Today's visit to the park will be one that I will remember for a long time. I had minor back surgery about a week ago but I was determined to be at the park as much as possible during what could very well be the best week of the entire year for bird watching. But I came prepared to sit today with my new lightweight hunting stool strapped over my shoulder. I hiked into the woods on the north side just after 7:00am and was not disappointed when I spotted a pair of Wild Turkey's almost immediately. One of them would display periodically but I was having a hard time getting a photo through the thick brush.
This was the best photo I got before the pair found a fallen tree to perch on and preen for a while. It was neat because they never really saw me the entire time. Trees and other foliage were only just barely sprouting green and it felt like a magical time when you can just sense that the best days of spring and summer are getting closer every day. After spotted a Northern Waterthrush, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Hermit Thrush from my stool, I decided to move around a little to get out into a more clear area. As I moved closer to the field at the edge of the woods I spotted two large dark patches that seemed out of place. They were at eye level making it even more odd. With my binoculars I realized it was a pair of Owls. But not just any Owls. These were a pair of juvenile Great Horned Owls! I was shocked at first to see such a sight and as soon as I pulled up my camera, one of them took off for another perch. I could hardly believe that I was getting to see a young Owl again at the park in Spring. The pair were most likely the same Owls to fledge from the nest that I first located back on the
1st day of March! I approached closer and closer but as I did, I was in for another surprise. There on the exact opposite side of the young Owl were another pair of bird watchers! This was even more shocking as I just hadn't noticed them while paying so much attention to the remaining Owl.
One of them decided to circle around wide towards me and I decided to do the same. Turns out this bird watcher was someone I'd recently met this winter during a photography program at the UofM Raptor Center. Moreover this particular bird watcher is a bona-fide Owl nut –so much so that I doubt he would mind me saying so. AND he also introduced me to a special facebook page he created called
"Owl About Minnesota." He and a friend had been chasing the same pair of Owls, only from the opposite direction! So inadvertently we had squeezed the Owls into a corner between us. I decided to hike out their direction as they actually had a much better view and the 3 of us watched the remaining Owl in better light. This is when I snapped the photo above which I think is one of my very favorite photos ever from PLP. After hanging out for a bit I decided to part ways and head back to my car for a lunch break. After a quick bite I ended up back in the woods right back in the same place again hoping to get some better photo opportunities of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Indeed I finally got one or two after chasing them back and forth from tree to tree. I really love this species. They are so beautiful but can be hard to catch out in the open. The next few weeks would be my best opportunity to catch one so I spent a fair amount of time today after this one. Other birds I saw in the process included Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, American Robin, Cooper's Hawk, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a pair of Black-capped Chickadees taking turns excavating a hole in a dead tree. Eventually I ended up back where we had watched the young Owls. I took the time to look around slowly and surprisingly I was able to locate one of them again.
This one appeared to look a bit different and I wondered if maybe it was the other one who flew off earlier. Then again it was a completely different angle and vantage point. P.S. I took a whopping 172 photos today!
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