Critters Everywhere

I can hardly believe July is coming to a close in the next few days. I've been out birding a fair amount this month but didn't get to Palmer Lake Park until this Sunday morning. Our hot and humid weather has thankfully been replaced by much more tolerable conditions. In fact I thought twice about wearing shorts this morning but was glad I did when the sun warmed things up. The first thing of interest that I noticed was a curious looking shape inside an old Wood Duck house just off the wood chip trail near the south parking lot. I've gone by this house hundreds of times and never seen a duck in it. So when I saw a flash of movement come from that vicinity, I took a closer look. With my binoculars I could see a pair of feet sticking up. This could only mean one thing so I went in closer and sure enough a masked face peered back at me. Though I hated to see a Raccoon in a Duck box, it's not often that I see Raccoons at all in the park so it was kind of a treat. Later I spotted this nice Red Admiral Butterfly who was attracted to a purple Thistle flower. I waded into the tall weeds, getting poked and scratched by other thistle and nettles to get the photo but it was worth it. I'm still hardly seeing ANY Monarch Butterflies this year which is very sad. Later when I got to the foot bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I stopped like I often do to watch the creek for signs of any wildlife. After a few minutes I'd not seen anything and was walking off the other side of the bridge when I spotted something swimming across the creek. It hopped up onto the shoreline and I could see another one then on the shore. I got excited and thought maybe they were Otters –as they have been sighted in the park before (but not be me yet!) I decided again to brave the weeds in my shorts and hiked along the creek bank down stream. Just a short time later I spotted 3 of the furry critters and realized they were much too small for an Otter and were indeed Mink! This was the first time I'd seen more than 2 of them together. Boy are these guys fun to watch. They are so playful. As I sat as quietly as possible while being bitten up by mosquitoes, a Mink swam directly toward me and then hopped up on shore again. It zig zagged through the tall grass right beneath my feet! All the while it made a short, barking kind of call and I heard another one further down stream responding. This was also the first time I've ever heard a mink make any noise and it was very cool! Then the 3rd one came across the water and up the shoreline in the same path as the last, also making the same noise. I was literally within just feet of them and I don't think they even realized it. I tried imitating the sound as best I could but I sounded more like a duck than a Mink. I was truly hoping one of them didn't crawl up my leg or something because they were that close to me! On my way back across the north end of the park I heard and then spotted a Common Yellowthroat along the paved trail. I love hearing and seeing these colorful little warblers and so I stalked this one from one side of the trail to the other, back and forth until I was able to get in close to him. I caught this photo just at the right time while he was belting out his "wichety wichety wichety" song.

July Late Evening

Went out walking with a friend this evening and not until around 7:00 pm or so. Didn't take a lot of pictures as we enjoyed talking more. And of course all the talking probably scared away anything we might have seen. About the only photo I took at all was of these Wood Ducks on the south side. At the time and even after, I assumed there were two females –which I thought was odd because they were with Ducklings. But now looking at the photo closer, I wonder if the one in the front is actually an immature male. Later there was a large and spectacular full moon.

Wet and Humid Middle of July

This Sunday afternoon at the park was another warm and humid day. I saw a fair amount of birds today including a Cedar Waxwing, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroat, Downy Woodpecker and the first American Redstart I've seen in a while. The strangest thing I saw was a little Chickadee feeding a young Cowbird that was twice it's size. I tried to get a photo of this but missed the moment. Interestingly, Brown-headed Cowbirds don't even build their own nests. Instead they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species and let that bird raise the young ones! In the past I've also seen a Cardinal feeding a young Cowbird. One bird that is hard to miss this time of year are the brightly colored male Goldfinches. It would seem they are at the height of their plumage this time of year. I caught a small group of males and females on the ground of the baseball diamonds on the east side. You can see a blurry Chipping Sparrow in the background here. Due to the persistent rains we've been having, the outfields of this ball field and the paved trail that goes behind it are still flooded. This area goes underwater to some degree almost every year and it's funny to see the different types of birds that can be swimming right in the outfield. Today I noticed a Great Egret walking through the water. I would assume he was looking for fish but I doubt any would have spilled over from the lake. On the south side I spotted yet another "shorebird" a Green Heron. You usually see these on the ground near or even in the water but this one had just landed up in a tree just off the wood chip trail. After he landed and stood very still I realized how easily they can blend into the scene of the treetops which struck me as kind of interesting since I typically don't see them in that setting. I generally hear these birds more than I see them and they have a unique kind of one-note squawks that can be pretty loud.

July Wildflowers

One thing I've come to enjoy about this time of year are all the wildflowers. Much like with birds, I am coming to appreciate the wide variety of unique and colorful wildflowers and plants. Even what many people would quickly write off as a "weed" can have beautiful flowers that are beneficial to birds if left to grow long enough. Thistle plants are just such one of those plants that most people don't like because of their prickly stems and leaves. I don't know much about thistle but I believe there are both native and non-native varieties found in the park. It made a nice colorful photo when I spotted this American Goldfinch land on this clump of purple thistle plants and begin pulling out the white strands of the dried up flowers. Another tiny but beautiful flower I look forward to now each summer is from the Jewelweed Plant. This plant is native and can grow "like a weed" as it name implies in wet places. In summer they will produce tiny little flowers in solid yellow or yellow-orange that hang like "ladies earings" or "jewels." Despite how small these flowers are, they will attract Hummingbirds like crazy and I've often watched Hummers spend a long time seeking out these flowers in the park. Probably even more neat than the flowers of the Jewelweed are the seed pods they produce even later in the year. These seed pods are why Jewelweed is also known as "Touch-me-not." If you find a nice, plump seed pod and just barely squeeze it or brush up against it, it will "pop" dramatically, sending the seeds inside flying outward to ensure the growth of new plants. Still another beautiful flower I've been seeing a lot of lately are Marsh Milkweed. They produce brilliantly colored clusters of pink flowers that are far more intricate than meets the eye. You'll need to study them close up to see what I mean and they are quite extraordinary in my opinion. Though named Milkweed, I don't think these are the variety that Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs on. I believe that is a different variety altogether but I don't know the official name of that yet. Still learning quite a bit on my plants –so check back in a few years!

Early Summer Fledgelings

Well the 4th of July is over now and as usual in Minnesota, our weather has turned hot and humid. At this time of year you don't pay as much attention to the temperature as you do to the dew point. I don't know what the dew point was today but it was likely in the 60's somewhere, making it feel sticky and "jungle-like." Before I was paying more attention to birds I never really thought about when birds reproduce. I mean I guess you would think it's in the spring but actually it would be late spring. I've noticed that this is generally the time when I see more fledgelings and parents feeding young than any other time of year. One such new bird I spotted today was this very young Robin. He really had that look where you could tell he probably hadn't left the nest all that long ago. His beak still had that yellow tinge to it and he appeared just a bit "fuzzy" yet. Young Robins are also heavily spotted on the breast when they are young. Also look at the lack of tail in this photo –it's practically not even there yet! One bird that seems to really enjoy this humid weather it the Common Yellowthroat. I see so many of these at the park that I often forget they are in the Warbler family. Most other Warblers come through our area in May and then continue on further north but both the Yellowthroat and American Redstart are two Warblers that thrive here in Minnesota for the spring and much of the summer. Both species are so much fun to see and photograph and both are a little skittish and secretive, making them even more fun to catch a good photo of. Later on the east end of the park on the outskirts of the baseball diamonds, I heard a constant high pitched chirping noise that could mean only one thing –baby birds. I stopped and looked around and deduced that the noise had to be coming from a small hole in a dead tree on the edge of the marsh. At times it got so loud that I figured I might just see a little head pop out but I never did, making me second guess where the noise was coming from. Finally a male Downy Woodpecker flew in and climbed the tree up to the hole, confirming my suspicion. Then the female came in and landed right next to him. With food in her beak she proceeded to deliver it to the young and I even noticed one anxious young Woodpecker appear briefly inside the hollow. I've cropped way in on this pic for you to see and it was quite a neat sight to have captured.