Coldest Walk So Far...

This Saturday was only 10º when I arrived at the park around 10am. It seemed like a bit of a shock to nature as well as there wasn't much of anything happening. Though I know there are still Deer left after the special hunt this fall, I've not seen one for quite some time. Though cold today, it's not been cold for long enough to freeze all the water. Between the two furthest east bodies of water is "kind of" a creek that flows just enough to help keep it from freezing quickly. Here the Robins have taken up residence in much larger numbers this year versus last. Occasionally they will drop down to the water's edge for a drink or sometimes a quick bath. I'm still seeing a good variety of the "normal" winter birds including Chickadees, Juncos, Nuthatches and Starlings, although the Cardinals seem to be sparse as of late. Also seeing a good variety of Woodpeckers including Downy, Hairy (pictured), Red-bellied and even a nice big Pileated today. I heard the Pileated in the woods and went in closer for a photo but didn't manage to get one. As he flew off he had his back to me and I was able to see a quick flash of white strips on his wings.

Best Shrike Sighting To Date

Only about a year ago, I considered my first Northern Shrike sighting a major achievement in my new found hobby of "birding." Those first few sightings, in dim snowy conditions and from long distances now pale in comparison to my experiences with Shrikes as of late. For a January day it was unbelievably warm and sunny today at 36 degrees. It was so nice that I just stood for a while in my favorite place in the park, where Shingle Creek flows back out of Palmer Lake. It was here that I noticed the Northern Shrike again in the same place -the same tree to be exact- where I'd seen him on the day after Christmas. With the creek separating us, he had no cause for alarm and just sat there for a long time singing out some beautiful songs more reminiscent of a Warbler. After a long while he changed perches a few times and then finally flew out into the cattails. True to form, he seemed to select only the tallest available cattail to perch upon and I was able to keep sight of him in this new and unfamiliar territory. He then disappeared down into the cattails but surprisingly came right back up to perch on another tall cattail stem. This was repeated a few times and I was hoping to see him come up with something in his beak but neither he or I were so lucky. The warm temps and sunny skies always seem to bring out the birds and later I spotted a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. This was on the north end where a few houses meet the boundries of the park. There are a bunch of thick shrubs and trees here that the Juncos seem to like. But more often than not I tend to see Juncos on the ground. They are apparently looking for seeds of common weed plants. Today I also spotted Cardinals, Chickadees, Starlings and Hairy Woodpeckers. I watched a Cardinal, then a Chickadee bathe themselves in the exact same part of Shingle Creek, one right after the other.

Warming Up Again

The change in weather we experienced last weekend around the New Year has come and gone. Temperatures are once again above average and the little snow we received has melted away. On almost every walk lately I seem to get only a 1/4 of the way around before I realized I've dressed too warmly. About this time today is when I glanced upwards and spotted a Northern Shrike high up in a tall tree. This was on the southwest side right near the water way that connects the two most western bodies of water. I would have never expected to see a Shrike here and I'm amazed at how often I am seeing them this winter! A bit later I noticed something that I just had to take a picture of as it really shows what this winter has been like. Patches of green foliage line the same wood chip trail on the southwest side. A few years back I remember being amazed to see some green leaves in December but this takes the cake. In fact it looked like they might still be growing without the weight of any snow on top. Later I spotted a nice Red-tailed Hawk perched above the baseball diamonds on the west side but was unable to get a decent photo before he took off. At the bridge over Shingle Creek I paused to watched some Mallards walking around on the thin ice that is barely distinguishable from the unfrozen water. It looked almost as though they were walking on the water.

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!