This Wednesday evening was much more mild with temps near the norm of 50-55 degrees. When I arrived at the parking lot on the south side I could see a lot of waterfowl in the usual place where the creek empties into the lake. As I started walking and got a bit closer though I could see that a large portion consisted of Northern Shovelers!
This time there were males and females. Again I checked by posts from last year and my first sighting was on April 18th. It's pretty neat to have a sightings record of various birds and then to learn that it's within days of the previous year! One bird I've been seeing a lot of lately has been the Common Grackle. I first started to notice them among large groups of Red-winged Blackbirds. They are a bit larger than the Blackbirds and have an iridescent blue head that only appears at certain angles.
This evening a few were feeding on and around the flooded low areas just off the woodchip trails. One pulled a worm out of the ground just like you normally see Robins do. I saw quite a few Deer tonight though most were at long distances. For a while I stopped to watch a group of 6 in which one was acting completely goofy. It would jump up into the air, spin around, then bolt quickly in a different direction. I even witnessed it trot
backwards -something I've never seen a Deer do before, and it was quite funny. Later on the south side I spotted something swimming quickly through the water.
Though I captured just one quick photo, I'm quite sure it was the Mink again. He seemed way to slender and agile to be a Muskrat -especially the way he dove under the water. I sat for quite a while here and actually saw him 4 more times. At each moment when I was about to snap my shutter he would dive back under the water. I spotted him on solid ground just once and again as I went for a pic he dove back into the water.
This time there were males and females. Again I checked by posts from last year and my first sighting was on April 18th. It's pretty neat to have a sightings record of various birds and then to learn that it's within days of the previous year! One bird I've been seeing a lot of lately has been the Common Grackle. I first started to notice them among large groups of Red-winged Blackbirds. They are a bit larger than the Blackbirds and have an iridescent blue head that only appears at certain angles. 
This evening a few were feeding on and around the flooded low areas just off the woodchip trails. One pulled a worm out of the ground just like you normally see Robins do. I saw quite a few Deer tonight though most were at long distances. For a while I stopped to watch a group of 6 in which one was acting completely goofy. It would jump up into the air, spin around, then bolt quickly in a different direction. I even witnessed it trot backwards -something I've never seen a Deer do before, and it was quite funny. Later on the south side I spotted something swimming quickly through the water. 
Though I captured just one quick photo, I'm quite sure it was the Mink again. He seemed way to slender and agile to be a Muskrat -especially the way he dove under the water. I sat for quite a while here and actually saw him 4 more times. At each moment when I was about to snap my shutter he would dive back under the water. I spotted him on solid ground just once and again as I went for a pic he dove back into the water.
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