Morning Fog and a Beautiful Day

There are just some visits to the park I will remember for a long time and today was likely one of those. It was just such beautiful weather and with beautiful sights everywhere. When I arrived just after 7am, there was a heavy blanket of early morning fog settled over the park. It made everything green feel even more so, like a jungle of sorts. It also made for some great photo opportunities and at numerous stops I would try to catch the rays of sun through the trees lighting up the fog. On the east side there was a Killdeer running around on the baseball diamonds. I was hoping the fog would let me get closer to it and for once I did come closer than normal. Still this photo is cropped in quite a bit. I'm kind of fascinated with them as I really only became aware of their presence at the park this year. Killdeer are considered a "shorebird" but can be found in some interesting places. I once saw one in the Burger King parking lot in Brooklyn Center! As the sun began to burn off the morning fog, it left a dew on everything. I liked how it was reflecting in the sun on this tall grass so I tried to capture it in a photo. Birds of all kinds were easy to spot today but on the north side I ran into a Yellow Warbler who was singing it's heart out. As with all Warblers, the Yellow Warbler can be tricky to get a photo of because they just typically don't sit still. But this one sat in the same spot for over 5 minutes just singing loudly. Periodically it would stop to itch it's head with it's leg which was an interesting sight and something you wouldn't think a little bird was even capable of until you see it. Near the end of my walk I watched another comical sequence play out on the paved trail in front of me. An adult Robin landed near a half-dead earthworm. Immediately a young Robin landed just a foot away. The adult looked at the young one, picked up the worm and proceeded to shove it down the throat of the young one. In one big gulp the worm was gone and the young one stood there again with his mouth open. I snapped photos every few seconds and thus caught the entire sequence which I posted to the Friends of Palmer Lake Park facebook page. In addition to the birds listed above, I also saw: Brown-headed Cowbird, Gray Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, Wood Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mallard, Canada Goose (the largest flock I've ever seen –nearly 75), American Redstart, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Goldfinch, Common Grackle, Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, and Baltimore Oriole. I also saw a couple of Painted Turtles crossing the trail.