Pesky Crows

Shortly after setting out I caught a glimpse of this Bald Eagle hovering over the main swamp area. At first he headed away from me but then ended up coming back to roost on the super tall power lines that run across the east side of the park. Once landing there, about a half a dozen crows decided they didn't want him there. Some parked right next to him while others fluttered right in his face. All of them squawked continuously. When the Eagle finally had enough and took off, a few of the crows followed him right behind. On the north end I almost stepped on this neon-green leaf before realizing it was in fact a Katydid. They don't seem to hop away like a grass hopper but instead crawl very slowly in a strange, precise manner. It actually reminded me a lot of how a Chameleon walks.

Palmer Lake Cleanup Day!

This morning I finally accomplished my own little Lake Palmer Cleanup Day! Last year my workplace introduced a "Spirit Day" initiative that let's you take an extra day off to volunteer. This was the perfect fit to let me clean up all the trash I see everyday. It was a fantastic day to do so and I even got 3 personal "thank you's" from strangers out for a morning walk or a jog. It was a great feeling and went at least a little ways towards relieving my disgust about the grossness of my task. As I set out just after sunrise I encountered quite a few deer -eight in total. Here's one of 2 does seen not too long after setting out. I wanted to take at least one pic of my trash-grabber in action so here you go. Who in the heck ditches a bottle of lemon juice in the local park? Right as I was topping off my first 40 gallon trash bag, I heard a huffing noise coming from the other side of the trail. When I peaked out of the woods there were 2 does that must have been upset that I was standing on their trail. I quickly dropped my bag in favor of my camera and caught this video of the none-too happy doe. After that I got the heck out of there. As I was filling my second bag I came across two otherinteresting sites. The first were these odd, white berries and the second, a Great Blue Heron. Lastly is a picture of my two full bags of garbage hauled out of the park.

Darker earlier

Though a work day, the weather was nice enough to lure me into another walk tonight. This might be my last after work walk for the summer though as it is now stating to get dark at about 7:30pm. Did not see much of anything until rounding the last corner on the northwest side. Just a few feet into the woods I spotted a doe, a buck and a fawn. The buck had a healthy 6-point rack. The doe and fawn really could have cared less about me as I was able to inch closer but the buck stayed further away. Right as I was taking my first few pics, the one deer assumed a posture I've only seen dogs do as they're about relieve themselves. Funny, I suppose deer do the same but I've just never seen it before. As I watched the trio, they seemed to be playing as they were darting this way and that. The fawn would leap into the air awkwardly then dart out in one direction. I was SO bummed as my camera was taking AWFUL pictures as the sun began to set. I decided to back off a little and walk out onto the trail for better light. After a while the fawn and doe jumped right out onto the trail. Then another doe, then another, then another. There right in front of me were 5 deer in a group and my camera wasn't able to capture it. Every photo was turning out worse and worse. Regardless, I watched all 5 of them act goofy for a while. The fawn especially was still jumping and kicking and this would send the others darting one way then the other. It was pretty funny. Shortly after there was probably the most spectacular sunset I've seen at Palmer Lake and I was happy to at least capture that.

Sunny Sunday in September

Just to the left of the main parking lot on the south side is a really small pond that's gets pretty covered in algae in the summer. Last year there was a muskrat who'd built a home there but I haven't seen him this year. Sadly, there's an old tire stuck in there that sometimes acts as a sunning spot for turtles. This one was soaking up all he could even with some ducks right next to him. Not much else seen today except these interesting new mushrooms which I've not seen before.

Spotted and Painted

If you look at the map of deer sightings you'll see most of them on the south western side. That's where I spotted yet again a young fawn still with mom. I'm positive this is one of the 2 fawns I've seen before. This time there was only one so I assume the other is now out on it's own. The doe was still very protective, staying between myself and the fawn who still has it's spots.






On the south side I spotted another baby turtle, this time a painted. He was not quite a hatchling at about 3 inches long. At least he was safer from bikers on the wood chip trail.

Tiny Turtle

Last week I stopped to talk to a couple whom I see walking around Palmer Lake almost every time I'm there. As they were telling me about how there used to be more deer, another guy they knew came by and started telling a story about how he's seeing baby snapping turtles in the next park system north. I thought wow, would that be cool to see. Well just a week later I almost stepped on one sitting right on the trail. This was by far the smallest turtle I've ever seen. I wonder if it had hatched that same day so I looked around for more but didn't see any. From head to tail this guy was about he size of a silver dollar. It's amazing to think they get so big. After a few photos I realized I should put my finger or hand in the photo for size reference.







In the end I decided on picking him up and moving him closer to the creek as I didn't want a jogger or biker running him over. On the other side of the park I spotted this small toad and then a Great Egret who was roosted in the same dead tree where I often spot them. He was shaking his feathers and was all puffed out which made him look like a totally different bird from their normally skinny, streamlined look.