Feels like Spring

Today was even warmer than yesterday, hitting 39 degrees and making it feel like spring. Much of the paths are finally melting right down to the pavement now. Unfortunately there are parts of the trail that reside in the shade all day long and have about 2 inches of solid ice build up, still making it quite possible to fall on your ass. With the warm temps I expected the woods to be full of activity today but it was surprisingly quiet. On the west side I did spot a couple of deer way back in the woods. The photo's not great but you can tell that it's the young one and mother I've seen so often. From the north end of the park I snapped this pic to show you just how close the park is to downtown Minneapolis. I see this view every time I walk here. Some times the buildings are barely visible and sometimes they are perfectly clear but it always makes me appreciate the park even more and being able to spot a variety of wildlife so close to a metro area. Later on I ended up meeting a guy and his 3 legged black lab walking on the trail. He was very friendly and asked me if I'd ever seen any Coyotes. He said he'd live on the south side of the park for the last 25 years and has seen them walking right down the trail -even recently. I sure hope I get a chance to photograph one some time. After following the wood chip trail along the creek I heard some noise above me and looked up to find this Grey Squirrel peeking down at me.

Owl Season

Well I'm starting to think February is THE time to see Owls at Palmer Lake. Today marked three sightings in my last three visits to the park. And just when I think I've captured my best view of one, I ended up catching an even better view today. After hearing a close "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooo" a few times from the trail on the northeast side I walked into the woods as quietly as possible through the melting snow. I heard him only one other time shortly after entering and I ended up walking way way past him. Only upon giving up and walking back out did I finally notice him sitting there silently in the sun. I couldn't believe how unobstructed my view was and I snapped as many pics as I could. Since he didn't move, I stalked around slowly through the mushy snow trying for a better angle and different lighting. Various spots presented different opportunities, such as a makeshift tripod on a broken tree. But whenever I found a good angle, I couldn't get him to look directly at me. I tried making some sqeaking noises to no avail and found that simply making a lot of racket with my feet in the snow was the most effective. During the whole ordeal he never even moved once, only turning his head periodically. After finally walking out of the woods and heading around the east side, I walked right up on a deer just on the inside of the trail. I snapped just a couple pics before watching him walk into the tall cattails and disappear. He or she was apparently alone as I didn't see any other movement around. The snow was melting so fast in the sun and 37º temps today that it is forming some odd "vertical" standing crystals just off the trail here and there.

Winter with an orange glow

I had the day off from work Monday but was not all that excited about getting out for a walk until later in the afternoon. When I finally arrived at the park around 4pm I decided to throw on my snowshoes and wander around some lesser traveled areas. After taking a slight detour into the middle I headed north east into the most wooded area of the park. The sun was making for some great lighting by the time I found myself in an unfamiliar area full of huge trees. My snowshoes were making quite a racket on the refrozen snow and at some point I scared up another Owl. I took note of his new perch and attempted to walk a little quieter. After a while I spotted him again directly in front of me, basking in the sun. It was difficult to find an angle without branches in the way but at least I could clearly see his bright yellow eyes. I sat and watched him for a long time and he was quite entertaining. As some ducks flew high overhead he tilted his already completely rotated head straight upwards into an angle I cant imagine any other animal could possibly do. He also periodically blinked his huge eyes independently and even yawned once or twice showing me his pink mouth. Now if I could just get a picture of him snatching up a mouse or something...ha! After realizing I didn't have much daylight left, I made my own path through some thick woods and deep snow that took much longer than expected to get me back onto the paved trail. I hurried back to the east side just in time to watch the sun go down and add a few more minutes of orange to the sky.

February Feathers

My early morning visit to the park today was highly successful as I caught a rare glimpse of not just one, but two Great Horned Owls roosted together in the same tree. My initial sighting of just one large bird was enough to lure me off the paved trail into the snowy woods. As I got closer I noticed two distinctively large shapes perched somewhat near each other. I trudged through the deep, crusty snow and as I got closer, the noise was enough spook one of them to select a completely different tree. At this point I figured my chances for two Owls in the same shot were ruined but I continued on in hopes of catching a decent photo of just one. Over the next 20 minutes or so, the two of them each switched roosts again and again but gradually settled together even closer than the first time I spotted them. At this point I was finally close enough for some photos and was excited as heck to capture them both in the same picture! After snapping a few pics of them together, the bottom bird decided I was too close for comfort again and took off. As I was straining my head skyward, another peculiar large bird caught my eye and rested on a tall dead tree. It's sheer size and bright red feathers on it's head made me realize I could probably add a new species of bird to my list of wildlife seen in the park. I immediately came to realize that a Pileated Woodpecker sounds more like a jackhammer than a normal woodpecker as it started searching for food.
I've heard this sound before from far away but never appreciated just how loud and thunderous it is.

Warm Saturday in February

I started my normal Saturday walk much later than normal today at about 3:45pm and it made for some nice lighting. The sky was clear blue and the sun was slowly descending for the day. I stayed on the longer, paved trail and could hear the ducks quacking as I got closer to them. Though Mallard Ducks can be an everyday sight, the setting sun made the Drake's heads all the more iridescent and picture-worthy. On the north side I ran into about five or six Deer at the bird feeding stations in the backyard of a house near the edge of the park. This is about the third or fourth time now I've seen large groups of Deer here and it makes me think it's getting pretty tough for them to find food under the 12+ inches of snow still on the ground. I caught just one pic of a Doe leaving the site behind the others. On the south side the setting sun started casting it's glow on the deep snow, bringing out the blue color of the snow.

Snow Day!

I certainly didn't expect to get a walk in today but as it turned out, my workplace closed early afternoon due to the heavy snowfall coming down all day. It was still snowing like mad by the time I hit trails which were now covered in about 5-6 inches of fluffy powder. Though the walking was tough, the park was beautifully white and silent. I had high hopes of spotting an Owl but even they must have been hunkered down for the weather. On the east side I just barely two Does walking through the tall cattails. Though they were really very close to me, I couldn't get decent pics due to the thick cattails they hid behind. It was kind of like watching a silent film, as they made absolutely no noise, despite the heavy snow and close vicinity.

Superbowl Sunday

A change in plans for the day resulted in a late afternoon walk versus my normal morning routine. The sun was barely a bright spot in the thick wintery sky and everything was nice and quiet. Today was SuperBowl Sunday so I even had the park to myself! Lately I've been on kind of a bird kick cause I'm realizing now just how hard it is to photograph them. I got some practice in today though with a bunch of Chickadees feeding in some thick trees. I bet I took ten shots before I even managed to capture one in the frame. The bounced around from twig to twig and eventually one or two landed in my view. Though a little out of focus, one of my shots captured him cracking open a shell and pulling out the seed -something they do can do in just a split second as I didn't even really notice it while I was there. On the southeast side I noticed again just how dim the sun was so I was curious to see what it might look like in a photo...

Fresh February snow

My last few walks have been very loud due to crunchy ice on the trails. With recent snow flurries, today was first quiet walk in a long time and it allowed me to get close to this deer. It was smaller in size with a face similar to that of the fawns I've seen with their mother. Though today it was completely on it's own, foraging in the deep snow. Following the very same trail it walked into the woods on, I crept along slowly, pausing behind large trees until it would forget about me again in favor of food. Gradually I got a little closer but it kept it's distance and gradually hopped right across the paved trail from which I originally spotted it. After completing my loop on the south side, I heard a siren coming closer and closer to the park so I paused to see if it was police or fire. As the ambulance flew by the park on 69th Avenue, I distinctly heard two separate high pitched howls coming from behind me. The older couple I run into frequently told me once that they've heard Coyotes howl when sirens go by. I kind of didn't believe them but I sure do now. It was plain as day and sure didn't sound anything like a dog. The sound also came from the same general area where I spotted a Coyote a couple years back. Sure would like to catch a picture of one!