Even though we've periodically had some snow flurries and some temperatures in the teens, this has got to be the warmest Christmas-time I can remember. I got to the park just after 10am this morning when it was already 36 or 37 degrees. But later in the afternoon, it warmed up to a record high temp of 52 degrees for the Twin Cities area! Right as I hit the wood chip trail today, a large and mature Bald Eagle flew up in front of me and glided on the strong wind above the lake. I stopped dead in my tracks and waited to see where he might perch again.
He in fact did land again, extremely close -almost right above me! At this distance I would not be able to walk very much closer without scaring him off again, so I opted for a crummy photo right through the trees. I couldn't even see his face but I knew this was probably the only photo I would get -and I was right. Later today I ran into some fellow "Birders" on the north side -one of whom I'd only previously known from his photos on Flickr.com. The 3 of us spent a good deal of time swapping stories and photos of recent sightings, photo equipment and so on. It is always nice to meet people that share your same enthusiasm for something and are kind enough to share their knowledge and experience with you instead of holding it above you. Much too often I think our competitive nature gets in the way with hobbies or pastimes that should be more focused on education and just having fun. But that was definitely not the case today, nor has it been with most of the people I've met so far who are interested in nature, birding and the environment.
I later realized just how warm it had gotten when I crossed Shingle Creek on the south side and could see the bottom of the creek bed through water that
should be frozen by now. The sun was glinting on this Clam shell and I still think I'll find it hard to believe later than I took this photo on the day
after Christmas! By now it was seriously nice out and as I walked up the wood chip trail to where Shingle Creek flows back out of Palmer Lake, I just decided to sit along the creek. No sooner than I sat down did I hear an interesting bird call which I assumed at first was a Robin. As it continued I realized it must be something else and then I caught my first glimpse of a plump, mostly white bird. At first I thought I might be seeing something new, until a glance through my binoculars told me that it was a Northern Shrike. I had never seen one so closely before, nor in this environment of thick branches, nor on such a nice sunny day!
I sort of recognized
some of the calls it made but was amazed at all of the other sounds it was making. Since I was just sitting there, I grabbed my iphone, hit my bookmark to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page and played the sound files for "typical voice" of the Northern Shrike. It was then quite obviously the same bird and I believe that the recording helped attract it closer to me. At certain points I had a hard time differentiating between the recording and the real bird in front of me on the opposite side of the creek. It was quite a fun experience seeing and hearing a Northern Shrike in such close quarters. I completely understand now why they are referred to as a "predatory songbird."
He in fact did land again, extremely close -almost right above me! At this distance I would not be able to walk very much closer without scaring him off again, so I opted for a crummy photo right through the trees. I couldn't even see his face but I knew this was probably the only photo I would get -and I was right. Later today I ran into some fellow "Birders" on the north side -one of whom I'd only previously known from his photos on Flickr.com. The 3 of us spent a good deal of time swapping stories and photos of recent sightings, photo equipment and so on. It is always nice to meet people that share your same enthusiasm for something and are kind enough to share their knowledge and experience with you instead of holding it above you. Much too often I think our competitive nature gets in the way with hobbies or pastimes that should be more focused on education and just having fun. But that was definitely not the case today, nor has it been with most of the people I've met so far who are interested in nature, birding and the environment. 
I later realized just how warm it had gotten when I crossed Shingle Creek on the south side and could see the bottom of the creek bed through water that should be frozen by now. The sun was glinting on this Clam shell and I still think I'll find it hard to believe later than I took this photo on the day after Christmas! By now it was seriously nice out and as I walked up the wood chip trail to where Shingle Creek flows back out of Palmer Lake, I just decided to sit along the creek. No sooner than I sat down did I hear an interesting bird call which I assumed at first was a Robin. As it continued I realized it must be something else and then I caught my first glimpse of a plump, mostly white bird. At first I thought I might be seeing something new, until a glance through my binoculars told me that it was a Northern Shrike. I had never seen one so closely before, nor in this environment of thick branches, nor on such a nice sunny day! 
I sort of recognized some of the calls it made but was amazed at all of the other sounds it was making. Since I was just sitting there, I grabbed my iphone, hit my bookmark to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page and played the sound files for "typical voice" of the Northern Shrike. It was then quite obviously the same bird and I believe that the recording helped attract it closer to me. At certain points I had a hard time differentiating between the recording and the real bird in front of me on the opposite side of the creek. It was quite a fun experience seeing and hearing a Northern Shrike in such close quarters. I completely understand now why they are referred to as a "predatory songbird."
Enjoyed your blog and your interaction with the Northern Shrike. I hope this weather continues for a while too.
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