A Somewhat Un-birdy Day

I visited the park today around 12:15 in the afternoon. I had been out of town yesterday visiting some MN State Parks in the Alexandria area. In all the hiking I did on Saturday I saw very few birds so I was anxious to get to PLP and hopefully see some more. But much like the larger State Parks, today was very slow for birdwatching. In fact I think I had only seen about 10 birds –not 10 species– but 10 birds total by the time I was 4/5ths of the way around. Then finally near Shingle Creek on the south side I spotted a bit of movement. There were 2 Eastern Phoebes skimming the water here in search of insects. I had many opportunities to photograph them as this particular species is just not very skittish of people at all. Phoebes are known for constantly flicking their tail and also for "hawking" for insects, meaning they will often fly out from their perch after an insect and then land in the exact same spot again. One more reason they are easier to photograph than many other birds. Just a few minutes earlier I had spotted a group of about 40-50 Coots out in the lake near here. They are the first Coots I've seen at the park this fall but they were a little too far away for any good photos. But while sitting on the banks of the creek watching the Phoebes, one lone coot came swimming down the creek nearly in front of me. I took advantage before he scared off and at this close distance I could see his red colored eyes. I was hoping others might come in towards me too but for some reason it was just the one. Eventually he turned around and headed back out towards his group. Also here I spotted a Pied-billed Grebe, another FOF (first of fall) for the park. He too quickly headed out into the larger area of the lake. Other sightings for the day included; American Robin, Song Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mallard, Wood Duck, Ring-billed Gull and one single Yellow-rumped Warbler. Near the end of my walk I noticed that the miniature Maple Tree on the east side was in nearly full fall color. There is NOT a lot of colorful foliage to be seen at Palmer Lake Park in the fall, but this particular tree turns a brilliant red every year about this time. I recently had a friend tell me that this tree was a Maple variety from China. I have a hard time remembering but I'm fairly certain he said it was an "Amur Maple" synonymous with the Amur River in China. Reading a bit about it now led me to the MN DNR's website that lists it under their "invasive species" section! I guess I shouldn't be too shocked as I've been coming to realize just how many non-native and other invasives are present within this park.