Finally Some Sun!

We're only 6 days away from Christmas now and the Twin Cities metro still has no snow on the ground. There are barely a few little white clumps on the edges of roads and trails which are remnants of the one inch or so we had fall about a week ago. However a winter storm moved through most areas of the state, north of St. Cloud, and following was the coldest air of the season so far. I believe it was around 8 or 10º this morning when I arrived at the park. I wasn't expecting to see much but in the end I did see a decent number of species for this time of year. The first bird was a nice surprise –a White-throated Sparrow! I typically do not see these around the park in December but they are known to over-winter in certain parts of the state. Last year a few stayed at Loring Park near downtown Minneapolis all winter long. There were a couple White-throated mixed in with a group of House Sparrows who were flitting about a brush pile on the southwest side of the park. The next bird I stopped to photograph was another sparrow, this time the American Tree Sparrow. They're one of my favorite winter birds as they're a bit more colorful than our other sparrows. This one posed nicely in the sun for a bit before jumping down to the ground to pick along the edges of the paved trail. There were a few in a group and they were making quick "chip" calls that I've come to recognize this time of year. On the north side of the park I stopped to photograph a little Red Squirrel who seemed to have his face buried in the side of a tree trunk. He stayed like this for quite a while and I began to wonder if something was wrong with him. What I didn't notice at the time was all the sap flowing from this tree, and looking at my photo later, I think maybe he was gnawing on the sap! I can't say for certain but it sure looks like that's what he was up to. I've never see any squirrel do that before. Other birds spotted today included; Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, House Finch, American Crow, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker.

No Warblers but a Rare Bird Indeed!

Lately I've been spending a LOT of time at another park –Silverwood Park in St. Anthony. With the daylight hours dwindling rapidly this time of year, this park is close enough for me to get to quickly after work and allows me as much daylight as possible to watch and photograph birds. At this park I've been seeing tons of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, as well as a few Nashville and Tennessee Warblers. So this morning I was excited to go to Palmer Lake Park and maybe see more of the same. A couple of friends of mine had tallied 10 species of Warblers just days ago but alas I did not see a single one this morning. I wonder if maybe it's already too late in the year? I should note that it was exceptionally warm today in the 80's which may have played a factor. Nonetheless, I was keeping my eyes peeled and after a fairly uneventful walk, I finally stumbled across a bird that got me quite excited. It might be the second most rare bird I've seen in the park and I even submitted it to moumn.org which is the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union website. The bird I found was a Red-headed Woodpecker, a bird that has been in decline in Minnesota for quite some time due to it's preference for a preference for a very particular habitat called an "Oak Savanna." An Oak Savanna is essentially a "lightly forested grassland where Oaks are the dominant trees." I've been to Oak Savannas before, some of them being found in our many Minnesota State Parks. In fact my one and only (previous) sighting of a Red-head Woodpecker was during a special trip to an area of Oak Savanna in East Bethel, MN. So needless to say, spotting this bird at Palmer Lake Park –a mostly wetland– was especially surprising. I first noticed the bird in a very tall, dead tree on the northwest side of the park, near the edge of the cattails. In fact I hadn't a clue what it was until I put my camera lens on it and spotted the bright red head. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. I quickly hiked through the tall grass, feeling the stinging nettles go right through my thin pants and worked my way closer to the tall tree. But as soon as I got into a good viewing area I looked up and the bird had gone. I waited for over 20 minutes and eventually saw another similarly colored bird creeping up the back side of one of the branches. I got excited again and had my camera ready but quickly found out that a Pileated Woodpecker had flown in and taken the Red-headed's place in the tree. Now a Pileated is still a fun treat to see anywhere but I was actually kinda bummed at this point. I really wanted to see that Red-headed again and get a better photo, but due to the rarity of this sighting to begin with, it was likely just moving through the area. Some of the other birds I spotted today were; White-throated Sparrows, Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee,  Downy Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, Cooper's Hawk, Mallard, Wood Duck, Great Egret, American Crow, American Robin and Song Sparrow.

More FOY Birds and Lots of Species!

My visit to the park this morning resulted in a LOT of birds so this post will have more than the usual 3 photos! Though I saw some awesome things I always like to post them in the same order I spotted them. The first is actually a bird that caught my eye as looking rather unique but I quickly wrote it off as an American Tree Sparrow. However, after studying my two photos now I firmly believe this is a Swamp Sparrow –which is a new species for me! Only recently I had a conversation come up with an experienced birder about Swamp Sparrows. I told him that whenever I heard people say "Swamp Sparrow" I thought they were using a nickname to refer to Song Sparrows. Well that turns out to be wrong, and there are indeed two separate species. But as it turns out, a Swamp Sparrow looks hardly anything like a Song Sparrow, and is actually way closer in appearance to an American Tree Sparrow. And since I've become so familiar with Tree Sparrows in the last couple of years, I can already see some notable differences here. For one, this new bird shows a distinctly whiter throat than most American Tree Sparrows. It is also missing the white wing bars on it's side. It's cap seems to start as 2 very dark streaks near the beak before turning reddish brown at the top which is also different from the American Tree Sparrow who's reddish brown is solid and the same color even at the front. There would also be a way more obvious distinction which is not very apparent here in either photo. While the American Tree Sparrow has different colors for it's upper and lower beak, the Swamp Sparrow has the same color on both upper and lower beak. Sorry to go on and on about the differences but I do this as much for myself as anyone –so that I can learn from it and also refer back to it! My next bird is one that I've seen before, but is the first time I've seen one this year. And it is one of my very favorite Warblers –an Oven Bird! This is probably one of the more elusive Warblers we have here in Minnesota as it is a ground nesting bird. In fact it is named as such for the "dome" shaped nest that it builds on the ground. I've come to spot Ovenbirds more frequently in areas that have both larger trees as well as a lot of "leaf litter" or left-over dead leaves from the previous fall. They are somewhat common at PLP if you look in the right areas and have enough patience to keep looking. The next bird I came upon is a Black-capped Chickadee who was busily excavating a hole in a stump. The first time I saw it go in the hole I thought I was seeing things. But it would pop out with a beak full of woodchips, fly off and then come back again to do the same. I'm assuming he or she was doing so in preparation for a nest, but the particular stump was only about 2 to 3 feet high off the ground. I would think being so close to the ground might not be safe from predators but who knows. Maybe if the hole is small enough no large mammal could get their head in there anyways. It was a funny sight. Later I spotted yet another Sparrow but this time it posed nicely for a photo. This is a White-throated Sparrow and you can probably see why they are named so just by looking at this photo. Besides the white throat patch, the have a bright yellow patch above and in front of their eye, thus making them one of the more beautiful of the Sparrows. But probably the reason people love this species of Sparrow is that they have a fantastically beautiful call that sounds like the first few notes of the Canadian National Anthem "Oh – Ca – na – da!" Next on the list is another FOY (First of Year) Warbler, the Black-and-white Warbler. This is a particularly distinct looking Warbler, as nearly all other Warblers are brightly colored in Yellow, Orange or Blue. The Black-and-white is striped in strictly black and white like a Zebra, hence it's highly technical name - LOL! They are also one of the only Warblers that can be found walking head first down the sides of trees. Therefore you are more likely to see this Warbler on or near larger, mature trees. And last but not least, I was able to spot one more Warbler today –a Northern Waterthrush. The Northern Waterthrush is also a somewhat secretive bird, staying mostly on the ground but almost always near standing water. They hold their butt and straight tail at a nearly a 45º angle and constantly bob their hind end up and down. So just by this posture and behavior alone, it is easier to discern this bird from others. They can be found bobbing up and down wherever water meets land in the spring. And in summer when the water recedes, look for them wherever muddy land meets the water.

List of species (that I can remember) from today:
1. Swamp Sparrow
2. Song Sparrow
3. White-throated Sparrow
4. Ovenbird
5. Northern Cardinal
6. Blue Jay
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Red-winged Blackbird
9. Northern Shoveler
10. Mallard
11. American Coot
12. Black-and-white Warbler
13. Yellow-rumped Warbler
14. American Goldfinch
15. Wood Duck
16. Canada Goose
17. Downy Woodpecker
18. Hairy Woodpecker
19. Red-bellied Woodpecker
20. Hermit Thrush
21. American Robin
22. Brown Thrasher
23. Least Flycatcher
24. American Crow
25. Northern Waterthrush
26. Blue-winged Teal
27. Lesser Yellowlegs
28. Greater Yellowlegs
29. Common Grackle
30. Brown-headed Cowbird
31. Cedar Waxwing
32. House Wren
33. Gray Catbird

A Few More Birds than Normal

I'm not even supposed to be in town today but due to a major change in holiday plans, I was at the park again today –the day after Christmas. It was just a tad warmer than it's been lately, and with my back brace still helping, I was eager for another walk around the entire park today. For whatever reason I was on a mission today to note and remember every bird species I saw and my total list ended up a bit longer than usual by at least 2 species anyway. One of these was a White-throated Sparrow that I spotted on the south side of the park. He (or she) was busy feeding on a dried plant along with a bunch of Junco's. I've not seen a White-throated in quite some and I typically don't see them at the park in the winter time at all. According to the range map in my "Birds of Minnesota" field guide by Stan Tekiela, it looks like the Twin Cities Metro area might be just on the very edge of their winter range. I wasn't able to get a decent photo but good enough to confirm the sighting anyway. This particular area was a great spot to watch birds all Summer and Fall. There were many different varieties of plants and even now the dried and withered vegetation continues to attract birds. It is testament to just how important it is to leave vegetation to nature's own course versus cutting it all down in the fall. I've only recently learned to do this in my own back yard –leaving dried seed pods as natural sources of food for wintering birds. The area provided me more than one good shot of a Junco today! I've come to really enjoy these hearty little winter birds and the variation of color in their plumage. This one in particular reminds me of fur on a dog. Another common but not-seen-lately bird for me today were Goldfinches. I could hear them plainly near the north end of the park, and after calling back to them with some pre-recorded calls, a group of 6 to 8 appeared in the trees above me. They never really came down to eye level but it was fun to see the hints of bright yellow around their face. I think this one is probably a female as there were slightly more yellow-colored birds off to the side. I've made up my own mnemonic to remember their call. They make one in particular that I imagine them to be saying "Look-at-Meee!" I'll try to remember now my entire bird list for today: White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch and Mourning Dove. I was surprised to not have seen any Robins. Near the end of my walk I ran into some good friends of mine and one reported to me that he'd seen both a Red-tailed Hawk as well as a Red-shouldered Hawk!

When September Ends

After a rainy day yesterday, it was perfectly clear and sunny this Sunday. It was just a great day for a birding hike around the park and I saw plenty of them, including; Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch and even a Cooper's Hawk. One of the first interesting things I spotted was not a bird though. There were TONS of these fragile, thin mushrooms growing out of the wood chip trail on the south side. They were in clusters of 5 to 20 or so and had just the faintest hint of pale blue coloring. Many of the tops were not flat like a disc but rather flared out like a flower. I have no idea what kind they are and couldn't find any good information online either. One of the birds that I probably saw the most of today were White-throated Sparrows. They are just everywhere you can find standing weeds yet and I'm assuming they are looking for seeds in the dried up foliage. At first glance these look pretty much like any other sparrow, only just slightly larger. If you can catch a glimpse of them from the side or front, you'll see a little patch of bright yellow and a kind of "furry" looking white patch on their throat for which they are named. Here in the same patch of weeds I spotted this Goldfinch who was looking rather pale and fitting in with many of the leaves that are now just starting to turn a dull yellow.

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. 

A Little Snow and Some Fantastic Birding!

Yes, the Palmer Lake Park Nature Blog is still alive -despite having not posted anything in over a month! Believe me, my desktop is cluttered with great photos from late summer and fall but I've just not had enough time to post them. Being out in nature, shooting photos and learning more birds continues to be the thing I enjoy most, but lately I've been focused more on improving -or "coping" maybe is the right word, with some other parts of my life that I certainly don't enjoy nearly as much. I've not been getting to the park quite as regularly as I'd like, but again, I do intend to go back and post a lot of stuff I've seen over the past month. So if you are a geek about birds in our area, you may want to look back every so often. When I got to the park today I could hear White-throated Sparrows singing all over. These are honestly one of the easiest to remember of all bird songs, once you've heard it once or twice. It's also one of the few that I can imitate to any resemblance of the real thing and I soon found them responding to me and coming in closer. They were everywhere today and not a bird I see all that often at the park. I was really not prepared for how cold it was today. We've undergone a HUGE shift in weather recently. Roughly 3-4 days ago, we'd hit 80º and then today it was nearly like winter and only in the upper 30's! I'd not even brought gloves today and just figured I'd "tough-it-out." Boy was I toughing it out alright. After stopping to talk to a fellow birder friend for a while, I could no longer even feel my hands. But things picked up as I walked along with my hands in my pockets and started seeing one great bird after another. Coming around the corner I spotted a large group of sparrows feeding on the ground up ahead but before proceeding I decided to spot them quick with my binoculars first. There was one bird in the group that clearly did not belong with the others and at first I thought it was a young Robin. Then it as it moved around and kept sticking it's tail high up in the air I realized it was a Towhee! This is only the 2nd Towhee I've ever seen, and the first I've ever seen at Palmer Lake Park! I was too far away for a photo, especially as it was digging in the tall grass up ahead but I approached as closely as I could before it scared up and into a neighboring tree. I tried desperately for a pic as it bounced around quickly and unfortunately this is the best I got. I can see why they're easy to mix up with Robins as the orange color is a perfect match, only there's a very definite line where the orange sides meet the white breast. Next I saw 2 little birds that also didn't seem all that familiar to me as they hopped along the edge of the paved trail ahead of me. They would pick at the edge of the grass, periodically wander off into the grass, and then back onto the trail. I wondered if maybe they were Common Yellowthroats but they seemed a little too large. They were definitely too big for Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I got as close as I could without scaring them off and snapped this photo of the one. I'm not an expert by any means on Warblers, but I'm thinking they were possibly Palm Warblers! Per my field guide it looks a lot like a "Western Palm" in fall plumage. Shortly later I spotted a Brown Creeper. This is only the 2nd Brown Creeper I've seen as well -and the first one was also in the park. He was making his way up a tree and I hurriedly snapped photo after photo before he got up too high. They are the "chubbiest" looking birds, resembling a ball more than the typical shape of a bird. I got to see him actually turn his head and poke his bill into the bark of the tree which made him look slightly more like a regular bird -almost like a nuthatch or woodpecker. Then after this I spotted a first for me anywhere -and quite an exciting species I thought! There was a little bird hopping through all the fallen leaves on the northeast side of the park -more where some of the bigger and older trees are, like the large cottonwoods. When I first spotted the bird I noticed how distinctively "olive green" it was and thought -ooh, this is interesting. I tried my best to follow it as it hopped along through the underbrush and when it would come into view I could also see a distinct white eye-ring as well as a very well defined white white breast with dark spotting or striping. For some reason I knew right off the bat what this bird was -as I must have paged past it numerous times in my field guide to Warblers by Stokes. Indeed it was an Ovenbird! I even saw hints of the yellowish-orange crown on it's head whenever it decided to head directly away from me. This was by far my favorite sighting of the day -even though earlier I'd actually caught a glimpse of a supposed Sora in the area that others had been reporting. I only saw the Sora for a split second though and I got to watch the Ovenbird for quite some time. Still later on the east side as I was coming out of the woods, a group of 6 to 8 Dark-eyed Junco's were ahead on the paved trail. I've seen Juncos already this year about a week ago at a cemetery near my workplace that I've also started birding in. I was shocked to see them last week as it feels so early for Juncos. I think of them as a mid-winter bird that I see in January or February. But I guess with the season changing so quickly they are probably on time. After all, there was actually little snowflakes -or snow pellets- in the air today! OK, I know this is a long post but I saw one more bird of interest today that I was thrilled to see. As I was coming back to my vehicle on the east side of the park, there right in front of me were 2 Bluebirds perched on one of the recently planted pine trees. One was actually right on the very top of the tree and I thought this would make a fantastic photo. As I approached slowly, he took off but landed right back where he was in just a few seconds. I kept getting closer as I took my shots and then even a House Finch came in an landed right below the Bluebird. I got a photo of this too but am posting this one after which I'd gotten a lot closer. I've not seen a Bluebird at Palmer Lake Park for quite some time now, -maybe months. I'm thinking that possibly this bird and many of the birds I saw today were making their way south. In learning so many birds over the past year or so, I've really begun to appreciate both Spring and Fall for the migration periods and the interesting birds you might not see any other time of the year here in Minnesota.

Mid-September Sights

This Sunday I had an afternoon walk at the park, arriving just after 2:00pm. It was another beautiful day to be outside and I saw just about everything from birds and deer to turtles and butterflies. The first thing I spotted was this young spike Buck on the southeast side of the park. He was foraging around the little drainage pond there right off the paved trail. I snapped a few quick photos and got a good look at his akward little mis-matched antlers. I figured there would be more deer around but he seemed to be by himself and then trotted away after just a minute or so of me watching him. After this I spotted a Bald Eagle, a Grey Catbird and then lastly this interesting bird perched just above water on the southwest side where the little creek connects to the Duck Pond. At first glance it seemed too large and skinny to for an Eastern Phoebe. I was also seeing it only from behind and there seemed to be an almost bluish-grey coloring that i don't typically associate with Phoebes. I started doing some research, thinking maybe it could be some kind of Pewee or Flycatcher. After reading and looking at quite a few photos I can honestly say it would take a more experienced birder to quickly pick up on the subtle differences between Phoebe's, Pewees and Flycatchers. That being said, here are my findings. Eastern Wood Pewees look extremely similar with little-to-no eye ring, yet they differ with a typically orange lower beak or "mandible." Most Flycatchers (with a few exceptions) also have an orange lower mandible AND tend to have a more prominent white eye-ring too boot. Based on this photo showing no eye-ring and a black upper and lower mandible, I would still say it is an Eastern Phoebe. I hope my ID is correct because I just can't say for sure. Later on I had the opportunity to spot and more easily identify a sparrow that is a lot less common than your average House or Song Sparrow. This is a White-throated Sparrow and I believe the very first one I've ever captured a photo of at the park! I've heard their very memorable song before but not had the opportunity to actually see one until now. Their song is worth hearing if you've never heard one before. Click here to listen to one!