A Lot of Birds and Sun

I had this Friday off of work and it was a beautiful day to watch wildlife in the park. There are many dozens of Mallard chicks on the little ponds now and they are fun to watch scoot across the water after their parents. Near one of these little ponds I noticed a female Red-winged Blackbird straddling between two Cattail stems. Although she had her back to me she turned her head and I thought it made a nice picture! The females can actually be more fun and easy to photograph because they're not solid black like the males where you don't see many feather details. Near the northwest corner of the park I happened upon a vocal little bird that ended up coming closer to me when I "pished" (making a sound that sometimes draws curious birds closer). It ended up to be a Warbling Vireo and this is likely the best views I've had of this species so far. It came down to nearly eye level and posed well for me a number of times. I could see even with my naked eye that it had some feathers missing near the bottom of it's breast and so it's possible it escaped a larger bird of prey in recent times. As with all Vireo species, you can see a very thin "hook" at the end of it's bill but I'm not exactly sure why this is. There were also many Tree Swallows visible today. This species and other Swallows are almost always seen in flight and seeing one perched is always a treat. Their blueish feathering is highly reflective but this one also had a lot of brown visible so it could have been a first Spring bird. Later I stumbled upon a nice big Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant which is a native Minnesota wildflower. Other birds seen today included; Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, Wood Duck, Common Grackle, Killdeer, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart (male and female), Least Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and an Eastern Kingbird –a species I rarely see here for some reason!

41 Species!

As part of my "Big Month" of May, I wanted to set aside one day and basically bird all day at the park. So I arrived shortly after 8am today, took a lunch break at home and then went back for the afternoon. My other goal for the day was to see at least 40 species of birds, which on a nice day like today should be very do-able. One of my first sightings of the day was a Warbling Vireo, a bird that I've come to learn mostly by it's song, but rarely via sightings. Today that changed however and I got long looks at this fairly drab looking bird with the amazingly complicated song. I watched this bird longer than any other bird today and probably spent over an hour trying to catch an unobstructed view. In the end I would up with some photos I was pretty happy with including this one. Another bird I spent a fair amount of time with today was this beautiful and semi-cooperative American Redstart. This Warbler is known for being a tough one to photograph as they are normally hyperactive and blocked by foliage. This one however sat out in the open on a branch and just sung his heart out for a long time. I had ample photo opportunities and I kept telling myself what a rare occasion this was. He was still a challenge to capture well due to the black eye on top of black plumage, but I did my best and I have a few keepers that are better than most of my older attempts. The next bird pictured here is another Warbler, a male Common Yellowthroat that really stood out against the clear blue sky. He bounced around in a young Willow tree for quite some time but he kept moving ever upward, giving me the best looks from underneath. After lunch break I arrived back on the east side of the park to find a Green Heron posing nicely for me at the little pond just south of the parking lot. I knew it would be a short lived view so I took as many photos as I could before he left his perch. It turned out to be one of the nicer Green Heron photos I've taken! I saw a heck of a lot more birds –which I'll spell out at the end, but I spotted one species that until today I had never recorded in the park. It was quite a ways away but with my binoculars I deduced that it was an Olive-sided Flycatcher! And come to think about it, I remember seeing a similar shaped bird in the past in the same area that I couldn't identify –so maybe, just maybe I had seen one before. But at the time I likely didn't know what it was. But now I knew just enough to ID this bird and quite excited by the find! So here is my final list of species seen today, 41 species total! (listed in the order that I could remember them later)

1. Song Sparrow
2. Red-winged Blackbird
3. Common Grackle
4. White-breasted Nuthatch
5. Pileated Woodpecker (Saw 2 together, possibly juveniles)
6. Hairy Woodpecker
7. Tree Swallow
8. Barn Swallow
9. House Wren
10. Northern Cardinal
11. Blue Jay
12. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
13. Scarlet Tanager (2 adult males!)
14. Baltimore Oriole
15. American Goldfinch
16. Sandhill Crane (heard only)
17. Least Flycatcher
18. Great Crested Flycatcher
19. Mourning Dove
20. Indigo Bunting
21. Yellow Warbler
22. American Redstart
23. Common Yellowthroat
24. Tennessee Warbler
25. Northern Waterthrush
26. Magnolia Warbler
27. Swainson's Thrush
28. Canada Goose
29. Mallard
30. Wood Duck
31. Gray Catbird
32. White-crowned Sparrow
33. American Robin
34. Great Blue Heron
35. Green Heron
36. American Crow
37. Brown-headed Cowbird
38. Warbling Vireo
39. Olive-sided Flycatcher
40. Black-capped Chickadee
41. House Sparrow

Big Month Day 12 and 4 Days in a Row!

Today was the 4th day in a row I've visited the park. But today I had to come after work and that left me precious little light to find some birds in. To my surprise I spotted a Golden-winged Warbler near the ground! This is a bird I've seen before in other areas, but the very first one I've seen at the park. It was in a thicket only inches off the ground where I've seen Ruby-crowned Kinglets before. Knowing how tough it was to get photos of the Kinglets in the same place, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Sadly, this is the best image I got, though I was SO close to the bird! Later it flew up into the trees where it was even more obscured. I saw some Mallards in very nice light, but blew those shots as well. The only other decent shot I obtained was this young Red-winged Blackbird right before dusk set in. Other birds spotted included; Song Sparrow, American Redstart, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, and White-throated Sparrow.

Day 11 of My "Big Month" and a 2 New Birds!

I had the day off of work today but it rained most of the morning. I made it to the park in the afternoon and realized this was my 3rd day in a row around Palmer Lake. I don't really have any rain protection for my bigger camera equipment so I was a bit hesitant to go out. But had I known what great photo ops were in store for me I'd have probably gone out sooner! First was a Northern Waterthrush on the southwest corner. This is a bird I almost always see on the ground, so getting one in a tree was extra special. You can really notice the pink/orange legs in this image with the green in the background. Northern Waterthrush also bob their tail nearly continuously, as this one also did so in the tree. The next bird I photographed was a male American Redstart. This tiny little Warbler was likely alarmed by my presence, or maybe it was flirting with a female because it had it's tail fanned out. I've seen Redstarts do this previously but I've rarely been lucky enough to capture a photo of it. The rain was off and on as I hiked around the park but thankfully it had subsided enough by the time I found my next bird of interest. Two Great Crested Flycatchers were seen hopping about together near the duck pond. I've never ever seen this species so close to the ground before. They were pretty much at eye level and were perching right in front of me. I couldn't believe it as this bird is nearly always in the treetops –mostly heard but not seen. Eventually I got into position where one of the posed nicely for me with a perfect green backdrop. This might just be one of the best images I've captured so far this month! Also on the south side I stopped to admire and photograph Marsh Marigold plants that are in full bloom now. They plants were larger than I remember in the past, with a lot more flowers too. I've seen these flowers "picked" before by people which is such a shame as they are so short lived and need specific conditions to grow. So I really hope nobody bothers them this year. I saw a good variety of birds overall today but I spotted one near the end of my hike that I've never seen before at the park. I assumed it was a Swamp Sparrow which is a species I've learned can be found at the park. But after looking more closely I noticed a lot of tan coloring –referred to as "buff" or "buffy" by bird watchers. This is one identifying characteristic not of a Swamp Sparrow, but of a Lincoln's Sparrow! So while it's possible I've seen a Lincoln's before, this is definitely the first time I've positively ID'd one. And that's always an extra plus when it happens to be at my favorite park! Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I spotted a brand new Warbler as well today –a Canada Warbler! It's the first one I've ever seen anywhere but I was unable to get a clear photo of it. A big bummer, but at least I get to count it towards my May list and also my 2015 list. Other birds seen today included; Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat (male & female), Magnolia Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Common Grackle and Song Sparrow.

Another Great Day of May Birding

I saw a lot of great birds today around the park and in fact I got too many nice photos that I can't post them all. So I've picked my favorite one from a good variety representing what I all saw today. The first is a Warbler that I've seen before at the park but one I've never got great photos of –until today. This Tennessee Warbler was calling so loudly and constantly that I probably wouldn't have seen him otherwise hiding in the Willows just off the paved trail on the east side. I followed the sound and spotted him but he quickly darted away. Like I do often, I tried "pishing" which is just making a "pish" sound which is sometimes known to attract curious birds. For probably the first time ever it actually worked and brought this colorful little Warbler right in close to me! I snapped photos wildly, knowing he likely wouldn't sit still for very long. Luckily it was long enough to capture 3 or 4 decent photos which nicely show the olive-green and grey color scheme. I was so happy to have captured this guy that the rest of my hike seemed inconsequential. But I was in for more great birds as this time of year can provide the pinnacle of surprises. And surprised I was, to notice a brief movement down at my feet while passing a little pond just south of the baseball diamonds on the east side. I wondered "could it be?" and so I decided to sit indian style right on the paved trail and wait. Sure enough, minutes later a small Sora poked his head into view between the weeds. I've never had such a perfect and closeup view as this! He really didn't pay any attention to me and I sat there as still as possible with my finger on the shutter button snapping away. I was provided fantastic looks at this secretive member of the "Rail" family and it was a very memorable sighting! Like other Rails and related swamp dwelling birds, the Sora has huge, lobed feet to help it stand and walk through the muddy and unstable habitat in which it lives. Later I stopped to watch a Gray Catbird long enough to catch a few images. They are always entertaining to watch and especially to listen to as they hardly make two notes that sound the same. Their lack of colorful plumage is more than made up for by their colorful calls. One more Warbler graced my camera lens later on. This is a female Common Yellowthroat and I'm quite amazed that I was able to capture her among the thick brush she was in. It was almost like she posed just in the right place for me to see and photograph her. Many times if you see a female Yellowthroat, the male is also around somewhere close but I did not see him. This is one species, that for me is easier to identify by it's behavior than anything else. You are likely to find them hopping around in dense underbrush and they can be very close to you without you even realizing it. There were also plenty of Baltimore Orioles visible today at the park. Through all my efforts, I've yet to capture a photo of one that I like. They tend to perch quite high in trees and for that reason I always find myself underneath them instead of looking straight on at them. This was one of my closer shots. Some of the other species I saw today included; Mallard, Tree Swallow, Canada Goose, Palm Warbler, Bald Eagle, Yellow Warbler, White-throated Sparrow & American Redstart. I also saw two very young Bucks and a nice cluster of Jack-in-the-Pulpit plants.

Bald Eagle

I'm into week number two now of May and my "Big Month" of going out bird watching every single day of the month. I've already seen plenty of returning migrants but the leaves have sprouted and filled in extremely early this year, making it harder to find the birds. Every bird watcher I know has commented on this fact and thus it will be a tougher for birding in general, but especially so for the small sized Warblers I look forward to each spring. The first two birds I spotted today were both Sparrows; a Song Sparrow and a Swamp Sparrow. But shortly after these I noticed an unusually large bird perched up above me on the north east side of the park. It was mostly facing away from me and at first I didn't even notice the bright white head of an adult Bald Eagle. It has been some time since I've seen a Bald Eagle, much less an adult at the park. And too, it was perched still versus flying overhead which made for a pretty good sighting. The bird wasn't at the best angle for a photograph but I took some anyway. After last weekend, I believe I knew where a Yellow Warbler could be reliably spotted on the northwest side before the baseball diamonds. So I waited in that area for a while until he finally appeared. I got to see the bird somewhat more closely than I usually see them and I thought I was getting phenomenal photos but apparently my camera settings weren't quite right. So all the photos I got were kind of dark and grainy. I guess that just gives me motivation to keep trying to photograph the same bird again in the future. I recently learned that the Yellow Warblers with the heavy, deep chestnut colored streaking on the breast like this one would be the male. The female would show only a hint of streaking and be slightly more pale in color overall –especially around the head. It really wasn't until I saw both sexes together that it became very apparent. Later I spotted a young buck Deer with barely noticeable nubbins protruding from his head. I watched him and took some photos for a while before spotting another Deer. This one popped out of the woods and proceeded to walk right along the trail. I took a few photos and moved on a ways when I noticed a couple on bicycles heading right towards it. To everyones surprise, the Deer clearly didn't want to go back into the woods and nervously let the bikers cross within just feet of it! The Deer kind of cautiously watched and waited while waving it's tail which made me laugh.

First Visit in May

Since May is THE best month of the entire year for bird watching, I set a personal goal for myself to go out bird watching every day in May, all 31 days in a row. So far so good but this Sunday is actually my first visit to Palmer Lake Park for the month. The first half of my visit was by myself and I spent quite a good deal of time just meandering slowly around the east side of the park. Later I was joined by a good friend of mine for the remainder of the hike. But before that I'd already spotted a handful of good birds and I was seeing so many species that I tried to keep the list in my head. On one of the ponds on the east side I spotted both a male and female Wood Duck perched on a log. At least at Palmer Wood Ducks are easily spooked and of course the male jumped off the log the instant I pulled up my camera. But the female stayed put as I tried to get an angle through the cattails. The females can be equally as beautiful as the males in the right light and I was surprised just how much blue showed up on her feathers. Near the southeast side I was spotting good birds left and right, including a number of different Sparrows including White-throated, Swamp, Song and this White-crowned Sparrow! This is a bird I usually only see once or twice a year if that so I was thrilled to find one today. He wasn't quite cooperative for a photo and this is the best one I got after much chasing back and forth. In this same area I also found a more cooperative Brown Thrasher. I was closer at first but then it flew up a little higher and into even better light so I was really happy with how this photo turned out. They have such bright yellow eyes and if I'm able to capture just that I'm usually pretty happy. When I met up with my friend near the south parking lot, she noticed a small flock of a dozen or so shorebirds land out in the muddy waters of the lake. They were so small they were barely noticeable and we wouldn't have even known they were there had we not seen them fly in. I tried to get a picture but they were so small and blending in so well I still don't know what they were. For size comparison you can see the bottom of a can of pop off to the right. We had a good hike through the rest of the park and noticed lots of good plants too, such as newly emerging Jack-in-the-Pulpit, lots of Marsh Marigold and Blue Violets. All in all I counted a total of 33 species of birds. Some of the more notable ones were my First of Year Grey Catbird, FOY Baltimore Oriole and FOY Yellow Warbler! P.S. I believe a friend has helped me to positively ID the shorebirds at Pectoral Sandpipers. A brand new species for me at Palmer Lake Park!