An Icy Morning and a New Month

This Saturday morning was the first of November and a chilly one at that. It was the first time this fall that I've noticed a thin layer of ice any water. When I stopped at the railroad-tie overlook on the south side I spotted a Coot standing right up on the ice while others swam in the water just feet away. It was a beautifully sunny morning though and I thought this was a nice view with the reflection of the birds and cattails. Near the south east corner on the wood chip trail, I was surprised by these two younger looking deer. I pretended not to pay any attention to them, looking the other way for a bit which I've found to make them more curious and sometimes come closer. It did prove effective again and the pair inched closer as I took more photos. At a certain point the nearest one began stomping his front leg into the ground which I take to mean that they wanted me to go away! I was about to get up and move back to give them some more space when they both leapt up and into the nearest woods. I spent a lot of time later around the "duck pond" as I was seeing periodic glimpses of a Fox Sparrow which is a bird I don't have very good photos of yet. By the way, the Muscovy Duck was still here today. In between chasing the Fox Sparrow back and forth, I came across many Dark-eyed Juncos. Though they are such a common bird I think they are fun and challenging to photograph. This one turned out with a lot of detail but like SO many photos I take there are twigs in the way. Oh well. Along with a few Black-capped Chickadees, I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker and then this Downy Woodpecker who paused just for a brief second before digging into the bark of this tree. Oh, I almost forgot. I saw something else very interesting just minutes after leaving my vehicle on the east side. Right at eye level in the Willow and Dogwood was a dead mouse draped over a thin branch. This was probably the most obvious "Shrike cache" that I've come across yet at the park. This mouse was killed and placed here for later by a Northern Shrike, a bird that is known for doing just that. I've not seen one at the park yet this fall but I've heard from others that they are back. Hopefully it wont be long now until I finally spot one!

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.

A Memorable Walk and a NEW Species!

It's been just over a week now into my leave of absence from work for some minor back surgery. The doctors all suggested to walk as much as I felt I could so of course I've been spending some long days at the park. Today before my walk even began I met with a writer for the SunPost who wanted to interview me! This was because myself and the Friends of Palmer Lake Park were planning a "Spring Bird Hike" near the end of this month. To my surprise the writer asked if we could meet at the park so I said sure! We sat at the picnic tables underneath the shelter on the east side and he recorded some of our conversation. Afterward he wanted to walk a bit with me and see if he couldn't get any bird photos himself. We had barely started around the path when we spotted a Black-and-white Warbler so at least it DID appear to him that there were indeed some interesting birds to be seen here. The article was published later and you can read it here. After parting ways I quickly spotted more birds –as early May is likely THE best time of year anywhere in Minnesota to be out bird watching! A Chestnut-sided Warbler, Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Wood Ducks, some type of Shorebird and an American Coot were all seen before I got to the wood chip trail just to the south! But upon setting out onto the wood chip trail, I met another birder –a young woman who instantly showed me a photo of a bird she'd taken just minutes earlier. It was of a Golden-winged Warbler, a bird I've NEVER seen before! She had managed a fantastic shot of the bird while it was close to the ground and I was shocked. Together we tried to relocate the bird and in not too much time we managed to do so. This time we found a couple of them atop some tall Aspen trees, picking at the freshly budding leaves. This bird was beautiful and I was ecstatic to be watching a brand new species for me at the park! I had a hard time catching the bird sitting still and also because of the height, I wasn't able to get many great photos. But here is my favorite shot, quite cropped but it shows the trademark black mask and throat as well as the bright yellow "cap." The only thing it doesn't show is the bright yellow "stripe" on the outer wing for which the bird is named. After spending a LOT of time here taking many many photos, I finally moved on to find a very curious young Buck who walked out on the trail very close to me. He was just getting "nubbins" and they must have been itchy because he was trying to bring his back leg all the way up to his head. He was followed shortly after by a Doe and they both passed into the woods. Scanning the trees and brush even more closely now, I spotted yet another Golden-winged Warbler more near eye level. But it was such seriously thick brush that I couldn't manage even one decent photo. But not too much further along, my probing eye caught another interesting species –a White-crowned Sparrow. This is a bird I just don't see a lot of in general, especially at PLP. But as I said, this being early May, you never know what you might find!

A Dreary Day in April but Good Birding!

After losing only about 2" of our recent snowfall, the sun went away today thus making Spring seem all the more unattainable. I wasn't quite as motivated to get out to the park today but I dragged myself anyway, knowing that despite looking and feeling like February, the birds know that it's actually late April! In the end I was very glad I went as I saw nearly 30 different species including: Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gull, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Cooper's Hawk, Wild Turkey, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Wood Duck, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove AND I distinctly heard Sandhill Cranes for the first time ever at the park! I never saw them but I heard them long enough to assume they had at least stopped somewhere in the park for a bit versus flying over. I took quite a few photos today so here goes. First was the Ring-necked Duck which was a great way to start off. I was very surprised to see one in the "Duck pond" which is the western most body of water in the park. In fact it was both a male and female which is exciting because I can't positively say that I'd seen a female Ring-necked before. I tried getting closer but of course as I did the pair swam further away from me. I decided to sit for a while but by the time I finally found a dry fallen tree, they decided to fly up over me and head into the middle of the park. That led me to the other side of the waterway where I quickly noticed both a Blue-winged Teal along with some Coots very near each other. Coots aren't much to look at but they are quite fascinating if you ever get to see them out of the water. Walking on land they appear much more like a chicken than a duck. These were the first ones I'd seen at the park this year but seeing the Teal there was of much more interest to me. I don't know very much about them but they are quite beautiful even though on the water you cannot even see the "blue wing" for which they are named. That portion is tucked away on the upper inside portion of their wing. As the Teal quickly swam back towards the middle of the park I again found a dry place to sit for a while, hoping he and other ducks might come back around the corner if I waited long enough. As I sat there I noticed my friend from yesterday, the Hermit Thrush bouncing around along the ground to my right. Of course I couldn't help but follow him too as he flew back and forth between the bare ground and some low trees. Once he perched on the side of a tree trunk kind of like a Nuthatch does which was something I didn't expect him to do. Finally as I moved around quietly he came to perch in a tree just slightly above my head and I had a nice clear view of him versus when he was on the ground and blending in. They are quite a beautiful bird and I hear they have a wonderful song though I've yet to hear one make the slightest peep so far. After this I continued up the wood chip trail where ahead of me I could see a commotion of two large birds. They were clearly raptors of some kind but I mostly could only see their light colored under sides. One of the two then swooped out straight towards me and then upward to land in a fair sized nest high up in the trees. This was the same nest I'd seen Cooper's Hawks in two years earlier. I could only see the tip of the tail over the edge of the nest so I decided to keep going and see if I could get close to the other one. The other had pretty much stayed in the same place but was kind of flapping about precariously trying to find a bigger branch to hold it's weight. Even from a distance I could see it's bright rusty breast and distinct red eyes, confirming they were indeed Cooper's Hawks. Quite an exiting sight -especially since they appeared to be preparing a nest! On the north side I was hurrying along in hopes that I might get to see some Sandhill Cranes that I could hear faintly but distinctly. I didn't know where to look but as I scanned back and forth I caught a glimpse of one lone Wild Turkey to my right. It was in the vicinity of where I think one had nested last year which made me wonder if it was scouting out a sight. Shortly later I ran into another park goer who said she just saw a pair of Turkey hens so I assume this was one of the two she saw. She mostly had her back to me but eventually turned and headed to the right away from me. The last thing I photographed today was a male Red-winged Blackbird who along with a group of others was making quite a racket. I've still not seen any female Red-wings yet but I assume they are here in small numbers or maybe they're just not as visible yet. The females do tend to blend in way better and it seems like they stay near the ground or near the bottoms of the cattails more. This male tolerated me being quite close to him and I waited until he belted out a loud raspy call for this photo. Every time they call it looks like they put every ounce of energy they have into it as they throw their shoulders and head back, thus showing off their bright shoulder patches. Palmer Lake Park would not be the same without Red-winged Blackbirds.

A Nice Day to Feel Miserable

I had picked up a nasty cold/flu on Wednesday and I was still feeling crummy this Saturday. The weather was not cooperating with my condition however and it was a fantastically beautiful day; sunny and 74 degrees! I just couldn't forgo a walk around the park and sniffled my way around. I felt all the more miserable afterward but in the end I was quite happy with my photos for the day. The first thing I spotted was a Coot on the south side where the railroad ties overlook the junction of the 2 biggest bodies of water. I've seen Coot's hanging out with the Mallards and Geese already this year but I normally don't get to see them this close up. There was only just the one and at times he was trying to avoid a Muskrat swimming by with long cattails in it's mouth. Right near the main parking lot on the south side I noticed a female Bluebird and was able to walk up closely for some decent shots. The male was around and would land near her periodically but the female stayed mostly in this same tree. Even this female looked brilliant blue -at least on her tail feathers. Goldfinches can be heard everywhere in the park now and I'm still learning to pick out their song amongst all the other birds that are arriving for the spring. The last time I had a good look at one, the males were still dull yellow colored but they are brighter than ever already. This one was singing from the top of a tree and I found an old dead stump to stand up on and get me a little closer. A Goldfinch is right up there with a Cardinal in that they're both common but I'm always trying to get better photos of them. Near the end of my walk I was lucky enough to glance upward at the right moment and spot a small bird, nearly invisible against the bark of the tree it was scurrying up. I recognized it quickly as a Brown Creeper and I got my camera on him right away. Only trouble is that I couldn't tell for sure if he was in the viewfinder! If you are looking at one straight on, they are so well camouflaged that they can virtually disappear. As I zoomed in on him he made his way around the tree and gave me a better angle for a photo but shortly afterward, he moved further up the tree and I never saw him again. It was my first opportunity to photograph one and I can see how tough it is going to be to get another.

Autumn Hanging On Strong

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last visit and I am surprised that the warm and mild weather is sill hanging on. Not only that but there are parts of the park that are just now displaying their best Fall colors. As I've said before, Palmer Lake Park is not a good place to see Fall foliage -being it mostly a swamp, overgrown with invasive Buckthorn trees. Even so, it had it's moments today against the rich, blue Autumn sky. This particular view on the north side was one that stuck in my memory from earlier in the year, on a day with lots of frost. How different it looked now. A few other things caught my attention around the park today including busy Squirrels, Chickadees, Deer, Wood Ducks and more Starlings. I am just now learning to recognize and remember the Starling's unique "slide-whistle" sounding call. When I came back around to the south side I spotted a large number of Coots out in the water. Other than maybe Canada Geese, I think this is probably the largest number of one species I've ever seen together at the park. I didn't even try to count them all, and this photo only shows a small section of them. Not much later I was making my way back to the parking lot and ran into another acquaintance I know only from the park. As we stood talking about what we'd seen today, he pointed out a "Marsh Hawk" over the water near the center of the park. I'd never seen one before -or at least knew how to identify one. It didn't take too long before we could see the tell tale white "rump patch" as it swooped upwards. A Marsh Hawk is properly known as a Northern Harrier and a new bird species I can add to my list. As we both watched the clear blue sky, more birds of prey came into view, including a Red-tailed Hawk and also a juvenile Bald Eagle. To our delight, the young Bald Eagle and the Harrier decided to play a friendly game of dogfight in which the two would both show off their aerial skills by playfully attacking each other. It was pretty fun to watch -especially through binoculars. While this was going on, the Red-tailed Hawk glided along much higher up in the sky, almost an invisible speck. Also, here is the first photo from today combined with the photo I remember taking in early February. If you think the top photo was in black and white you would be mistaken. But I can sure see why one might assume that when you compare it to the bottom photo. Click on the photo for a larger view.

All about the birds

The weather today was a whole lot better than yesterday -around 55º and sunny. Today was all about the birds as I seemed to hear or see a different one every few minutes. I didn't see a single Deer but that's probably because I had my head to the sky most of the time. On the north side before the foot bridge I spotted a group of 10 or more Cedar Waxwings. They were still picking at leftover, dried up Buckthorn berries. Only one stayed put long enough for a photo but he was in kind of a darker area of a larger tree. In the same little swamp where I'd seen the Great Egret yesterday was a lone Coot right near the path. I usually don't get this close to them so I snapped a few pics and watched him for a while. One feature I'd never noticed before is they have this weird "chestnut" looking bump at the very top of their bill. Many birds were content to sit still for me today which was odd -maybe they were soaking up the sun. One bird that was doing just that was this House Sparrow. I normally don't photograph Sparrows or wrens as they're small, don't usually stay put, and all tend to look alike. I think I'm going to try though from now on as it should help me learn all the subtle differences. As I was about to get back into my vehicle back at the parking lot, I could hear a bird making all kinds of different calls. Whenever I can place a call with a visual, there's nothing better to help me remember that bird later. I walked a bit until I found the source of all the noise and spotted another American Goldfinch. I had no idea they were such song birds.

Autumn Fall

Really feeling like Autumn now as most of the leaves are finally falling and the rain has let up -momentarily anyway. Unusually wet weather and cold temps made for a strange and short season this year and the best scenery is already on the ground. The temp this morning made for an interesting photo of still-green plants poking up through just barely frozen water. On the south side I got some photos of different looking birds with white bills that I've been seeing on the water for the past few weeks. Our Birds of Minnesota book confirmed that they are American Coots making one more species I can add to my list of "Wildlife seen in the park." The book says that they're not considered a duck as they have lobed toes versus webbed feet. Just before returning to the parking lot I noticed the very same "glossy leaved" Oak tree I photographed last week had turned a bright gold. I tried to remember the same exact location of last week's photo and it turned out close enough to put the two together.The top is from October 24th and the bottom from October 17th. Quite a drastic change in 7 days huh?