Lots of Deer and Birds

Today's walk was a bit more interesting than yesterday. The sun had disappeared and as usually happens, there was a lot more wildlife to be seen. The first was a group of four Deer back by the drainage ditch. Lately I've been adding this small offshoot of the trail to my normal routine as I can just about count on seeing Deer there. On my way back to my normal route, there were four more Deer heading in the direction I'd came from. One by one they stepped out into a clear spot before heading back toward the thick stuff. On the northwest side there were tons of birds making tons of noise so I decided to venture in closer. I thought the birds making all the noise were Purple Finches, but now think they were House Finches. Among the ruckus I could hear more unique birds and I found myself walking further into the woods. There a third group of 7 more Deer walked past me -making for a total of 15 Deer today! A short time later I caught a glimpse of what I thought I'd recognized by sound, a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I decided to stalk him for a while in hopes of getting a better photo but it was tough given how thick the woods are here. The only thing I could keep my eye on as he bounced around from tree to tree was his bright red crown. Eventually he settled into a real thick area of trees out in front of me with just barely an opening in my view. The photo shows the rosy red belly patch for which the bird is named. I tried many more times for a Finch photo but eventually gave up and headed back. On the way I heard something above me and looked up to find this Gray Squirrel barking at me.

Brrrr!

The temp when I woke up this morning was -11º so I decided to wait a while before heading to the park. Eventually it warmed up enough for a walk. When I arrived at the park it was 6º above zero and little did I know that this would be the high temp for the day! With these temps, the Ducks just barely had enough open water to fit on. I was happy to spot the white one again as I'd not seen him with the others in quite a while. As I rounded the southwest corner and headed north, there was nothing blocking the wind as I walked passed the ball fields. Going against the wind, my eye sockets actually began to hurt. I pulled and tightened my new winter face-hood until I could barely see anymore. I was expecting to see some Deer or Pheasants today but on the contrary it was quite an event just to see anything moving at all. The snow under my feat made an awful, loud squeaking sound in these temps so that was not helping either. Somewhere on the north side I paused for a few pics of this Downy Woodpecker who stayed relatively still despite my distance. For a while he just sat there motionless -making me think he was truly frozen. The only other thing I saw moving today was this Grey Squirrel on the south side. I first noticed him near a large hollow opening on one of the tall Cottonwoods trees by the Creek. It looked like maybe he'd just crawled out of there and was trying to soak up some some and warm up a bit. But on a day like today you can't even feel the warmth of the sunshine.

Warm streak

I could tell it was gonna be a warm one today so I hit the park as early as I could. Even so, it was already in the mid-eighties and humid. As I made my way around, I noticed an obvious lack of people. Not sure if everyone is up north at their cabins or just staying inside. It reminded me of some of my winter visits when I feel like I'm the only one there. Those can be some of the best times for photography because I'll stop to take pics I might not normally take -which explains a couple of images in this post. It was so hot today that I was constantly wiping away sweat from my forehead in an attempt to keep it from dripping onto my glasses. Somewhere on the east side I stopped again in the shade and noticed a small woodpecker very close enough for a decent photo. I think it's a Male Downy Woodpecker, indicated by the red patch on the head and small black spots on the tail. The north side presented a good random photo opportunity as these seeds were about to take flight in the hot summer air. A short time later this squirrel ran almost right under my legs and scurried up a tree. Anytime animals get closer than normal is worth taking a photo to me -even if it's just your average everyday squirrel.

Sixties and Sunny

I didn't get out on Sunday 'til much later in the day but it was gorgeous weather. The park is getting so busy with walkers, joggers and bikers that the parking lot was near full! At least the woodchip trails are less congested. There on the south side I snapped a quick pick of this little red squirrel. The remainder of the route was pretty uneventful and it's been quite a while since I've seen any deer. Somewhere back on the south side I spotted this Downy Woodpecker right above me so I took a couple pics. I usually don't bother with woodpeckers cause they move to fast but this one turned out pretty good. This one's a female as it's missing the red patch at the back of the head.

Feels like Spring

Today was even warmer than yesterday, hitting 39 degrees and making it feel like spring. Much of the paths are finally melting right down to the pavement now. Unfortunately there are parts of the trail that reside in the shade all day long and have about 2 inches of solid ice build up, still making it quite possible to fall on your ass. With the warm temps I expected the woods to be full of activity today but it was surprisingly quiet. On the west side I did spot a couple of deer way back in the woods. The photo's not great but you can tell that it's the young one and mother I've seen so often. From the north end of the park I snapped this pic to show you just how close the park is to downtown Minneapolis. I see this view every time I walk here. Some times the buildings are barely visible and sometimes they are perfectly clear but it always makes me appreciate the park even more and being able to spot a variety of wildlife so close to a metro area. Later on I ended up meeting a guy and his 3 legged black lab walking on the trail. He was very friendly and asked me if I'd ever seen any Coyotes. He said he'd live on the south side of the park for the last 25 years and has seen them walking right down the trail -even recently. I sure hope I get a chance to photograph one some time. After following the wood chip trail along the creek I heard some noise above me and looked up to find this Grey Squirrel peeking down at me.

Back to Winter

After the warm temps melted a fair amount of snow and ice, it's turned cold again with evenings dipping slightly below zero. There's barely any open water now compared to just last week. Saw a group of 6 or 7 deer on the west side but they were too far back in the woods for a photo. Since I highly doubted I'd see any more deer after that I figured I'd try some bird shots. Birds are so much tougher as they don't sit still for long. Some, like this Chickadee are gone a half a second after you snap the shutter. Shortly later I ran into two guys at the bridge. One guy had some nice camera equipment and the other was holding a large deer antler. I stopped to talk to them and they said they had found the shed antler out in the woods while photographing birds. It was in near perfect shape. As I counted the 5 tines on the antler, I wondered if it was from the 10pt Buck I saw just last week. I still had the pics on my camera and I showed them as we speculated as to whether or not it may have belonged to the same deer. They also had a nice photo of a Great Horned Owl which spurred a good conversation about the various birds we'd all seen in the park. Birds seemed to be the theme of the day, though I also saw a few squirrels and rabbits out enjoying the sun.

Hawks everywhere

No rain today but still VERY humid and hot. While walking along the edge of the ball fields on the West side I heard a bird up in the trees that sounded like it was in distress. When I looked up I saw this big Hawk sitting there. Whatever bird was making the noise continued to do so until the Hawk moved on. Back on the South side I noticed another Hawk and then another. I could hear them squawking back and forth to each other. This particular one must have been perched near a squirrel's home because right after he took off I saw this squirrel come out and inspect things. There are still a few baby ducks around but this family seemed to have just one.

Green July evening

This squirrel was so preoccupied with whatever he was digging for that I walked up right behind him. I had to finally whistle to get his attention. Noticed 2 does near the end of the first wood chip trail but they got spooked before I got any pics. At the very end of the last trail this third doe walked right in front of me. You can't tell from the photo but this only about 100 feet from the parking lot.