Sunny, 78 Degrees and Two New Species!

So our weird weather just continues to get weirder here in Minnesota. Today it got up to 78 degrees and it was kind of like we skipped Spring altogether and jumped headfirst into Summer! It was hard to believe that only 4 days ago we received about 5" of snow and only 9 days ago received 6-8" of snow. There was basically no trace of snow on the ground anywhere today and in fact I took a photo of the only small pile on the side of the trail I could find. I was walking with a friend today and right away we ran into a frequent park-goer who told us of a very unusual looking creature. He told us where we might see it and sure enough it was viewable right there from the footbridge over Shingle Creek on the south side. Indeed it was a Horned Grebe and we had a front row seat, watching it dive and surface over and over. This was an exciting sight for me as it's the first time I've seen one AND the first time I've documented one at PLP. One time when he was close enough, we could see him move underwater after he dove which was neat. They have intensely red eyes which really stand out as well. As we were making our way around the lake on the south end we could see that there were hundreds of waterfowl out on the water -and not just your normal, average Mallards! We were quite a ways away but through my binoculars I could see tons of Ring-necked Ducks, a few Northern Shovelers and mabye a Bufflehead or two. Upon closer examination of the photo once I got home I noticed even more Horned Grebes and possibly even a Ruddy Duck or two but I can't be sure. Also it's possible that maybe some of what I thought were Ring-necks were Scaups but too hard to tell from such a distance. This was the largest group of non-Mallard waterfowl I've ever seen at the park! Later on the south west side I noticed a group of 4 or 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds that we'd walked right past. They weren't making any noise and just sat there silently as I took a few photos. I'd heard a Cowbird much earlier in the year up at the Coon Rapids Dam but haven't officially seen one until today. The female is on the left and male on the right in this photo. Before we turned the corner to head north we noticed a large shape in a tall tree way up ahead and looked closer through binoculars. It was an adult Bald Eagle staring out towards the center of the park. He was a long ways away but once we started up the wood chip trail we realized that he was actually perched above the waterway that connects the two western most bodies of water. My guess is that maybe he was on the lookout for a Coot to snatch up. I was able to get even closer by heading to where the old overgrown railroad ties are and snap a few photos without bumping him. It is always fun to see Bald Eagles at the park and it seem like maybe Jan or Feb was the last time I'd spotted one. On the north side we quite plainly heard Sandhill Cranes again. They have an extremely loud call that tends to echo and to me sounds like some kind of pre-historic bird. There was no sight of them but we could tell they were close. Then all of a sudden one came barreling straight towards us, above the trail but under the tree canopy. I only got off one shot just as it turned and headed to our left. I wasn't even sure if I got it but was quite happy to see this photo when I got home! This was my second new species (for the park) in one day making it quite an enjoyable day.

A Dreary Day in April but Good Birding!

After losing only about 2" of our recent snowfall, the sun went away today thus making Spring seem all the more unattainable. I wasn't quite as motivated to get out to the park today but I dragged myself anyway, knowing that despite looking and feeling like February, the birds know that it's actually late April! In the end I was very glad I went as I saw nearly 30 different species including: Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gull, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Cooper's Hawk, Wild Turkey, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Wood Duck, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove AND I distinctly heard Sandhill Cranes for the first time ever at the park! I never saw them but I heard them long enough to assume they had at least stopped somewhere in the park for a bit versus flying over. I took quite a few photos today so here goes. First was the Ring-necked Duck which was a great way to start off. I was very surprised to see one in the "Duck pond" which is the western most body of water in the park. In fact it was both a male and female which is exciting because I can't positively say that I'd seen a female Ring-necked before. I tried getting closer but of course as I did the pair swam further away from me. I decided to sit for a while but by the time I finally found a dry fallen tree, they decided to fly up over me and head into the middle of the park. That led me to the other side of the waterway where I quickly noticed both a Blue-winged Teal along with some Coots very near each other. Coots aren't much to look at but they are quite fascinating if you ever get to see them out of the water. Walking on land they appear much more like a chicken than a duck. These were the first ones I'd seen at the park this year but seeing the Teal there was of much more interest to me. I don't know very much about them but they are quite beautiful even though on the water you cannot even see the "blue wing" for which they are named. That portion is tucked away on the upper inside portion of their wing. As the Teal quickly swam back towards the middle of the park I again found a dry place to sit for a while, hoping he and other ducks might come back around the corner if I waited long enough. As I sat there I noticed my friend from yesterday, the Hermit Thrush bouncing around along the ground to my right. Of course I couldn't help but follow him too as he flew back and forth between the bare ground and some low trees. Once he perched on the side of a tree trunk kind of like a Nuthatch does which was something I didn't expect him to do. Finally as I moved around quietly he came to perch in a tree just slightly above my head and I had a nice clear view of him versus when he was on the ground and blending in. They are quite a beautiful bird and I hear they have a wonderful song though I've yet to hear one make the slightest peep so far. After this I continued up the wood chip trail where ahead of me I could see a commotion of two large birds. They were clearly raptors of some kind but I mostly could only see their light colored under sides. One of the two then swooped out straight towards me and then upward to land in a fair sized nest high up in the trees. This was the same nest I'd seen Cooper's Hawks in two years earlier. I could only see the tip of the tail over the edge of the nest so I decided to keep going and see if I could get close to the other one. The other had pretty much stayed in the same place but was kind of flapping about precariously trying to find a bigger branch to hold it's weight. Even from a distance I could see it's bright rusty breast and distinct red eyes, confirming they were indeed Cooper's Hawks. Quite an exiting sight -especially since they appeared to be preparing a nest! On the north side I was hurrying along in hopes that I might get to see some Sandhill Cranes that I could hear faintly but distinctly. I didn't know where to look but as I scanned back and forth I caught a glimpse of one lone Wild Turkey to my right. It was in the vicinity of where I think one had nested last year which made me wonder if it was scouting out a sight. Shortly later I ran into another park goer who said she just saw a pair of Turkey hens so I assume this was one of the two she saw. She mostly had her back to me but eventually turned and headed to the right away from me. The last thing I photographed today was a male Red-winged Blackbird who along with a group of others was making quite a racket. I've still not seen any female Red-wings yet but I assume they are here in small numbers or maybe they're just not as visible yet. The females do tend to blend in way better and it seems like they stay near the ground or near the bottoms of the cattails more. This male tolerated me being quite close to him and I waited until he belted out a loud raspy call for this photo. Every time they call it looks like they put every ounce of energy they have into it as they throw their shoulders and head back, thus showing off their bright shoulder patches. Palmer Lake Park would not be the same without Red-winged Blackbirds.

Back to Spring? Maybe???

I could hardly believe when I looked at my last post date that it's been a full 20 days since I last visited the park! And if you aren't from Minnesota, you wouldn't believe the weather that we've had since then! On that last visit on March 31st, I was convinced (as well as most other Minnesotan's) that Spring was finally here. That seems like ages ago because since then we've had 2 (or 3?) significant snowfalls, freezing rain and temps well below freezing again! Pretty much the first 3/4ths of April has felt more like January! The weather didn't stop me from birding however, but I've been visiting other places such as the Coon Rapids Dam in Brooklyn Park to see some fantastic new species of waterfowl I'd never seen before. Palmer Lake Park attracts quite a variety of species but there are just certain things you would never likely see there. Anyway, after receiving another 6-8" of wet, heavy snow only 2 days ago (OMG enough already), the sun came out today and tipped the temps into the upper 40's! It was nearly 5:30 by the time I got to the park -with my wife today- and we hiked the paved trails only. One thing I spotted on the north side was a bird I'd actually seen at my office in NE Minneapolis the day before. I recognized it was the same bird by it's bright, rusty-red tail feathers and the way it preferred the ground versus the trees. I really had no idea what it was -only that I knew it was not something I see often. For whatever reason I was too lazy to thumb through my new Stokes Field Guide and opted instead to ask for ID assistance on the Birdshare group on flickr. Wouldn't you know it, 2 of my closest flickr contacts quickly ID's the bird for me as a Hermit Thrush. This is a bird I'd only seen and photographed just one time before -last April at PLP. Later as we looked out over the cattails, we noticed a big mature Bald Eagle flying fairly low and slow. He seemed to be letting his feet dangle downward which looked a little odd and we wondered if he was about to grab something. He continued circling slowly over the middle almost hovering in midair when finally he dove down into the weeds. He quickly came up with something long and thin, and the only thing I can think is that it was a snake. He was too far away for a decent photo so we really couldn't tell, but it was a neat thing to see. On the west side near the baseball diamonds we noticed 1, then 2 then 3 deer standing just inside the trail. They were fairly close already but as we stopped to watch them, the one in the back became so curious that it inched closer to us even as we talked. I bent down on my knee like I often do when encountering Deer at the park. It helps me stabilize my photo but I've also found that the Deer seem to find you more approachable when you make yourself smaller than them. Sure enough this younger looking one nearly walked right up to us. I didn't notice at first but as it put it's head down to the ground to smell, I saw two very tiny little gray bumps telling me it was a very young Buck. I shot quite a few photos and actually backed away from him in order to get better photos as he was now too close! It was nice to see one so closely again and was a nice end to our walk today!