Birds, Butterflies and Flowers

Wow I saw a lot of great stuff this Saturday at the park! I spent roughly 3 hours casually strolling around the outer trails but got distracted by some spring wildflowers off the trail. I usually find these Violets in the same area behind the baseball diamonds on the west side where it is typically very wet and sometimes floods. As for Butterflies, I saw a few Cabbage Whites and Red Admirals which is typical for this time of year. There are also Dandelions out already which this Cabbage White Butterfly found attractive. I saw oodles of birds including numerous bright yellow American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Duck, Canada Goose, lots of Mallard Chicks, American Robin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker and probably some others I'm forgetting. But possibly the most interesting bird I watched today were Black-capped Chickadees who were busy excavating a nest cavity in a dead tree. I watched both the male and female take turns going into the hole and coming out with a mouthful of wood chips. They timed it perfectly so that as soon as one would come to the entrance of the hole, the other would be ready to fly in. Their teamwork is pretty amazing and fun to watch. If you ever notice a Chickadee with wood chips on it's face, it's fairly safe to assume they've been hard at work! Oh right, I forgot to mention but the Marsh Marigold is also in bloom now near the southwest corner of the park. I just love seeing this native MN wildflower each spring as they are so colorful and short lived. I also saw numerous Painted Turtles today and also two Groundhogs as well. All in all, I took over 700 photos in total today and it was a beautiful day to observe nature :)

Some Very Good Bird Watching

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!

Easter Sunday and some Firsts for the Season!

I'll have to double check my records but it seems like every year for the past few years it is just days before Easter that I see my first Yellow-rumped Warblers return. After not seeing any the previous week and even yesterday, I was beginning to think they passed by the park this year. But then this evening I spotted my first one of the season. It was on the north side in the scraggly tree overhanging the trail. I saw just one single bird and I couldn't manage a decent photo –but at least I saw one finally! There were quite a few waterfowl out on the lakes this evening and one that I spotted was something I've not previously documented at the park –a Ruddy Duck! These are one of my very favorite ducks and I was lucky enough to see them close up a the Coon Rapids Dam area last spring. This one (a male too) was pretty far out there with a group of Northern Shovelers, but I took a photo anyway just to confirm my sighting. He is on the far left in the photo. On the south side of the park in the little tiny pond near the parking lot I noticed a pair of Blue-winged Teals and managed to catch a half-way decent photo of the male. Like many of the more wild ducks, they are easily spook-able and tough to get close to. I guess I ought to mention that the weather was incredible today at 75º and sunny. The park was just teeming with people who were out enjoying the weather. The park just emanated Spring today, from the smells to the constant calling of birds, to the Pussy Willows who's fuzzy white catkins are now morphing into bright yellow-green color. I walked the entire 3 mile circumference of the park tonight and boy was I really seeing a lot of birds. I was taking photos of even common birds so that it would help me remember them all when I got home. I will list all the birds I spotted tonight at the end, but one that I managed a pretty good photo of was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This is one of the smallest birds we see here in Minnesota, and they are known for not sitting still for very long. I've been seeing them fairly regularly in the past week but it seems that I am seeing more females than males. Like many birds, the species is so named after the male who exhibits a tiny, bright red patch on his head that can raise up like a crest. The females look exactly the same but without the red crown. So this one here is obviously a female. Coming back to the east side parking lot I spotted an unusual looking bird perched in the setting sun. Upon looking closer with my binoculars I realized it was a female Red-winged Blackbird! This is somewhat exciting simply because it's the first female I've seen this year and shows that the females tend to show up weeks after the males do. I have yet to ever come across a RWB nest which seems odd simply because of how many there are in the park. I had one more surprise for the evening as I sat on the granite bench overlooking the eastern most body of water. I could see a few Common Mergansers way out there and this is a species I've only documented one other time before at the park. There were actually two pair –two males and two females but I didn't get them all in this shot. I am always surprised at the variety of waterfowl that pass through the park each spring! It always makes me wonder –if the water was less polluted, would they stay longer? And might there be even more species that would visit Palmer Lake Park?

My total list for the day (32 species):
1. Red-winged Blackbird (and first female of season!)
2. Brown-headed Cowbird
3. Common Grackle
4. Song Sparrow
5. Fox Sparrow
6. American Tree Sparrow
7. Northern Cardinal
8. Blue Jay
9. Cedar Waxwing
10. American Coot
11. Mallard
12. Ruddy Duck
13. Canada Goose
14. Blue-winged Teal
15. Common Merganser
16. Lesser Scaup
17. Wood Duck
18. American Robin
19. Great Blue Heron
20. Pied-billed Grebe
21. Hairy Woodpecker
22. Red-bellied Woodpecker
23. Pileated Woodpecker (heard)
24. Ring-necked Pheasant (heard)
25. Great Horned Owl
26. Tree Swallow
27. Mourning Dove
28. Yellow-rumped Warbler
29. Black-capped Chickadee
30. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
31. American Goldfinch
32. Northern Shoveler

A Beautiful Fall Day

It was another gorgeous Fall day this morning at the park. I arrived early around 8am but kept it a quick walk and took just 21 photos by the time I was done. Unlike the northern part of our state, there are still some leaves hanging on here. I'm not quite so good with trees but I think these were Poplar (?) on the northwest side that were so brilliant against the blue sky today. The first bird of note that I spotted this morning was a White-throated Sparrow. I'd not seen one since early October and this time I was able to get just a little closer -though my view was still a bit obstructed as they like to sit "inside" the trees. Later I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker and also a few Mallards in Shingle Creek. But near the end of my walk I spotted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and this may indeed be the last one I see this year considering how November is coming up quick. I couldn't tell for sure but it seems it was another female as I never saw any hint of a red crown atop it's head. 

Last Birds to Leave?

Today was Monday and I'd just gotten back in town from a nice long vacation along the north shore of Lake Superior. Despite hiking nearly 7 miles a day for the past 3 days in a row, I got out to the park today and spent quite a long time watching the birds and other wildlife. The weather here in the Twin Cities metro area was SO much warmer -and sunnier- than in the northern part of the state so I guess I just couldn't pass it up. It's been getting harder and harder to spot the familiar birds of summer. Even the Red-winged Blackbirds have been silent for some time now and I was surprised to see this one as I'd thought they'd all left already. I'd never quite seen a RWB with this type of coloring before. Most noticeably his bright red shoulder patch was quite drab and most of his head was actually quite brown instead of black. Also, the tips of almost all of his feathers showed a similar brown edging. I don't think I've seen one Cedar Waxwing in all of October this year until today. I first spotted him in a Buckthorn tree among all it's still green foliage, but he flew out into the open a short time later. Because of the angle of being more underneath him I couldn't get a look at his wings to see if he had the red tips to tell me if he was at least 2 years old or not. I later ran into another bird I've seen quite a bit of this month - a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Again I found myself underneath it which doesn't make for the best photo but at least I could positively identify it. I'm not quite sure whether all of the Yellow-rumps I've seen this fall have been male or female but based on all of my guides, everyone of them better fits the photos and descriptions of a female. Why this is I'm not quite sure but I've not spotted one this fall with a darker and more distinct pattern of a male. In hindsight this would be the last day I would see a Yellow-rumped Warbler at the park this year. I was lucky enough to spot one interesting bird today that I often think of as a Warbler though it technically is not. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets have been very active all this Autumn and for the first time I've started to notice them in many other locations besides Palmer Lake Park. This can be an awfully hard bird to catch standing still but I'm always hoping to get a photo of the small red patch on the top of the head for which they are named. Unfortunately only the males have this ruby crown and although I'm quite happy with how this photo turned out, I was a little disappointed to not see that bright red patch atop this inquisitive looking face staring directly at me!

Little Birds and Big Deer

When I arrived at the park this Saturday morning I parked on the south side just to be different. I started my usual clockwise route but noticed a very small little bird hoping around near the ground by the small pond just off the parking lot. The lighting wasn't that great and so all I could make out at first was the silhouette. Though I'm not yet that familiar with them I began to recognize it as a Wren. Wrens don't seem like a common species in this park -to me anyway- as I'd only captured my first photo of one earlier this summer. Surprisingly I was able to inch my way closer and bend on one knee to get a better view without scaring it off. It scurried around quickly from one small log to the next, picking at various things near the surface of the water. I thought I'd never get this close to one again and so I snapped a vast amount of photos, hoping I'd eventually get something worthwhile. It was awesome to watch one this close up and get to see some of the tiny intricate patterning that makes them almost invisible against tree bark and natural textures. I'm not very sure but I would assume the species is a common House Wren. On the north side I was focusing on some more birds when something much bigger caught my eye. Against the tall cattails stood an enormous Buck with an 8-point rack. I'd barely noticed him and I'm sure he noticed me first. Even when it was clear to him that I'd spotted him, he stood as still as a statue not moving an inch. I took a few photos of him with different settings and he still never moved. I didn't noticed any Does around and so it looked as though he was alone. Looks like there will be another set of antlers to be on the lookout for come next spring! Earlier in my walk I'd spotted a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets but was unable to get a decent photo. This species is probably THE toughest to get good photos of as they seriously are changing positions approximately every one second. Most times about all you can do is to point and click wildly over and over trying to keep up with them and then hope somehow you managed to get one in the frame! Kinglets are becoming quite familiar to me now and I know a few things to look for -aside from their characteristically energetic behavior. They can be strikingly olive-green in color, have very obvious wing bars and eye-rings, but most of all it's the time of year that helps me realize what I'm seeing is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. They are active and easy to see in early spring but disappear for most of the summer and now again are quite common in the fall. I would say there are more of them at the park in the fall than in spring but that's just my observation. I was pleased to realize after looking at this photo closer that I'd captured a male -as evident by the tiny bright red patch on the very top of his head.

Cold and Windy Monday

I had an extra day off from work this Monday but I didn't get to the park until later in the afternoon. It was terribly windy and on the cold side at just 47 degrees. I didn't think I would see much but the park usually proves me wrong anytime I assume this. The first think I spotted was an unknown bird hopping around mostly on the ground. Right away it didn't look familiar because it was rather large -close to a Robin size maybe, but was mostly drab colored except for it's bright rusty colored tail feathers. It flew off quickly into some low bushes but came back out onto the open ground right near the trail long enough to capture photos of it from different angles. I had to have some help identifying this bird later and was happy to learn that I'd captured a new bird for my blog -a Hermit Thrush! Now I will just have to remember how to recognize one if I ever see one again. I never heard it make any noise but they apparently have a very beautiful song. On the northeast side I spotted a group of 5 to 6 Deer moving below the Buckthorn trees just off the trail. For whatever reason they tend to congregate here in large groups each spring. There must be something good to eat here. I watched them for a while trying to get a shot with all of them in it but of course they don't always stay in tight groups. There were no Bucks in the group but there were a couple of curious young ones that cautiously walked closer to me as I took photos crouched down on one knee. Just like last year, their fur looked to be a mess as if they were shedding maybe. On the north side near a drainage ditch I just barely caught a glimpse of a tiny little bird bouncing around in a tree at about eye level above a drainage ditch full of water. It flew off quickly to the other side of the ditch when I realized it was likely a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It was very windy on this side of the park and I was surprised that they were out and active in such crummy weather. I stood and waited here for nearly 30 minutes or more, watching 2 of them periodically fly back to my side of the ditch and hop around in the tree like crazy as I remember them from last year. Seriously, these birds DO NOT stay put for more than 1 to 2 seconds before moving again. I was almost laughing to myself at how difficult it is to get a photo of one. By the time you can get one in your viewfinder, they tend to move and it's a constant game of catching up to them. I wasn't too happy with the quality of this photo but it does show their olive green backside plus the red crown raised slightly. I will make sure to check out this spot again during my next walk.

Definitely a Migrating Bird

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.

Colorful little Birds

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!