Lots to See

Today felt just a tad bit more like a normal January day with some snow on the ground and a temperature of around 20 degrees. There was a stiff breeze leftover from yesterday and I my normal winter wear was actually appropriate today. By the time I'd gotten to the north side I hadn't seen a thing yet, so I paused for a while hoping to see something. As I scanned the field, I spotted 2 barely noticeable dark spots among the cattails. Upon closer look with my binoculars I realized they were Deer ears. Then to the left was another pair. These were the first Deer I'd seen in quite a while but they were quite content to be laying down and hiding out. I saw a large variety of wildlife today but didn't get to photograph everything. Here is my total list for the day; Deer, Mice, European Starling, Robin, Canada Geese, Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, Cardinal, Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Shrike. Of all the birds I spotted today, the one I least expected were the Mourning Doves. Though I think they can be found in the lower portion of the state all year, they're not necessarily in my list of common "winter birds" -at least at Palmer Lake anyway. I heard them fluttering upwards when I walked into the woods on the northeast side. There were at least 20 or more and this particular one presented me with a good photo opportunity. Later on the south side after crossing over the creek again, I heard a faint chirping call that I come to associate now with a Northern Shrike. I could hear it but couldn't place a visual for the longest time and started to think I was wrong in my assessment. But then he popped out of some thicker trees and into my field of view. Distance-wise this is probably the closest I've ever come to a Northern Shrike, but my view wasn't the greatest. I inched even closer but had to stop whenever I could pull off a photo through a small opening in the trees. In this picture I finally managed to capture the hooked beak that the Shrike uses to capture and rip apart it's prey, which can include insect, rodents and other birds. Apparently Chickadees are on the menu of the Northern Shrikes at Palmer Lake Park!

-5 degrees Towards Normal

This winter has got to be the strangest I've experienced in my 30-some years of living in Minnesota. While January temperatures even in the 20s are generally considered mild by most Minnesotans, a good deal of this month has been in the 30s and sometimes in the 40s! Today however was much more in line with a typical January day at -5 degrees --and even that's not bad to be honest. The low temps must have been a bit of a shock to wildlife as well as there was just nothing moving around today. I saw only a few birds overall and the only one I managed to get a photo of was this Junco. Later as I came around the pond on the southwest side where the Ducks usually hang out, the open water was steaming up and creating a haze. The water was clearly warmer than the air temperature and the freezing moisture was coating the banks of the pond in a coat of icy frosting.

Monday Morning Mink

I had an extra day off from work today for MLK Day so I visited the park just after 11am. It was colder than yesterday at around 27 degrees. After hearing reports of attempted vehicle thefts at my normal parking spot, I've changed to parking on the east side now. Going in my usual clockwise direction, I see the whole south end of the park first now. Only minutes after leaving my vehicle I was passing by the small pond south of the baseball diamonds and was amazed to see a critter pop his head out of a small hole in the ice near the shoreline. I was within mere feet when I spotted this protruding face and I hadn't even taken my camera out of the case yet! The animal saw me pretty quickly as well and darted back under. It's quick behavior, shape and color told me that it was a Mink and I was shocked to have gotten this close to one. I though to myself I'll never have a better photo opportunity of one so I decided to sit there and wait for him to reappear. I had to explain to a lot of passersby why I was standing there staring down at a frozen pond. I even told a few people what I had just seen and they looked at me kind of strange -either not knowing what a Mink was, or disbelieving that one would be in a city park. After about 20 minutes I was ready to give up and then he popped his head out once more. This time he didn't come out as far and kind of rested his head on the snow for a second. I slowly moved up my camera, took one shot and then he was gone again. It was one of only 7 photos I took during my entire walk -and quite a lucky one at that!

January Warm Front

Following yesterday's cold temperature of just 10 degrees, today was above average at 34 degrees! On top of that it was clear, blue sky and it again feels more like early spring than mid January. I walked in the opposite direction today which proved to be a mistake as the sun was glaring my eyes the entire way and I had a hard time seeing anything. Despite that I did manage to spot a few interesting birds. The first was this House Sparrow on the east side near the baseball diamonds. I haven't been seeing a lot of them, though they are a common bird even through the winter. When I got home and looked at the photo closer, I noticed the green buds on the tree! Not sure if that is normal or if it's due to our unusually warm winter. Later I came across a small group of Starlings, probably less than 10 altogether. They were high up in some tall trees probably enjoying the sun. Though considered a kind of "nuisance" bird, I'm still intrigued by the wide range of sounds they can make. Near the end of my walk on the south side, I heard a bird that has become almost common to me now -a Northern Shrike. I first thought he was out in the cattails again but then I spotted him moving back and forth between some scrubby brush just above the cattails. I am going to have to tally up my Shrike sightings for this season just to see what it comes to. It seems like I am seeing them nearly every visit lately!