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 Our hot and humid weather has thankfully been replaced by much more tolerable conditions.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.
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.
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