At this time last year Spring-like weather had been in full swing for nearly a month already. Last January felt more like February, February more like March and March more like April. But
this year has been nearly the opposite -seeming like our weather is one month behind instead. But after today it feels like Spring has finally arrived after all. Very early in the morning we awoke to claps of thunder and lightning which led to a steady downpour of rain most of the early morning. I was itching to go for a bird hike so badly that I put on my full rain suit top and bottom and grabbed my old "pocket-sized" camera instead of my newer DSLR which is impossible to keep dry. By the time I arrived however it had completely stopped raining and I could just tell how much stuff was going to be out today. You could just feel it in the air -and hear it as well! I drove back home, ditched my rain pants and grabbed my newer camera -and boy was I glad that I did.
Sometime during the week a LOT of other Red-winged Blackbirds have found their way back to the park and they could be heard abundantly today -though all males so far. If I were to define Spring with a "sound" it would be that of the RWB. I was very hopeful that today I might catch a glimpse of at least one returning species of bird -and it didn't take long until I did. The first were Tree Swallows that were zooming all over the cattails on the north side. There were maybe 4-5 of them and they just continuously flew back and forth, climbing and diving over and over again.
I waited for a long while hoping to catch one perched for a bit but they never took a break. So to prove my first sighting for the season I had to attempt to catch one in flight which proved pretty difficult. Along the way I had already heard lots of Goldfinches chirping away but I was finally able to spot a group of them feeding on seeds from last year's plants. Though Goldfinches might not completely leave our state during the winter, they don't always stay around the park in the winter. In fact I'd say you are more likely to see a Robin versus a Goldfinch at PLP in the wintertime.
I'd already spotted a Goldfinch last weekend that was quite yellow already but didn't get a shot of one until today. There were both males and females in various stages of "yellowing up" for the season -yet another sure sign of Spring. When I got to the bridge over Shingle Creek I could see lots of waterfowl way downstream through my binoculars. They were very far away but I thought I caught a glimpse of something interesting like a Goldeneye maybe. I also knew that Hooded Mergansers had been spotted a couple weeks ago already up at the Coon Rapids Dam area so I was hoping I might see some of them as well. I decided to hike downstream along the banks of the creek, attempting to avoid the loud, crunchy snow wherever I could. After making lots of noise and pushing all the waterfowl further downstream I finally made it to the last big Cottonwood and kind of crouched behind it for a while. From here I could tell that there were quite a few Hoodies and Wood Ducks on the water but I had to let them forget I was there and then hopefully they would move in closer to me.
My plan worked when after a while a pair of male and female Hoodies decided to swim right past me. I just absolutely love seeing the males -especially when they lift their crown all the way up. This one didn't do so as they swam by but it was quite awesome to see them so closely. After I was satisfied I'd gotten a decent photo in there somewhere, I waited for another long while just in case more came back upstream. I was getting tired of waiting when I popped my head around the corner of the tree and was shocked to see a beautifully colored duck that I'd clearly
never seen before! It had beautiful silver sides, a strangely patterned black and white bill, and very bright yellowy orange eyes. This was likely the same duck I'd seen from a distance and guessed was maybe a Goldeneye.
Right when I saw it, the duck had just come up from underneath the water with a little fish of some kind in it's bill. Of course when it saw me it immediately turned the other way and kept getting further and further away. I wildly snapped as many photos as I could but of course I was not holding as steady as I should have in my excitement. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was in fact a "Ring-necked Duck" per my new
Stokes Field Guide. You can just barely make out the faint brown "ring" around this male's neck for which they are named. A completely brand new species for me! I was so happy after seeing this that the rest of my walk could have been in the dark for all I cared. BUT, as I was heading back to my vehicle I couldn't help but notice yet another interesting bird wading in an area flooded by melting snow and hopping from one clump of grass to the next. As the time of year seemed right, I assumed I was seeing my first Grackle of the season. Grackles are not quite all that interesting or uncommon but I do like their iridescent blue-purple heads so I went in for a closer look. I watched a pair of them turning over leaves and grasses but wasn't quite seeing that beautiful head I was looking for. Even upon coming home to show my wife my photos for the day, I still told her I'd seen my first Grackle.
But upon picking my best photo to post I started to wonder if this was indeed a Grackle at all! I pulled out my field guides and pretty instantly realized that it's beak was not as big and thick as that of a Grackle, though it did bright yellow eyes telling me that it was NOT an immature Red-winged Blackbird. I had a hunch of what it
might be but I decided to immediately post my photo into a new "discussion topic" on the
Birdshare group of Flickr and ask others opinions. Sure enough, so far the general consensus is that I saw a Rusty Blackbird -a second
brand new species to me! In total, I counted 24 species in just one day today which might also be a personal record for me so far at PLP!
Sometime during the week a LOT of other Red-winged Blackbirds have found their way back to the park and they could be heard abundantly today -though all males so far. If I were to define Spring with a "sound" it would be that of the RWB. I was very hopeful that today I might catch a glimpse of at least one returning species of bird -and it didn't take long until I did. The first were Tree Swallows that were zooming all over the cattails on the north side. There were maybe 4-5 of them and they just continuously flew back and forth, climbing and diving over and over again. 
I waited for a long while hoping to catch one perched for a bit but they never took a break. So to prove my first sighting for the season I had to attempt to catch one in flight which proved pretty difficult. Along the way I had already heard lots of Goldfinches chirping away but I was finally able to spot a group of them feeding on seeds from last year's plants. Though Goldfinches might not completely leave our state during the winter, they don't always stay around the park in the winter. In fact I'd say you are more likely to see a Robin versus a Goldfinch at PLP in the wintertime. 
I'd already spotted a Goldfinch last weekend that was quite yellow already but didn't get a shot of one until today. There were both males and females in various stages of "yellowing up" for the season -yet another sure sign of Spring. When I got to the bridge over Shingle Creek I could see lots of waterfowl way downstream through my binoculars. They were very far away but I thought I caught a glimpse of something interesting like a Goldeneye maybe. I also knew that Hooded Mergansers had been spotted a couple weeks ago already up at the Coon Rapids Dam area so I was hoping I might see some of them as well. I decided to hike downstream along the banks of the creek, attempting to avoid the loud, crunchy snow wherever I could. After making lots of noise and pushing all the waterfowl further downstream I finally made it to the last big Cottonwood and kind of crouched behind it for a while. From here I could tell that there were quite a few Hoodies and Wood Ducks on the water but I had to let them forget I was there and then hopefully they would move in closer to me. 
My plan worked when after a while a pair of male and female Hoodies decided to swim right past me. I just absolutely love seeing the males -especially when they lift their crown all the way up. This one didn't do so as they swam by but it was quite awesome to see them so closely. After I was satisfied I'd gotten a decent photo in there somewhere, I waited for another long while just in case more came back upstream. I was getting tired of waiting when I popped my head around the corner of the tree and was shocked to see a beautifully colored duck that I'd clearly never seen before! It had beautiful silver sides, a strangely patterned black and white bill, and very bright yellowy orange eyes. This was likely the same duck I'd seen from a distance and guessed was maybe a Goldeneye. 
Right when I saw it, the duck had just come up from underneath the water with a little fish of some kind in it's bill. Of course when it saw me it immediately turned the other way and kept getting further and further away. I wildly snapped as many photos as I could but of course I was not holding as steady as I should have in my excitement. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was in fact a "Ring-necked Duck" per my new Stokes Field Guide. You can just barely make out the faint brown "ring" around this male's neck for which they are named. A completely brand new species for me! I was so happy after seeing this that the rest of my walk could have been in the dark for all I cared. BUT, as I was heading back to my vehicle I couldn't help but notice yet another interesting bird wading in an area flooded by melting snow and hopping from one clump of grass to the next. As the time of year seemed right, I assumed I was seeing my first Grackle of the season. Grackles are not quite all that interesting or uncommon but I do like their iridescent blue-purple heads so I went in for a closer look. I watched a pair of them turning over leaves and grasses but wasn't quite seeing that beautiful head I was looking for. Even upon coming home to show my wife my photos for the day, I still told her I'd seen my first Grackle. 
But upon picking my best photo to post I started to wonder if this was indeed a Grackle at all! I pulled out my field guides and pretty instantly realized that it's beak was not as big and thick as that of a Grackle, though it did bright yellow eyes telling me that it was NOT an immature Red-winged Blackbird. I had a hunch of what it might be but I decided to immediately post my photo into a new "discussion topic" on the Birdshare group of Flickr and ask others opinions. Sure enough, so far the general consensus is that I saw a Rusty Blackbird -a second brand new species to me! In total, I counted 24 species in just one day today which might also be a personal record for me so far at PLP!
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