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.
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.
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