a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was near the ground inside a thicket. Catching an unobstructed view however was quite another story. I decided to sit right on the wood chip trail and just watch and hope to get lucky.
After quite some time and a lot of attempts I was able to catch a couple of good ones. I like this one as is shows a hint of the "Ruby crown" for which they are named. A little further along the wood chip trail now on the south side of the park I was rewarded with the most close views I've
ever had of a Northern Cardinal. This female sat quietly about 4 feet off the ground to my left and must have thought she was hidden. For whatever reason she barely moved even as I inched closer.
It was quite thrilling to be this close and for a minute I wondered if she was injured or stunned or something. I snapped hundreds of pics at a close proximity and after finally exhausting different angles and even different camera settings, I slowly walked away as she stood fast in the exact same spot. I've never encountered one that seemed so tolerant. The close photo here is barely cropped at all!
Yes the ones shown here were somewhat dead or dying, but most of them were far enough off the trail as to not pose a safety risk. In fact the one seen on the far right with the hole about 5 feet up was home to a family of Grey Squirrels that I photographed years before. With the city continuing to cut into the woods, where will it stop? And I have yet ever to see a single invasive Buckthorn tree marked for removal. Instead they choose to remove native trees that are 100's of times more beneficial to wildlife. It gets me so angry that about all I can do is pretend not to see it. Moving on. Today was really good bird watching and I saw a lot of species I don't have room to share them all here. Some notable sights were many migrating waterfowl including Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, and Widgeon! 
Near the northwest corner I paused to watch a Black-capped Chickadee poking at a seeding out Cattail. It's not too early for them to be looking at nest cavities so I like to think thats what this one was doing with the soft material. Shortly after I noticed a Common Grackle who was much more interested in finding something to eat than with me. I snapped a couple of pics that I feel really capture their colors. I'd tried for years in the past to get shots like this and this year I've managed to get more than one. 
When you see them in this light they really are gorgeous looking birds. On the south side near the duck pond I spent a lot of time watching a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was near the ground inside a thicket. Catching an unobstructed view however was quite another story. I decided to sit right on the wood chip trail and just watch and hope to get lucky. 
After quite some time and a lot of attempts I was able to catch a couple of good ones. I like this one as is shows a hint of the "Ruby crown" for which they are named. A little further along the wood chip trail now on the south side of the park I was rewarded with the most close views I've ever had of a Northern Cardinal. This female sat quietly about 4 feet off the ground to my left and must have thought she was hidden. For whatever reason she barely moved even as I inched closer. 
It was quite thrilling to be this close and for a minute I wondered if she was injured or stunned or something. I snapped hundreds of pics at a close proximity and after finally exhausting different angles and even different camera settings, I slowly walked away as she stood fast in the exact same spot. I've never encountered one that seemed so tolerant. The close photo here is barely cropped at all!
