First of Year Northern Shrike

It was hard to find much of interest today at the park but as I came around to the north end I noticed a bird perched high up in a tree a long ways ahead of me. It kind of stuck out and caught my attention and I quickly realized it was a Northern Shrike. I feel like I used to see a lot more of them in the area and it's been some time since I've found one here. A friend of mine mentioned to me that she had been seeing one on the north side over the past couple of weeks. I took some shots and then moved closer but unfortunately the bird immediately flew off a long ways and it was the last I saw of it. Other birds seen today were common variety; Hairy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee etc. I also noticed some strange looking "rainbows" on either side of the sun, something known as a Sun Dog. This is caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. They seem fairly common in Minnesota winters, especially in January and February.

Late February and First Red-winged Blackbirds!

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the park today or not. I had the day off of work but I have also been summoned for Jury Duty this week. After making my mid-day call, I learned I didn't need to report so I went for a long hike instead. Except for a few slightly cool (and average) days, today was another warmer-than-usual day for February. I believe we hit 48º or so and the sun was shining to boot. I wanted to check Shingle Creek on the north end of the park to see if any early waterfowl had returned yet, but all I found there was a lot of Mallards and a small group of Canada Geese. Shingle Creek has not been iced over for probably the entire month of February if not more, which is pretty unusual. There was also no sign of the Belted Kingfisher I spotted in the first week of this month. As I hiked around the south end of the park, I heard a familiar sound that I could not immediately place. It was a faint "chek" sound coming from my right. Then it hit me –a Red-winged Blackbird! The arrival of this bird (especially to the Palmer Lake area) each year has become an important observation as a sign of the coming Spring season. I swung around to my right, peering into the cattails and there he was! My first-of-year Red-winged Blackbird. I hiked in closer to the area in hopes of catching a better photo but it was not to be. In all of my previous years watching birds, my first RWBB's have always been spotted in March so to have seen them in February is a new record for me! As I continued on the south side I paused more than once to take in the golden light being cast over the cattails and tall grasses looking northward. This area is truly unique to find within such an urban area. In certain spots (like this one) you can forget that you are surrounded by urban sprawl on all sides. Today I was also carrying a new camera lens with me for the first time in over two years. I decided to give it a whirl on some of the Mallards in the "duck pond" on the southwest corner of the park. Both the light and the ducks were fairly cooperative so I got a few keepers. Surprisingly though I did not witness any mating behavior among them today. I guess they were too busy preening and soaking up the sun.

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.

Finally February!

As I hiked around the park this Saturday afternoon, it seemed there was a little glimmer of hope among this harsh winter. Today was a new month with January behind us, and the sun had even poked it's head out. Each day it is up longer and longer and even now I can sense a difference in the time of year without looking at the calendar. As I made my way around the south end of the park the sun cast a warm glow out onto the lake area and cattails and even the thin white Aspen (?) trees out near the middle. Sometimes just a different light source can really change your whole view of how something looks –thus I thought this was kind of an interesting photo to share from today. The birds were few and far between today and I only spotted a handful of common species including Black-capped Chickadee and both Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. But I again found a flock of 15-20 Cedar Waxwings who were busily gulping down Buckthorn berries. The sun was just perfect and with a partly blue sky behind I snuck in closely to a few who tolerated me better and snapped a bunch of pics. I was pleasantly satisfied with a number of them including this one that I'm actually proud of. In fact I decided to submit it to the Capture Minnesota online photo contest! It is a really fun way to share and look at others photos and definitely inspiring.

A Few Days Before Christmas

It's only a few days now until Christmas. Our colder-than normal December has continued on as such and it seems like it snows every other day or so. One good thing is that my back has been giving me less pain than usual and I am thankful to have found some treatment that seems to be helping. Though I took multiple breaks where I sat for 10 - 20 minutes, I was able to get all the way around the park today without too much pain. There air today was saturated with snowflakes and I had to blow off my camera every few minutes to keep it from building up. I did some off-the-trail hiking today in hopes of seeing an Owl but no such luck. I did however see a Red-tailed Hawk who was screeching loudly over and over. I wondered if maybe HE saw an Owl somewhere but I couldn't confirm so. Other than the Hawk I spotted only the regulars today; Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Juncos, Blue Jays and Cardinals. I've hardly even spotted such other common birds such as a Crow or even European Starlings lately. From the north side I stopped to look over the park and it just looked so wintery and devoid of any life. I thought to myself it's amazing that this place can be appear so dark and desolate now but be teeming with life come spring. I took this photo with just the smallest of intention of seeing if I could make it look even more "dreary" later using Photoshop. This is the end result and I feel like it kind of captured the way I felt about something today. Near the northern most end of the park I came across a bright red Cardinal who was singing up in a tree so I decided to hike in closer. I'm still amazed at how bright they can look on a day like today and seeing one on a dull wintery day is always a plus. I hiked off the trail through some pretty deep snow but had a tough time getting a clear shot through the the trees. He was picking at Buckthorn berries like I see so many other birds doing throughout the winter.

A Little Colder and Lot More Windy

The weather today was not much better than yesterday, but at least it wasn't raining anymore! I didn't head out for a walk until just after 2pm. Our temp was only a few degrees cooler but the wind has really picked up and could even be heard howling through the trees. I figured I wouldn't see much of anything today (at least for birds anyway) and that assumption was pretty accurate. It was one of those days where I knew I might have to veer off the main trail in order to find anything interesting. I did just that on the far north end where I discovered these bright orange fungi sprouting from a large dead tree without any bark left. Birds were scarce today and I even had a hard time hearing any due to the wind. Some that I saw were; Ring-billed Gull, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin and Dark-eyed Junco. I had some success in attracting the Junco's in closer by playing a recording of their sounds. During the latter half of my walk, the sky had begun to break up and show patches of blue here and there. By the time I was at my vehicle the sun was beaming down through these breaks and the sky was changing constantly. I took a few photos but none of them did justice to how neat the sky really looked.

Some More Rain for October

The on-again-off-again rainy weather we had yesterday decided to continue again today. Now that I've upgraded to such a larger camera, this type of weather makes it harder than any other to hike around the park taking photos. I've seriously thought about buying some kind of weather protection for my camera but I've procrastinated about it and instead carry a selection of large plastic bags with me instead. When I was on the south side overlooking the lake I could really see a swath of rain moving over the park and tried to capture it in a photo here. Things are still pretty green everywhere in the park but the cattails are showing just a tinge of rust coloring now that it's October. I saw a handful of interesting birds, of which most I didn't get a good photo of. These included a Least Flycatcher, House Wren, and a pair of mottled birds weaving through the grass that I'm pretty sure were two female Pheasants. There's also a few new mushrooms popping up here and there and though I really don't know any of them by name, they can still be fun to photograph. I've recently heard someone refer to these at "Tree Mushrooms" but I'm sure they have another name. I never realized until a few years ago that mushrooms that look the same as you find on the ground will grow right out the side of a tree. Now I see them quite frequently. Almost always they are growing out of a hole where a dead branch broke out, making me think that the spores are simply finding a good place to settle and grow. Later near the end of my walk I spotted one more bird that I tried to photograph but was moving quickly. I'm pretty sure this was a Nashville Warbler, of which I've only seen just once or twice at the park. So despite the less than favorable photo, I'm posting here anyway just because I have so few pics of this Warbler.

Warm and Humid for March

Now that daylight savings time has kicked in, I can finally get in a walk after work before the sun sets -and without having to rush. For the middle of March, it was an extremely warm and humid evening somewhere around 75º I think. It felt more like May or even June! The first thing I spotted was this mature Bald Eagle on the south side of the park. He was perched in one of the tall Cottonwood trees right near the parking lot but before I could get close he decided to take off toward the middle of the park. Later I spotted a Mourning Dove, lots of Mallards, Chickadees and Cardinals, but the bird that is now dominating the park are Red-winged Blackbirds. I've decided they are the second most noisy birds right behind Starlings. Their loud calls can be heard everywhere in the park now, but I've not seen a single female yet -only the males so far. As I came back to the east side parking lot the sun was setting as I watched the RWB hopping from one cattail to another, sometimes making the seeds burst into the air like snow. The spectacular orange sunset lasted a long time and I just enjoyed the view and reflection onto the lake as the Mallards and Canada Geese floated by. Hoping to see some different types of Ducks soon like Mergansers or Teals but it may be too early yet.

Red-winged Blackbirds Return

It's been staying light out longer and longer now and it's all the more obvious in the past week. Also our high temps are still above average reaching into the 40s and sometimes 50s. On Thursday I rushed home from work as quickly as I could and arrived at the park by 5:45pm. I had limited daylight so I walked quickly and not seeing much. Was hoping for some better pics but I was more or less "skunked." One thing I did notice -and hear- however were a few Red-winged Blackbirds out near the middle of the park. I was not expecting them back this early yet but I assume since most of the country is above average in temps that spring migration will be early this year. As I was watching one through my binoculars, I swore I saw a Northern Shrike chasing after one of the RWBs but I can't say for sure. It may have been a Blue Jay. That would have made for cool photo. It began getting too dark for photos only about half way through my walk and I found the only thing of interest to be a full moon overhead periodically draped in passing clouds.

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!

Back to Warmth

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.

October Evening

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.

One More In September

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.

Friday Sunrise Walk

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

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.

Chill in the air

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!