At last, the nice weather the forecasts were talking about all week arrived on Sunday morning. It was darn right gorgeous with clear blue skies, low 50's and little to no breeze. When you live in Minnesota, this is the kind of weather you wish you could have every day. The buds on the trees and brush seemed to have doubled overnight and there were birds and waterfowl everywhere soaking up the sun.
I even saw a few Slugs on the paved path. On the west side, in the very same group of trees as yesterday, was a Bluebird again -in fact there were a few of them. I can see how easy they are to confuse with Robins. Shortly afterward I spotted a Kestral again in familiar territory on the north side. It was far away again and hard to tell for sure but it may have been a female as the colors seemed a bit muted.
Near the ball fields on the east side I could see a few little birds in the bare shrubs surrounding a little pond. I decided to sneak in closer and immediately noticed a Yellow-rumped Warbler. He was at
way closer range than I've seen before and I was finally able to get some good shots. At first he had his back to me but that was not bad as this showed off the yellow rump for which they are named. He must have felt safe in these shrubs as he stayed in them for a while and eventually even came closer to me. They have quickly become my new favorite bird.
Not only do they have patches of bright yellow on their rump, but also on both shoulders and on their head. This is most likely a Male and I can't say I've positively identified a female just yet. Near the end of my walk I could see a small group of Ducks way way out in the lake that had some very obvious white patches on their head. At first I assumed they were Hooded Mergansers but I'd not seen any of those for quite a while. Also, unlike Mergansers, the white patch extended all the way to the edge of the head.
Despite the distance I'm pretty sure I can positively identify them as Buffleheads. There were also females with a much smaller white patch that fits the description.
As I went for my camera, they bolted forward quickly and then were followed by at least 6 or 7 more. The whole group actually ran right into and through the parking lot. Later, the cause of the alarm appeared to be a dog that wandered away from his owner. I saw roughly 15 or more Deer today and spotted another young Buck with new antlers. Right after the bridge on the north side I noticed a Wild Turkey in some thick brush. 
I was close enough for a photo but it stayed in the thickest parts moving in and out from behind trees. I decided to stalk him for a while hoping to get a better shot. Eventually he decided to move along and headed towards some more open areas. He would only pause for a second or two and only once or twice in an opening through the trees. It was ticking me off to be this close and not be getting a better shot so I followed him some more until he finally got to the edge of a field. 
There I paused motionless for long time and he walked right out in front of me and onto the trail. Wild Turkeys make the Deer in the park seem like tame pets in comparison. Any subtle movement on my part would have sent him running or flying off in a split second. The rest of my walk afterward was rainy as heck and my camera lens would not stay dry enough to even bother.
