Finally a Nice Day!

After missing our short lived sunshine yesterday, I was more eager to get to the park earlier today and be assured I would have some sunshine. Not only was the sky clear but the temps warmed up dramatically as well. While the "official" high temperature measured for the day was only in the 30's, my digital thermometer at home -and in the shade mind you- was reading 43 degrees! It was almost like a Spring day and not having to wear my face mask/neck warmer for once was quite awesome in itself. I saw (or heard) a fair amount of birds today including quite a few different Woodpeckers. I've been seeing Downy Woodpeckers in groups of 2, 3 and 4 lately, chasing each other and flapping about wildly as they drop from a perch. I noticed this for the first time last year and I believe this must be their mating time. I've yet to get a good photo as they are usually quite high up when behaving this way. The best Woodpecker I saw today however was a male Pileated. I spotted him only 10 minutes into my walk on the east side of the park. Actually I heard him first, then saw a flash of red through some small willow trees near the small ponds. He was quite busy pounding away on a dead tree and I figured I might have a shot at getting closer as long as he was occupied. I crunched though the loud snow trying to get closer while not scaring him off. Gradually he moved up the dead tree into better view but the area was still so thick that I could not get a clear shot through the Willow shrubs. Eventually I found a half-fallen tree that was just the right height for me to step up onto and get me above the ground cover. From here I had an absolutely fantastic view of him while he continued to jackhammer the tree in a frenzy of flying wood chips. You wouldn't believe the amount of wood chips flying through the air! Some were quite large even. It was quite a sight and I wanted to try and capture this so I took quite a few shots. In this one you can see some of that wood in front of his dark colored body. If you notice how far away his head is from the tree at this split second while all the wood chips are still in the air, you get an idea of just how quickly he was moving. I know that he was in search of insects but I still don't exactly understand what type of insects they can find in such cold conditions in February. I suppose there are some that burrow into the layers of wood itself. I've always wanted to see one actually pull out an insect but I think the action would be so fast that you would miss it. In fact they don't use their beaks at all to grab the insects, but rather uses it's long, barbed tongue to grab them. In the second photo inset, you can see it's tongue coming out –or going back in. I'm not sure which, but this is likely the closest I've come so far to seeing a Pileated actually eat an insect! It is always a thrill to get to see a Pileated so closely as their red caps are just so brilliantly vivid especially on a winter day when pretty much everything else is either white or brown. At this close proximity I could also see his bright yellow eyes and a hint of yellow on his upper bill just in front of his eyes. I was pretty happy with such a sighting so early into my walk but it would prove to be the best of the day. Later on the north end I spotted a group of five Deer together. Most looked like younger ones who were curious of me. One in particular was lagging behind and was standing right in the middle of these big trees which made a nice photo I thought. I watched them for just a while longer before they all moved on. A hundred feet down on the opposite side of the trail was yet another group of 5 Deer, making their way down and across the drainage ditch. It was the first time I've spotted 10 Deer in one walk in quite some time!

The Color of Winter

There can be such a lack of color outside in January and February that it can feel like you're living in a black and white movie from the past. Anything that has the faintest hint of color really stands out –from a red Cardinal, to the bright orange feet of a Mallard. As I was walking around the Duck Pond today on the south west corner of the park I paused to watch the Mallards. They must have assumed I had some food for them and immediately the whole group started clumsily up the snowy banks. Some found it easier to fly up the short distance and I snapped a couple of photos as they did. I just let them walk right up underneath me, almost stepping on my feet while I stayed very still and I felt like part of their group for a minute. Gradually they realized I had no food for them and they returned to the water which was likely warmer than the snowbank. Some other birds I spotted today were a Red-tailed Hawk, Dark-eyed Junco, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, and a few cluster of 3-4 American Tree Sparrows. This bright red Cardinal made for the best photo –though I really had to lighten up the image to show some detail. It was after 4:30 in the afternoon by now and the dreary landscape was slowly losing even more light. At about 5:10pm I wandered out into the field near 70th Avenue North to catch a glimpse of the sun setting underneath the blanket of winter clouds.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Day 2

On my second day of the Great Backyard Bird Count, I saw almost exactly half the total number of the birds I saw yesterday. Yesterdays total was 57 and today was only 28. As I said before it's a bit frustrating to be counting and reporting birds on such a slow time for them here in Minnesota. I guess the flip side is that it is much more manageable and easy to remember. I photographed only 3 species total; another Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Red-tailed Hawk from a long ways away, and finally this Crow who was right above me.

I've gotta say that I don't always pay that much attention to Crows as they are so common, and not much to look at. They're also very hard to photograph because their lack of color often hides their features. So I like how in this photo you can see some of his feathers and even his eye.

Total bird count for Sunday February 17th, 2013
Black-capped Chickadee – 6
Mallard – 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 3
Downy Woodpecker – 2
White-breasted Nuthatch – 1
Red-tailed Hawk – 1
Northern Cardinal – 3
American Robin – 1
American Crow – 3

Great Backyard Bird Count - Day 1

I think last year was the first time I'd participated in the "Great Backyard Bird Count" or "GBBC." This is an annual bird count sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca New York. The Cornell Lab is kind of like the "central hub" of all things bird related and they have one of the best online resources for bird identification called All About Birds. Anyway, I really like the GBBC because it's one you can do completely on your own, anywhere you wish. Of course I chose Palmer Lake Park last year and again this year. All you do is keep your own record of how many of each species you see and report it online. Routine bird counts give scientists tremendous amounts of important data in the study of birds, migration and even climate change and it's neat to know that you can participate right in your own backyard if you wish. The only downside of this count is that it's at the peak of winter and can be some of the quietest times for birds in Minnesota. So generally I end up reporting lots of Woodpeckers, Chicakdees, Finches and Nuthatches, none of which are rare by any means. But like on any other walk, you never know what you might see and I was hoping very much that I could add a Northern Shrike to my count this year. I'll share a few photos I took today during my count and this first is just one of four Red-bellied Woodpeckers I spotted. This is actually a female which I don't see all that often. You can tell by the fact that the red crest on her head doesn't go all the way across from the front to the back, but rather has a gap of light grey between. Any bird that has red feathers at all really stands out this time of year when everything else is washed out in white or grey. So though another common bird, it's actually pretty neat to see a bright red male Cardinal on such a sunny winter day. They almost look like they are glowing against the pale landscape of February. After seeing a small group of 5 Deer, I finally spotted my Northern Shrike high atop a tree on the far north side of the park! Though I've seen them a fair amount this season it was nice to be able to "officially" add him to my count. Oh, I also saw a Red-shouldered Hawk which is another not as common bird –for me anyway. But I didn't get a photo of him.

Total bird count for Saturday February 16th, 2013
Black-capped Chickadee – 20
American Crow – 7
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Hairy Woodpecker – 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Pileated Woodpecker – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
Northern Cardinal – 3
Blue Jay – 1
House Finch – 4
Northern Shrike – 1
Red-shouldered Hawk – 1
European Starlings – 2
American Robin – 1