Becoming a Birder

Slowly but surely, my regular visits to Palmer Lake Park over the past couple of years have turned me into an avid "Birder." After cuing in to migration time last year, I'm realizing just how special spring is to birding in Minnesota. This spring, I've spotted and identified twice as many species as last year but I'm also realizing that I'm barely scratching the surface. To me, birding is a lot like collecting coins, stamps, antiques or what have you. Every time I photograph and positively ID a new bird, it's like adding it to my collection. There's also a ton of research regarding subtle nuances and varieties, just the same as if you were collecting anything specific. My collection today started with a nice addition of a Northern Flicker, only the 2nd one I've ever seen at the park. He was high up in a tree and facing me, allowing me to see his spotted breast. Later at the bridge, I spotted a small orange and black bird that landed on the fallen tree laying in Shingle Creek. I tried over and over to catch a photo but it eventually flew off. About this time, a fellow nature lover whom I've come to know, walked up and told me it was an American Redstart. As we stood on the bridge exchanging stories, he pointed out a Water Thrush and a Common Yellowthroat. I only got a photo of the latter -but both are members of the Warbler family. After a while, we ended up walking together for a while and I was amazed at what a keen eye he has for nature. I'd have walked right past without noticing until he pointed out this Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant that was growing just a couple feet off the paved trail. I've only seen them before at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden so it was a special treat to find this one. Just before we got to back to his vehicle, we spotted a couple unidentified warbler-like birds in the plumb trees outside the trail loop that are just now starting to bloom. I went in closer for some pics but only caught two less-than-decent photos. My companion studied the photos and when we got to his truck he pulled out a comprehensive field guide giving merit to his belief that it was a Tennessee Warbler! Since I trust his expertise about 100 times more than my own I'm gonna say that it was indeed a Female Tennessee Warbler. This evening I went and purchased a new field guide to Birds of North America as well as another, smaller guide to Warblers specifically.

Humid Monday evening

Lately if I'm only able to visit the park once per weekend, I'm itching to go back by Monday or Tuesday. This Monday evening I met a friend for a walk. Right before we left I tracked a Yellow Warbler near the parking lot where it looks over the lake. There were 2 of them hopping around on the dead cattails and this is the closest I've been to them yet. This is the only shot I'm posting today as the light was just not good with a very overcast sky. I did see one other thing of interest -about 20 or more Northern Shovelers all in a group way out in the eastern body of water. They were real far away and it was quite dark by the time I spotted them.

Filling in the gaps

I didn't make it to the park on Saturday so I took my time going around on Sunday morning. I would say that this was the first weekend with actual leaves on the trees as it is now hard to see through the woods. As soon as I arrived at the parking lot and got out of my vehicle, I heard a bird call that I actually remembered from last year. It didn't take me long and I spotted the first Baltimore Oriole of the season. For whatever reason, it then flew right up to another truck in the parking lot and kind of hovered right up along side it. I don't know if maybe it saw it's own reflection or what but afterward it decided to perch right on the bug shield of the same truck. There were plenty of birds out today as it was sunny and warm but the next one of interest to me was this greyish brown bird. I've seen them periodically since early spring but have not gotten a photo or tried to identify them until now. This one settled just close enough above a marshy area for a bit. According to my field guide I'd say it's an Eastern Phoebe. Back on the south side I spotted a Cedar Waxwing in the narrow strip of trees between the lake and the trail. I went in a little closer and noticed a few more of them all in the same tree. I tried to get a shot of a couple of them together but with the leaves coming in, one or the other was always blocked. A short distance further down the trail, I started to hear one of the most beautiful and unusual bird calls I've ever heard. It was incredibly loud and extremely varied. I don't think I heard the same pattern repeated in five minutes time. I thought, I've GOT to see this bird and veered right off into the woods after it. I was kind of expecting to see some brightly colored bird but instead I found a quite large, mostly brown bird with a white spotted breast. I was close enough to notice that it had bright yellow eyes and I thought to myself this would definitely help in identifying him later. Indeed it did -it is Brown Thrasher which apparently has the largest documented song repertoire of all North American Birds. This and the Phoebe will add 2 more bird species to my list!

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!